Attorney General to Deliver 2025 RUSI Security Talk
On 29 May 2025, the Attorney General Lord Hermer KC delivered the RUSI Annual Security Lecture, reinforcing the government’s commitment to international law.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In December of last year, in his Mansion House speech, the Prime Minister recalled the internationalist mindset of the Atlee government of 1945 – that it was only by maintaining our strength abroad that we would be able to succeed at home. The Prime Minister described Atlee’s approach as hard-headed and patriotic – and made plain that the same values would govern our approach to foreign policy.
Building on that theme the following month, in his Locarno Speech, the Foreign Secretary labelled this distinctive approach to foreign and security policy – as Progressive Realism, which he said required:
“Taking the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Advancing progressive ends by realist means.”
And I would like to take this opportunity today to set out the legal underpinning for Progressive Realism, which I will argue combines both a pragmatic approach to the UK’s national interests with a principled commitment to a rules-based international order.
I am going to start by setting out some of the complexities and challenges of the world that we face, then to address – in order to dismiss – the critique of those I will describe as legal romantic idealists on the one hand, and proponents of what I will call pseudo-realism on the other, before arguing that British leadership to strengthen and reform the international rules-based system is both the right thing to do and the only truly realistic choice.
Before I turn to this, let me first thank Lord Parker for his introduction. Andrew spent his career keeping Britain safe from all manner of threats during a challenging period, before moving on to the Royal Household. So his experience on these security issues has few parallels, and his ability to keep secrets will have been tested in very different ways.
Let me also thank our hosts. It is a real privilege to receive this invitation to deliver the prestigious RUSI Annual Security Lecture. RUSI has held a place of real importance in our public debate for over 200 years. Sitting in government, it is an obvious place to look
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/attorney-generals-2025-rusi-annual-security-lecture