Barristers walk out of Bristol Crown Court in mass protest over pay and conditions
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Barristers have formed a picket line outside Bristol Crown Court this morning on the first day of nationwide strike action over pay and conditions.
The group are just one of many across the country who will stage several days of court walkouts starting today (Monday, June 27) after rejecting a 15% pay increase.
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Hide AdThe row centres around concerns over funding for criminal legal aid fees, which are granted to cover the costs or partial costs of accused persons who can’t otherwise afford it.
Barristers claim for legal aid representation through the Advocates Graduated Fees Scheme (AGFS).
An independent review of the system by Sir Christopher Bellamy had told ministers they needed to increase the AGFS funding by at least 15% without delay.
The increase to funding was proposed to come into force later this year - but it won’t cover the in excess of 58,000 cases that form part of the court backlog.
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Hide AdThe Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers in England and Wales, wants a 25% increase to the AGFS.
It said around 81.5 per cent of more than 2,000 members who voted in the ballot supported walking out of court.
During the past 10 years the number of lawyers working in the criminal justice system has decreased with many saying they cannot make a living anymore.
Jo Sidhu QC and Kirsty Brimelow QC, from the CBA, said: “This extraordinary commitment to the democratic process reflects a recognition amongst criminal barristers at all levels of call and across all Circuits that what is at stake is the survival of a profession of specialist criminal advocates and of the criminal justice system which depends so critically upon their labour.
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Hide Ad“Without immediate action to halt the exodus of criminal barristers from our ranks, the record backlog that has crippled our courts will continue to inflict misery upon victims and defendants alike, and the public will be betrayed.”
More than 1,000 cases are expected to be impacted on each day of the strikes.
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