Barristers to continue industrial action over legal aid cuts

A barrister arriving at the Old Bailey in London on the first day of industrial action

Criminal barristers in England and Wales will continue their industrial action in support of solicitors who are protesting against cuts to legal aid.

The Criminal Bar Association decided to persist after the first day of action, which included not taking on new work.

Solicitors have refused to take on new legal aid work since 1 July in protest over an 8.75% cut to their fees.

But last week they scaled back their action to cover crown court cases only after meeting the justice secretary.

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which narrowly voted to back the action two weeks ago., decided at a meeting on Monday night to continue its action, which also includes not covering for colleagues at short notice.

"We will continue to monitor the impact of the action nationally and the CBA will review matters on a weekly basis," a spokesman said.

'Going too far'

BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the legal profession, which is split between barristers and solicitors, had not found it easy to take sustained and unified action against legal aid cuts.

Francis FitzGibbon QC, who will soon become vice chairman of the CBA, told Radio 4's Today programme: "We feel that the sector is being cut to the bone and there's no fat left on it. Frontline services of those who represent not just defendants, but those who appear on both sides in criminal cases, have been pushed to the limit."

The decision to take action had not been taken lightly, he said, but barristers felt it was in the public interest.

"This isn't about barristers wanting more pay. This is about them supporting action which is designed to show the government that it's in danger of going too far with its cuts," he added.

Barristers held a protest against cuts to the legal aid budget last March

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The changes we are making to criminal legal aid are designed to deliver value for money to taxpayers and do not impact on the availability of high quality legal advice to those who need it most.

"Although we recognise that the transition will be challenging for lawyers, these changes will put the profession on a sustainable footing for the long-term.

"We have already pledged that an independent review looking at the impact of the new arrangements will begin in July 2016."