Barristers strike to delay court hearings in protest over cuts in legal aid fees

- Further protest at Southwark and Snaresbrook crown courts
Photo call: Barristers protest at the Old Bailey today Picture: Jeremy Selwyn

Hundreds of trials and other criminal hearings were delayed today as lawyers walked out in protest at cuts to legal aid fees.

As leaders warned of “boiling-point” anger over the cuts, barristers in wigs and gowns gathered outside the Old Bailey, Southwark and Snaresbrook crown courts, as well as courts around the country as they refused to start work until 2pm.

Cuts are being imposed by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in order to save £220 million from the £2 billion-a-year legal aid budget.

Smile for the camera: Barristers walked out for the first time in their history Picture: Jeremy Selwyn

Those working on “very high cost criminal cases” — usually complex trials of fraudsters and organised criminals — will face a 30 per cent cut in fees while other crown court fees will fall by up to 18 per cent. Among the cases postponed was the Old Bailey trial of Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and others on phone-hacking charges.

Six other Old Bailey trials were due to continue this morning and 10 trials were due to open.

Protest: Barristers at a previous demonstration at Southwark Crown Court (file pic)
Jeff Moore ....British Justice ground to a halt today as lawyers organised by the criminal bar association converged on southwark crown court to demonstrate against the proposed legal aid cuts.Thousands of lawyers across the UK made legal history by volu

Protesting lawyers said the cuts would make it harder to attract the best people to criminal law and hinder social mobility by making it harder for people from poorer backgrounds to survive in the profession.

Speaking outside Westminster magistrates’ court, Tony Meisels, 49, a committee member of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association, said: “We are concerned that we are going to create a two-tier justice system — those who can afford to pay will pay, leaving the poor to be represented by increasingly inexperienced and poorly paid lawyers.”

Grace Capel, 27, a pupil barrister in public law from Holloway Road, said: “It’s crucial that everyone, regardless of income, has access to quality legal representation.”

Janis Sharp, the mother of Gary McKinnon, the alleged computer hacker whose planned extradition to the US was halted in 2012 after a long legal battle, said: “Gary certainly desperately needed legal aid ... without it he would have died. He would not allowed himself to have been extradited, he would have taken his own life.”

Last week, the Ministry of Justice said the average fee income for legal aid barristers was £84,000 and that the system would remain “very generous” even after the cuts.

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