Unfortunately the criminal justice system is failing suspects, defendants and victims. The public are right to be alarmed. Action for justice is required.
The criminal justice system is in crisis.
Both organisations have joined together to shine a light on the failing in the system. The intention is to provide every sitting Member of Parliament with the book by the Secret Barrister. The volume, Stories of the Law and How it is Broken, sets out a litnay of failures present in the current system.
Along with this book, the MPs are to be given a copy of the Young Legal Aid Lawyers Report on Social Mobility along with a list of key facts.
Principled parliamentarians must be allies in the fight for justice. It cannot be a party political issue. The rule of law and access to justice are fundamental to a healthy and functioning democratic society.
Every aspect of the criminal justice system is under threat.
The progress made on diversity is in grave danger, with profound consequences for public trust as the judiciary, professions and institutions cease to reflect the communities they serve
Every week brings news of another criminal trial collapsing due to lack of adequate resources. The disclosure debacles are just one very high profile example of the damage being done to our once great system from chronic and deliberate lack of investment.
In 2016 MPs were told by the Public Accounts Committee that the Criminal Justice System was at breaking point. After 20 years of successive cuts, the system is now broken.
In planning more cuts, Ministers are making an unequivocal commitment to underfunding the legal system, and to refusing to provide a quality of justice that the public are entitled to expect.
The campaign will cost money, and the hope is that a public appeal will raise the £10 000 needed.