Attorney general Geoffrey Cox has given a one-word response to claims he had told Theresa May her new Brexit deal was not legally valid
He described the suggestion as ‘bollocks’.
Cox, the government’s chief legal adviser, was responding to Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, who had tweeted: ‘A Lawyer contact tells me that the legal world is aware that the Attorney General said NO last night to the validity of Mrs May’s ‘new EU deal’…he been told to go away and find a way to say YES: A cohort of lawyers has been summoned.’
It came after Theresa May claimed to have secured ‘legally binding’ changes to the Irish backstop in order to allay the concerns of Brexiteers within her party.
Following Cox’s tweet, Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted: ‘I shall look forward to people telling the AG he is an uneducated common gobshite for swearing.’
And parody account @GeneralBoles posted a photoshopped image of the attorney general in Game Of Thrones garb, saying: ‘You know nothing, Jon Snow.’
Cox’s blunt intervention is the latest in a series of eyebrow-raising moments.
Last week, he described his legal wording on the backstop as ‘Cox’s codpiece’ – referring to a protective pouch used to cover a man’s genitals.
Speaking in a Commons debate, Cox said: ‘It’s come to be called Cox’s codpiece. What I am concerned to ensure is that what’s inside the codpiece is in full working order.’
The attorney general also attracted attention when he posted a tweet with the accidental addendum: ‘Get Outlook for iOS’.
When a Twitter user subsequently suggested he instead get a ‘proofreader for tweets’, Cox replied: ‘Good idea.’
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