Stock image of a barrister holding a wig
(Picture: PA Archive)Criminal barristers who are about to go on strike say only a “massive injection of funding” from government will avert the justice crisis which has been building for years.
More than 80 per cent of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) voted for “days of action” and a dramatic increase in its industrial action in the ongoing row over legal aid funding.
Walkouts are set to start on Monday next week, with action escalating to whole weeks of striking during the summer without a resolution from government.
CBA chair Jo Sidhu QC said junior criminal barristers are earning £12,200 a year – below minimum wage – when they join the system, and accused the government of leaving legal aid funding at “rock bottom” and allowing barristers to “vote with their feet” and leave the profession.
“It needs a massive injection of funding,” he said.
“We are trying to help in bringing down the backlog, and we have been pleading with government for years that we are losing people day after day, week after week, and if we keep losing them at the rate we are, there simply won’t be any prosecutors or defenders left to get through that backlog.
“It’s a crisis we need to draw to the public’s attention.”
He told Times Radio that 567 criminal trials last year had to be aborted at the last minute when either a prosecutor or defence barrister could not be found to work on the case.
“We have had people walking away from this job, the job that they love, because they can’t do it anymore,” he said.
“This government and previous governments simply haven’t given a sufficient priority to the criminal justice system.”
Reacting to news of the strike, Justice Minister James Cartlidge called it “disappointing” and said the government is “moving as quickly as possible” to implement Legal Aid fee rises.
“We encourage the Criminal Bar Association to work with us, rather than escalate to unnecessary strike action, as it will only serve to harm victims as they are forced to wait longer for justice,” he said.
Walkouts on Monday are expected to be accompanied by picket lines outside Crown Courts around the country including the Old Bailey.
