Counsel Magazine

A rush to slash legal aid fees will cause damage to the quality of justice, barristers have warned Ministers. A raft of submissions from the Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), young barristers and the Bar's regional circuits are unanimous in criticising proposals by the Ministry of Justice for cuts in criminal legal aid.

The Government wants to cut pay for barristers doing publiclyfunded criminal defence work by up to 23%. They propose to reverse the 2007 implementation of a review of legal aid by Lord Carter of Coles which was designed to head off a crisis in the criminal justice system triggered by a 10-year pay freeze for barristers. The Bar Council and CBA today voice grave concerns about the impact of the cuts on the diversity of the Bar and the Judiciary, and the potential risk of miscarriages of justice which cause needless cost to the public purse.