Doughty Street Chambers Crime Team No Returns Statement

As of Monday 11th April 2022, members of the Doughty Street Chambers Crime Team will not be accepting returns in relation to publicly funded AGFS cases.

We will observe the Criminal Bar Association protocol and will keep instructing solicitors and Crown Courts informed of the position of individual cases.

We have seen first-hand the deterioration of the criminal justice system, and the impact it has on our clients – members of the public.

Legal aid rates have been cut by nearly 40% over the past 15 years. Over the past five years, the number of specialist criminal lawyers has shrunk by a quarter. The most junior specialist criminal lawyers are leaving at an unprecedented rate to find alternative areas of work.

This means those accused of crime are less likely to be able to find appropriate, specialist representation. In the last quarter of 2021, more than 250 trials were aborted because criminal barristers were not available (defending or prosecuting).

We know mistakes can be made in the investigation and prosecution of crime. A functioning, properly resourced criminal justice system is vital to ensuring those mistakes do not cost a person’s liberty, or their livelihood.

If those accused of an offence are not able to access adequate representation, miscarriages of justice become a reality. Our communities, families, and friends suffer.

We urge the Ministry of Justice to act.