Woke barrister's 'hypocrisy' as he takes left-wing campaign group Good Law Project offshore

By MILES DILWORTH and TIM STEWART Published: 00:00, 23 August 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 23 August 2026 Left-wing campaign group Good Law Project has been accused of 'hypocrisy' after becoming an offshore trust in Jersey. Director Jolyon Maugham KC has restructured the non-profit organisation so it is owned by a 'purpose trust' on the island. But legal experts say the move is 'enormously hypocritical' because becoming a trust will 'give it the benefits' of being set up like a charity without having oversight from regulators. GLP, which uses judicial reviews to challenge the Government and public bodies over contentious issues, has repeatedly criticised others over their offshore arrangements.  In 2024, it published an article titled 'The offshore bonanza powering Reform's far-Right rhetoric'. In 2019, Mr Maugham hit the headlines after he announced on X (then Twitter) that he had killed a fox with a baseball bat on Boxing Day while wearing his wife's kimono. Veteran barrister Barbara Rich said the restructuring meant that GLP would operate 'without the burden of charity registration'. She added: '[This] is not just because in England that imposes restrictions on political activity but because my impression is that Jolyon Maugham is pretty antagonistic towards the Charity Commission generally and would prefer to have a free hand than be subject to any regulator at all. It's enormously hypocritical.' Jolyon Maugham KC, the director of left-wing campaign group Good Law Project has been accused of 'hypocrisy' after becoming an offshore trust in Jersey Former Tory leader Rishi Sunak pledged to crack down on activist lawyers who take legal action to frustrate the will of Parliament GLP was set up in 2017 as a non-profit company limited by guarantee.  In May, when the restructuring was announced, GLP said Mr Maugham had originally set up the group because 'he wanted the public interest features of a charity but outside of the moving political guardrails policed' by the Commission. But GLP said that 'another feature of charities is that they are not owned by any individual' and instead they exist for a purpose'. It said 'the time had come to replicate this feature' by becoming a trust. It said that Mr Maugham had replaced himself as owner by the trust, making it possible for others to join as trustees so it 'operates a bit more like a charity board'. James Mews, from Jersey-based Amati Law, who chaired a steering group for ten years to improve Trusts Law on the island, said: 'A Jersey purpose trust has a greater level of confidentiality and privacy regarding control, ownership and resources than a UK company.  'A UK company registered at Companies House will still be subject to stringent, regulatory oversight.' When Tory leader, Rishi Sunak, pledged to crack down on activist lawyers who take legal action to frustrate the will of Parliament. He promised to resist what he called 'lawfare' and listed examples of cases – all involved Mr Maugham. In February, GLP lost a High Court judicial review on guidance issued by the UK equalities watchdog on single-sex spaces. Mr Maugham relies on crowdfunding to pay for legal actions. Criminal barrister Matthew Scott said: 'Although the GLP is not a charity, it constantly wraps itself in the clothing of sanctimonious moral rectitude to solicit, and to receive, millions of pounds – well over £4million in 2024-2025 – from the public every year.' A GLP spokesman did not comment when approached yesterday.