The Government must repair damage caused to legal aid reforms, not apply a plaster to a broken system – Richard Burgon

Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to today’s
statement by Justice Secretary David Lidington that the government’s review
into its Legal Aid reforms will conclude by July 2018, said:

 “When people can’t afford to defend their rights, those rights are
worth nothing more than the paper they are written on. Government cuts to legal
aid have priced out hundreds of thousands of people from being able to enforce
their hard won rights.

 “Justice
delayed is justice denied, so it is disappointing that even though the
Government first announced its review nine months ago, it still won’t conclude
for another nine months.

 “The
Government must use this review to fundamentally repair the damage caused by
its legal aid reforms, rather than simply applying a sticking plaster to a
broken system.”