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Cuts that hurt

20 October 2016 / Jon Robins
Issue: 7719 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Legal services
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Amnesty International’s report shines an unforgiving light on the impact of LASPO, says Jon Robins​

“If Theresa May is really determined to deliver a country that works for all then there needs to be a justice system for everyone, not just those who can afford it,” said Alice Wyss of Amnesty International this week. According to the organisation, the April 2013 legal aid cuts have “decimated access to justice” and were, in human rights terms, “a retrogressive measure”.

Wyss was calling directly on the PM to immediately review the legal aid cuts. She was also quoting from Theresa May’s conference speech where she easily won over the party faithful with an attack on “activist left-wing human rights lawyers” and outlined plans to curb the “industry of vexatious allegations” against our troops by opting out of the European convention.

The powerful report from an international group more associated with highlighting abuses in far-flung corners of the world less familiar with the rule of law than the UK is well-timed—if unlikely to improve relations between

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