Solicitors & barristers from Greater Manchesters legal community descended upon Manchester yesterday. The protest began at 4pm on the steps outside Manchester Crown Square Crown Court, took us across the streets of Manchester and ended outside The Palace hotel on Oxford Road.
The Palace was the venue for a Ministry of Justice roadshow where they MOJ were to outline their plans.
The consultation proposes are supposed to save £220million from the legal aid budget by removing the ability for a defendant to choose their solicitors, competing on price not quality and by closing at least 75% of criminal defence firms.
The protest was widely received by Mancunians who were supportive of legal aid as a pillar of our criminal justice system.
This is backed up by the results of the ComRes poll for the Bar Council. Two thirds of people oppose the legal aid cuts.
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