MoJ denies telling court staff to hand over names of striking barristers July 4, 2022 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has denied telling court staff to name striking barristers, after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) threatened legal action over claims that any such instruction would breach UK data protection laws. An MoJ spokesperson said any claims the Justice Secretary or the MoJ told court staff to report the names of barristers who fail [...]
UK Election: Criminal justice system at the point of no return. Where is the outrage? June 24, 2024 The British criminal justice system is nearing collapse, plagued by backlogs, overcrowded prisons, budget cuts, and barrister strikes
Criminal Barristers vote to escalate strike action over legal aid fees August 22, 2022 Criminal barristers today voted in favour of plans to cancel their bi-weekly court walkouts and run a continuous strike from 5 September onwards. The Criminal Bar Association’s members overwhelmingly backed the decision to strike on an “indefinite basis” on Monday morning. 2273 members backed escalation of strikes by 79.5 per cent, with 11 per cent supporting a continuation [...]
Criminal barristers to hold strike ballot after being told to ‘be patient’ by Dominic Raab February 16, 2022 Criminal barristers will vote on whether to strike at the end of this month, after Dominic Raab told barristers to “be patient” while waiting for legal aid reform. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) will hold a strike ballot on 28 February, after the government failed to put forward its plans to reform criminal legal [...]
Criminal barristers threaten nationwide strike if government fails to up their pay January 18, 2022 Criminal barristers have said they will go on strike if the government does not substantially increase their pay. In a survey put out by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), 96.5 per cent of criminal barristers said they favour taking strike action if the Government does not agree “to a substantial increase in criminal legal [...]
Law Society calls for ‘sustained investment’ in courts to cut worsening case backlog August 13, 2022 The Law Society has called on the government to make “sustained investment” in the UK’s court system after new data showed the case backlog has gotten worse over the previous quarter. The backlog of cases waiting to be heard in the England and Wales Crown Courts has increased from 58,540 in April to 58,973 in [...]
City Exclusive – Criminal barristers lured to law firms as strikes set to escalate August 19, 2022 City law firms are making concerted efforts to capitalise on the collapse of the criminal justice system by hiring disgruntled barristers into their firms, recruiters and law firms exclusively told City A.M. Legal sector recruiters said they’ve seen a sharp uptick in law firms approaching them seeking to bolster their teams by hiring criminal [...]
Law Society hits out at government as barristers prepare to strike April 10, 2022 The Law Society has hit out at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) after claiming the government’s £135m a year legal aid investments will not be enough to fix the “crisis in the criminal defence profession.” The comments come as barristers are set to go on strike from tomorrow onwards, after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) [...]
Criminal barristers vote to strike over legal aid June 20, 2022 Criminal barristers yesterday voted in favour of plans to strike against the government, following a long-running dispute over legal aid fees. Barristers who work in criminal law are set to stage a series of court walkouts, after 81.5 per cent of the 2,055 barristers who voted in the Criminal Bar Association’s ballot came out in support of [...]
‘We are engulfed in a crisis of epic proportions,’ CBA chair Jo Sidhu tells Old Bailey picket June 27, 2022 Criminal barristers on Monday picketed outside of London’s Old Bailey court as part of a strike over legal aid fees. Hundreds of barristers, solicitors, and other supporters turned up at the picket line outside of the UK’s most famous court, in demanding a 25 per cent increase in legal aid fees. The strike comes as [...]