1984 - Closer than you think
Monday 8th July 2013
There are signs that Chris Grayling, the first Lord Chancellor in over a thousand years not to be a lawyer (and probably the worst) may be showing signs of backing down over his plans to restrict the rights of defendants in criminal proceedings to choose their own lawyer. Following widespread condemnation he has announced a review of his plans.
The Ministry of Justice has made an extraordinary announcement that it intends to spend £160 million on introducing paperless proceedings in Magistrates Courts. Having previously claimed there wasn’t even enough money to pay the gas bill (I exaggerate slightly) they have suddenly found a huge stash of cash.
Who needs decent legal representation if everyone’s got nice new computers to play with?
