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updated on 18 April 2018
Barristers, solicitors, charity workers and law centre volunteers will congregate outside the Ministry of Justice tonight (18 April) in protest at the crisis in the justice system.
The ‘vigil for justice’ protest has been organised in support of strike action by criminal defence barristers, which has been ongoing since 1 April. Some 90 chambers have now joined the strike, which has wide support from across the legal profession. The president of the Law Society, Joe Egan, has also joined the protests, warning that criminal defence lawyers could soon become “extinct” in some parts of the country because relentless cuts to legal aid mean that “lawyers no longer see a viable career doing this work”.
Andrew Walker QC, chair of the Bar Council, has also commented ahead of the vigil. He said: “As a result of repeated cuts, our justice system has deteriorated over many years to breaking point, and we are now seeing the cumulative impact on practitioners seeking to operate within it – particularly the criminal and family Bar – on all others working within it, and on members of the public passing through it. The need for this vigil is, in itself, a troubling reflection of the current state of affairs, in that those protesting against the cuts to legal aid and the wider justice system feel driven to take direct action to make their concerns heard. Its necessity is to be strongly lamented, but it is heartening to see so many across the public and legal sectors, who truly understand the desperate need for change, come together in recognition of such a crucial issue and call on the government to fulfil its responsibility to the public to deliver a justice system that works as intended. True and proper justice has no substitute; it is not an ‘optional extra’ for which funding requirements can be ignored – otherwise the public will pay the ultimate price.”