Barristers and solicitors march in day of protest against legal aid cuts
updated on 07 March 2014
In an unprecedented day of action, hundreds of barristers and solicitors have marched on Westminster today, railing against Chris Grayling’s recent confirmation that £215 million will be shaved from the criminal legal aid bill. The march coincides with a nationwide walk out, the first in legal history, which sees 3,000 barristers refusing to attend court.
The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA) have stated that they can show that the proposed cuts are financially unnecessary, will cause significant damage to the criminal justice system, and will drive skilled and experienced lawyers away from publicly-funded criminal work.
Nigel Lithman, chairman of the CBA, said: "If these cuts are not addressed, then the British justice system, which is held in such high esteem around the world, will cease to exist as we know it and the British public can no longer expect true justice to be delivered. Grayling has continuously chosen to ignore the many offers from all members of the Bar to work with the MoJ to address the severity and practicality of the cuts."
Nicola Hill, president of the LCCSA, said: "These cuts mean that law firms will rapidly go to the wall in their hundreds, leaving people who can’t afford to pay privately with only the crumbs of legal aid. […] This can only be damaging for justice. The solicitors who are still in business quite simply won’t have the time, money or expertise to prepare cases properly. And it’s the ordinary people, those we don’t hear about, who don’t make the headlines, who will have to accept third rate advice. Not the wealthy who can pay privately. The march and full day of action sounds a warning bell to everyone in the country about the slippery slope this country is going down - where justice is seen as a luxury, not a right, as enshrined in Magna Carta 800 years ago."
Actress Maxine Peake, who plays Martha Costello QC in the television series Silk, attended the march and has spoken in support of the walkout: "We can't allow justice to become a luxury available only to the rich."
Follow the march and comments on #just4justice.
