British newspaper points out that at least 5 lawyers with track records in billion-dollar class actions hold positions in Keir Starmer’s government
The British Prime Minister’s government (Labor Party, center-left) has at least 5 lawyers with a track record in firms specializing in collective actions with disputes reaching billions of dollars. A report from the British newspaper speaks of a “infestation” of “plaintiffs’ lawyers” –who represent clients against companies for violation of rights or severance pay– at the highest level of the British parliament, as these professionals have the “sympathy” by Starmer.
The influence does not stop at the Prime Minister’s office, but has been a hallmark of the English Labor Party. The group has recruited lawyers who have worked at firms specializing in labor cases, with cases that do not only include cases occurring in British territory. One of the law firms with representatives in Starmer’s government is (Pogust Goodhead), responsible for the action seeking £36 billion (R$257.44 billion at current prices) from BHP Billiton in the case of (MG) in 2015.
The main name linked to the office is . The lawyer currently holds the position of Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice and as assistant to the leader of the Labor Party bench in Parliament. Richards worked at the PG in 2019 and still maintains ties with the office, having received victims of the Brazilian dam collapse at the Palace of Westminster. He was elected a member of the British Parliament in 2024 and ascended to his positions in the government in September 2025.
His sister Amy Richards is political director in Starmer’s office and was also a former special adviser to the current Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
Another name linked to the PG and close to the British top brass is Simon Alcock. He was head of Corporate Affairs at the PG from December 2021 to July 2025 and has previously served as head of policy and senior political advisor to the current Secretary of State for Energy Security, .
Of the lawyers mentioned in the report, the one who occupies the most prominent position is . She has been Secretary of Economic Affairs at the Treasury since September last year. Also elected to Parliament in 2024, Rigby was a partner at the law firm Hausfeld LLP, made famous by the Merricks vs Mastercard case.
The class action on behalf of around 46 million Mastercard customers sought to obtain a billion-dollar sum from the company for charging inflated fees. The result was an agreement signed in 2025 worth 200 million pounds (R$1.3 billion).
The Labor Party also has lawyers on its staff who have worked in one of the most traditional firms specializing in labor justice in the United Kingdom, . Ellie Reeves, UK Deputy Attorney General, and Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales, previously worked for the law firm.
O UK Parliament writes that this presence of lawyers specializing in class action litigation comes at a time when the British government is debating its position on third-party litigation funding, described as “the financial fuel that allows these massive collective actions to happen.”
In 2023, a UK Supreme Court ruling cast doubt on the legality of many litigation funding contracts. In 2025, Starmer’s government announced that it would work on legislative changes to mitigate the effects of the decision. Rigby and Richards were appointed to the senior ranks of the British government in September 2025.
