With the recent
government furore over barristers` withdrawal of labour and attempted discrediting
of the criminal Bar for its allegedly high incomes still fresh in its memory
the Ministry of Justice yesterday trumpeted the appointment of two Queen`sCounsel to the new Public Defender System. The setting up of this service last year was
not accompanied by the usual barrage of press releases and media interviews. It was indeed a “stealth” operation. The newly appointed QCs will apparently be on
a salary of £125,000 p.a. which seems about the equivalent of a fee income for
a QC in chambers of £200,000 - £250,000 and not a lot different from the salary
of a District Judge. Previously this lowly and unpaid member of the judiciary had the impression that when QCs decided to apply
for salaried and pensionable appointments it was as judges. Be that as it may one of the newly appointed
Public Defenders, Gregory Bull QC was not reticent in his criticism last year of the
changes (now being applied) to the Legal Aid system in this country. Indeed he was scathing in his remarks to Wales on Line
which reported in June, “He said many people will be faced with financial ruin
in a bid to defend themselves in court and the Criminal Bar as we know it would
be “decimated”. The complete article is
available here.
No doubt he will
live to regret his candour and be unlikely to repeat such remarks now he is in
receipt of the Queen`s shilling.
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