First it was cats, now apparently veteran Tory bloke Clarke Ken is spatting away like billy-o with glamour model Teresa May in a squabble involving knives. As you would expect, Bankstone News has not the faintest idea what any of this means – except perhaps that it is somehow connected with the government’s last-minute decision to postpone the third reading of its controversial Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.
“It is hard not to conclude that there is utter chaos at the heart of the Government’s justice policies,” chuckled Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Kahn. “Ken Clarke is once again proving his incompetence as Justice Secretary in a Tory-led Government which is hopelessly out of touch on crime and justice,” he Kahntinued.
The Law Society, meanwhile, opined that “Whatever the reason for this week’s hiatus, it offers an opportunity to reconsider the impact of the legislation on access to justice, which our research suggests will be sorely damaged.” Readers will doubtless recall that the Law Soc has previously expressed surprise at the governments eagerness to prompt celebrations in insurance boardrooms by reining in rights to justice access.
Earlier this month the LS called on government “to suspend its plans and work more closely with the legal profession in order to achieve fairer, less costly and more effective civil litigation procedures which preserve access to justice for consumers, reduce the cost to businesses and protect the more vulnerable members of society.”
Perhaps they are are expecting that will happen now!
No responses yet