Why are criminal lawyers on strike?

Lawyers working in criminal cases say they have seen deep cuts to their income following government changes to the legal aid system. Many have left publicly funded legal aid work, leading to ‘legal aid deserts’. The lawyers who remain say they can no longer survive on the fees and that the criminal justice system is almost at a standstill. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said the government’s offer of a 15% fee increase, which was the minimum increase proposed by the criminal legal aid review, was insufficient and would not apply to the court’s backlog of 58,000 cases of the crown.

Introduced by Clement Attlee’s government in 1949, it is a budget used to pay for legal advice for anyone arrested and charged who cannot afford to pay for it themselves. It is also used to help some plaintiffs deal with civil cases.

When were the changes made?

Many criminal lawyers have blamed changes introduced under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

How did the government react to the strike threat?

Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, who is on leave until Thursday with his family in Surrey, has not met with the CBA since members began industrial action in April, but junior ministers meet regularly with the group. On Monday, Justice Minister Sarah Dines said the strike would be “irresponsible”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Who will be affected by the strike?

If hearings or trials cannot take place because there are no lawyers to represent the accused, there will be no trials in which the criminals are sent to prison or the innocent are acquitted. Victims, like the accused, will be left in limbo, unsure when they will see justice.

Shouldn’t lawyers be well paid?

Lawyers working in areas such as private corporate law can expect to earn £100,000 a year from very early in their careers. But criminal lawyers are not as well paid as many people assume. The average salary for a criminal barrister in the year 2019-20 was £79,800, according to an independent review carried out by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC. New criminal lawyers can take home up to £9,000 when expenses including transport are taken into account, while some lawyers say the time they spend preparing cases means their hourly earnings are below the minimum wage. Solicitors with zero, one or two years’ experience were paid an average of £25,100 before expenses and a net figure of £18,800 after expenses. Bellamy, a former judge, concluded last December that the criminal justice system urgently needed £135 million a year to stop the exodus of junior legal aid lawyers, who receive just £12,200 a year. On 30 June, the government announced an initial increase in criminal legal aid fees, which will come into force in September 2022.

What will be the political consequences of the strike?

The first day of the strike, September 5, is also the day the new prime minister is expected to take office after the resignation of Boris Johnson. The action follows rail and tube strikes in July and August by members of the National Union of Rail, Shipping and Transport Workers, the Personal Transport Wage Union, Aslef and Unite. The Union of Communication Workers has announced the mobilization of postal workers on August 26, 27 and 30. BT and Openreach workers are to hold further strikes in a pay dispute.