Law society: Cuts are a “disaster”

Linda Lee, president of the Law Society, calls on the government to think again about legal aid cuts:

"The government must think again and look at the realistic alternatives we have identified. They save the government more money than Mr Clarke is proposing, but without the devastating cuts to civil legal aid this bill will cause.

"Mr Clarke's proposals on civil legal aid and reforms to the way civil litigation is funded will be a disaster for the public and will prevent many ordinary people – not just the poor, small businesses as well – from enforcing legitimately held rights.

"The government's own figures show that more than half a million civil law and family cases each year will lose legal aid."