THE new tendering process being introduced by the Ministry of Justice to legal aid threatens equal representation before law.

Under the reforms, those unable to afford a private lawyer will no longer have any choice over who represents them. They may end up being represented by a less than fully qualified legal rep employed by some big company like G4S or Tesco, as the tendering system will allow the big operators multiple contracts.

Under this process it is estimated the number of firms in the legal aid field will be reduced from 1,600 to 400, with many small high street firms having to close. Moreover, the introduction of fixed fees will encourage the less honest lawyers to always go for a guilty plea, as they get the same fee regardless and thus save time and hassle.

If you do not want this two-tier justice system I would urge your readers to go online and sign the e-petition ‘save our justice’, as we need 100,000 names to get a Commons debate on the issue.

The £200m the Ministry thinks it will save by 2018 takes no account of the legal staff who will be made jobless and is peanuts when set against the figures we have all seen on corporate and non- domicile tax evasion.

ALAN J FISHER, Witney Road, Finstock