being slashed on the grounds of cost.
Is this a dangerous precedent and an erosion of the UK’s judicial system?
Can it be right that a plaintiff or defendant in any case should be at a disadvantage because the other party has access to more funds, be they the CPS, or a ‘working man trying to get justice from a millionaire’? Both sides should have legal representation.
The legal aid system has historically been questionably open to abuse but surely that is addressed by tighter regulation of applications and those who are being paid, not by removing the access to legal aid to those genuinely in need.
A person seeking justice in this country should not be equated to someone in a bookmaker’s putting their home up as a bet on a result.
Justice and fair representation in court should be the right of all classes in this country, whatever their circumstances or beliefs. I could go on giving examples where ‘justice’ has already been eroded in my lifetime but there is a limit on the size of letters to the Oxford Mail.
CHRIS PAYNE
Turnpike Road
Bicester
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