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Lawyers protest over legal aid cuts
Crown Courts and magistrates’ courts in a number of cities across England and Wales were forced to close last month as lawyers demonstrated against the proposal to cut a further £220m from the legal aid budget. LAG attended the demonstration outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in west London, which was organised by the Justice Alliance. LAG understands that further protests are being planned.
Furthermore, the Justice Alliance has launched a petition to ‘save legal aid to protect access to justice for all’ in a bid to force a debate in the House of Commons about the issue. The petition needs at least 100,000 signatures for it to be debated in the House of Commons. At the time of writing, 13,963 supporters had signed the petition.
Meanwhile, last month saw the formation of a national campaign committee ‘to defend our justice system’. The National Justice Committee (NJC) has been set up by criminal solicitors and barristers and the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and the Justice Alliance, two groups that represent those affected by the civil legal aid cuts. The NJC said that it hoped for ‘constructive engagement with the Lord Chancellor … so that … we have a justice system fit for purpose and fair and open to all’.