Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #action4justice
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Coming in late to say: full solidarity with the barristers on strike today. Firstly, workers have the right to defend themselves using industrial action when negotiation fails. But this is about much more than that.
Successive Tory governments cut legal aid to the bone and then brought out the saw. Junior barristers are on less than minimum wage. Barristers are leaving the profession in droves because they cannot afford to remain.
This is a problem for all of us. Access to legal aid, means access to justice for those who can't afford expensive private council. In its absence miscarriages of justice become more common and harder to correct.
The latest statistics (2020-2021):barristers specialising in criminal law has declined by 10%. In one year.This acceleration of barristers leaving criminal law will continue.Unless there is a substantial immediate uplift in fees. Action of no returns starts today. #action4justice
No returns means that barristers no longer will accept work returned to them by a barrister who is unable to act in the case because- for example-barrister’s other trial has overrun(sick juror/witness etc) & so a clash resulted.Why did 94% of @TheCriminalBar vote for this action?
The independent review of legal aid has been with government since 30 November 2021. It recommended an immediate increase of a minimum of 15% to legal aid per annum. Govt response: “15%” (when shaken down to include inflation & another year on isn’t 15%) on new cases from October
