CILEx president demands more government U-turns on legal aid

CILEx president Nick Hanning has urged Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to make further concessions to his controversial plans to change legal aid, following a partial U-turn on the government's proposal to deny legal aid recipients the right to choose a lawyer.

Hanning said: "While I welcome the change of heart in respect of client choice, and thank the justice secretary for acknowledging that he is open to further changes, this concession does not go far enough. Chris Grayling has yet to address our concerns regarding weakening the judicial review system, introducing an arbitrary and unjustified residence test, and the undemocratic means by which these proposals are due to be introduced."

"Particularly the proposals to limit legal aid for judicial review will undermine the rule of law. In our justice system, judicial review is the means by which the courts restrain public bodies when they act unlawfully. Access to judicial review is therefore essential to the rule of law. If the government is genuinely committed to a fair justice system with 'fair outcomes' in our democratic society, I expect it also to reconsider the proposal to limit legal aid for judicial review cases."