Legal Aid

Lawyers say the government is destroying the legal aid system. Ministers say our system is one of the most expensive in the world. Who’s right?

Are criminal barristers angry at legal aid cuts grumbling fat cats or struggling public servants? FactCheck looks at the evidence. You be the judge.

MPs insist the neediest will still get free or subsidised legal help, but that the £2bn spent annually on legal aid has got to be cut. Will civil cases receive the legal aid they need and deserve? FactCheck investigates.

The claim “The only place with more expensive Legal Aid than England and Wales is Northern Ireland, and no doubt they’ll be addressing the same question” Ken Clarke, Justice Secretary, on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, June 29, 2011