The country is being sold a great big con about the cuts to legal aid: namely that no-one should worry about them as they only effect fat cat lawyers who earn far more than they ought to anyway, and they don’t impact ordinary people. Untrue.
Would you believe a Government that said that we had to accept hospital closures, but they will only impact greedy fat cat Drs and Nurses? course not !
Legal aid was enacted at the same time as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; because there was an understanding that rights were for everyone, not just for the rich who can afford to pay a Lawyer. Both were introduced after the atrocities of WWii. They are our covenant, our promise to each other about how we will treat each other and how we want to be treated.
There is a very simple equation that goes : Legal rights + access to justice + equality.
The access to justice bit is the right to a fair trial, which means it is not just for the rich, but for everyone.
The fat cat lawyers spin on the cuts has hidden from the public the fact that our rights are being taken away from us by stealth, and it is something to be very worried about.
Another whopper told by the ministry of Justice is that every victim of Domestic abuse will get legal aid: this is dishonest and they know it. So is their statement that ‘nothing in LASPO (the legal aid act) contravenes International legislation of Convention rights’. They continue to say this even though the UN has told them that LASPO does contravene internationally guaranteed Human Rights.
Today is Grayling day: lawyers, Actors, MPs and activists all over the UK have held a day of action outside out major courts against what is the destruction of a Justice system that we have previously been so proud of.
Check out our twitter feed if you want to know more.