LEGAL professionals should brace themselves to be branded the “enemies of justice,” previous victims of Michael Gove said yesterday after he was named the Tories new Justice Secretary.

Teachers’ hostility towards the former education secretary rocketed when he topped pro-market reforms with confrontational rhetoric, branding unions and parent activists “the Blob” and “enemies of promise.”

His predecessor at the Ministry of Justice Chris Grayling also faced professional wrath over cuts to legal aid and the privatisation of the probation service.

Probation union Napo national official Tania Bassett said: “We have concerns about Gove entering an already decimated justice system, given his actions in the education department.

“We will be entering the new parliament seeking a meeting with Gove as soon as possible to attempt to make our discussions (on the future of the probation service) as positive as possible,” she added.

Her concerns were echoed by Prison Officers Association general secretary Steve Gillan, who said: “We know that Gove has not got a good record with the unions in education but we will be working to try to meet him as early as we can to establish a working relationship.”

Legal aid lawyer Daniel Blaney said Mr Gove was “the second Tory justice secretary in a row who isn’t a lawyer.”

“That’s OK if you have an interest in the profession but Gove’s only interest is in having a fight,” he stormed.

Mr Gove will face strong opposition to further cuts and Tory plans to abolish the Human Rights Act.

“Anyone opposing him could well be branded ‘enemies of justice’,” Mr Blaney said.