Victims of serious offences like sexual assault have been "devastated" when arriving to court to find their trial cannot go ahead.
Criminal barristers starting their first indefinite strike today were accused by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab of "holding justice to ransom". But barristers are keen to stress trial delays predate the industrial action, which has been gradually escalating since it started in April.
The legal professionals, who earn a median income of £12,200 a year while working 60-hour weeks in their most junior years, are calling for a pay rise after a nearly 30% cut to their wages in the last 20 years, according to the Criminal Barristers Association (CBA). Rebecca Filletti, a "mid-range" junior barrister now "passed the most difficult years" of her career, finds Raab's placement of blame at the hands of barristers "audacious".
