A spokesperson for the Criminal Bar Association said barristers will continue to do what is required of them to ensure justice is delivered in a timely manner for defendants, complainants. victims and their families. While the sentenced prisoner population has risen significantly, the remand population has risen due to underfunding and a ‘chronic shortage’ of criminal barristers.
The Bar Council said it was wrong for the MoJ to blame the bar for the current situation. ‘Covid and the criminal bar action happened in the past. It is how you respond to it that is the test for government,’ Bar Council chair Sam Townend KC said.
‘Operation Early Dawn is just one symptom of the chronic lack of investment in the criminal justice system for so long, along with up to 70-day early release of prisoners, the average time to trial now at a year, and the backlogs worsening. We cannot continue like this,’ he added.
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