[JURIST] UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith [official website; Guardian profile] announced Friday that he will resign his post effective next week. Goldsmith, who leaves just as Tony Blair [official profile] steps down after 10 years as Prime Minister, said that he has wanted to move on for some time. Incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown [official profile] praised Goldsmith for his "outstanding service to Britain."

Goldsmith has broken with Blair on several critical occasions. Last year, he spoke out [JURIST report] against Blair's proposal to extend the current 28-day limit on police detentions of terrorism suspects who have not been charged. In February, Goldsmith criticized the new rules governing US military detainee trials contained in the Manual for Military Commissions [PDF text] and reiterated his longstanding call for the military prison in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] to be shut down. Sky News has more.