According to a report by The Guardian, barristers and solicitors across England and Wales might be forced to do a full-day walkout should the UK Ministry of Justice's proposal for a £220 million cut in the annual legal aid budget gets passed. The move, said the UK newspaper could threaten the efforts of UK Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in staging a global conference on the Magna Carta's 800th anniversary set to happen next year. The celebration is meant to highlight the achievements of the British legal system.
The protest is reportedly set for March 7, Friday and could involve the abandonment of several cases by barristers and a refusal of cover, or covering of cases that are dropped by other barristers. The Guardian said the walkout could lead to more cancelled hearings and further demonstration.
The walkout is said to be inspired by the unproductive meeting between Grayling and criminal solicitors at the Law Society, which happened on Tuesday. The Ministry of Justice plans, said the UK newspaper, involved reduction of fees of up to 30%. An increasing resentment among barristers who rely on payments from legal aid for both defending and prosecuting criminal cases was observed, as they said that reduction in legal fees of up to 40% had been successive since 1997.
London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association (LCCSA) president Nicola Hill said, "The Ministry of Justice just isn't listening. We have shown that the these cuts aren't necessary and the savings will happen naturally from falling crime and improving efficiencies in the courts. But the government shows no sign of hearing that evidence. Under the proposed rates, solicitors will be paid so little they won't be able to prepare cases to the required standards, leaving their clients, whose liberty, families and livelihoods are at stake, with second- and third-rate representation. It's ironic that almost 800 years after Magna Carta was signed, the MoJ seems set on destroying a criminal justice system that is revered around the world."
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