header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
30 November 2012 / Piya Muqit
Issue: 7540 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Human rights
printer mail-detail

High & dry

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Survivors of torture will suffer further due to legal aid cuts, says Piya Muqit

The £350m cuts to legal aid, which are due to come into effect on 1 April 2013, will restrict access to justice for one of the most vulnerable groups of people in this country.

LASPO’s impact

Torture survivors seeking or granted refuge in the UK are already struggling to secure decent legal representation, and radical changes to the legal aid system following the passing of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 mean this situation will worsen considerably in 2013.

The Act will, with limited exceptions, remove or reduce legal aid funding for advice on immigration, welfare benefits, housing, family, debt, and employment, all of which affect Freedom from Torture’s clients.

While free advice and representation on asylum claims will still be available, we fear that the removal of legal aid for most immigration matters will be the last straw for many providers who are already struggling to sustain viable legal aid practices in the asylum

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll