‘Save Legal Aid!’ barristers and solicitors are demanding as they take historic strike action today, starting with a 9.30-10.30am demonstration outside Westminster Magistrates Court, 181 Marylebone Road, NW1 in central London.
Today’s Day of Action has been called by the Justice Alliance in protest against Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s attempt to cut £200million in Legal Aid.
It has the support of a cross-section of trade unions, charities and other organisations, including Amnesty UK, Liberty, Unite, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Children’s Society.
At the demonstration they will join with the legal aid profession to highlight serious concerns with the government’s cuts to prison law and proposals to change criminal law, introduce a Residence Test and limit access to Judicial Review.
Justice Alliance believes the cuts will:
• Destroy the fabric of the justice system in England and Wales
• Lead to a dramatic rise in miscarriages of justice
• Undermine the principle of access to the courts for all
• Severely undermine the ability of individuals including victims of torture, victims of police abuse and victims of sexual grooming to hold the state to account.
• Damage the UK’s international legal reputation
• Destroy a value for money legal aid system; create knock on costs of up to £47 million and cause long-term waste of taxpayers’ money.
Matt Foot, solicitor and founder of Justice Alliance, said: ‘There is widespread opposition to Grayling’s proposals.
‘They will have a devastating effect on the rights of ordinary people in this country and undermine the ability to challenge unlawful government actions, which the success of Lewisham Hospital campaigners has shown is vital.
‘No-one has stood up and supported these proposals. Even Grayling did not attend the debate in Parliament.’
Sue Willman, human rights solicitor at Deighton Pierce Glynn, said: ‘Do politicians understand that the main victims of the residence test will be the poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK?
‘To name a few, clients who are disabled, have long-term illnesses and mental health needs, pregnant women and children.
‘Legal aid has been their safety net.’
The Criminal Bar Association stated: ‘The protest on Monday is the first in the history of the criminal bar.
‘That it is necessary in order to try and prevent the slide of the Criminal Justice system into chaos and the Criminal Bar into oblivion make it a sad day.
‘Those taking the action wish to send a message to the Lord Chancellor that this, along with cuts to their pay, is unacceptable.’
Lord MacDonald, former Director of Public Prosecutions, said yesterday: ‘Tomorrow, up and down the country, thousands of barristers are going to decline to attend court in the morning.
‘That’s a pretty dramatic development; these are not left-wing rebels; these are not natural rebels; these are people with families, with mortgages; who have never done this before.
‘I think it’s a fair assumption they’ve been driven to it.’