LAWYERS in Bradford claim 'strike' action they are taking in protest at legal aid cuts is starting to bite at courts and police stations.
Solicitors from all but one of the city's 24 law firms, who undertake publicly-funded legal aid work, last week agreed not to represent new clients, both at police stations after they have been arrested and when they appear in court.
The vote for action followed two new proposed cuts to legal aid rates by the Ministry of Justice, which lawyers say will put some firms out of business and compromise the service to clients.
Duty solicitor services have not been affected by the action.
Ray Singh, partner with Bradford firm Petherbridge Bassra Solicitors, said the action was already causing "chaos" at police stations, and delays at the magistrates court.
Mr Singh said: "A number of defendants have had to be released from local police stations without being interviewed because no solicitors were available to represent them. Last night there were seven cases backed up, because the suspects had no representation.
"I went to court yesterday afternoon as duty solicitor and the court was only able to deal with three cases. The court was sitting until 5pm."
Mr Singh said that Tuesday - when new cases were fast-tracked to the magistrates court - would be a crunch day.
He said clients had been understanding and supportive.
He added a further meeting of solicitors would be held on Monday.
"The meeting will discuss the impact the action has had so far, and also whether we should escalate the action to include the withdrawal of duty solicitor services."
West Yorkshire Police refused to comment about the impact the action was having on the interviewing of suspects who had been arrested in Bradford.
A spokesman would only say: "This action is not affecting our work to keep the people of Bradford safe, nor will it affect our commitment to victims to ensure that offenders are brought to justice."
Louise Holmes, court manager at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court said no cases had been cancelled and the court was running.
Lawyers say their fees have not been reviewed for almost 20 years and the Ministry is planning to implement an 8.75 per cent, with a further cut next January.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Although the transition will be challenging, the changes we are pressing ahead with are designed to ensure we have a system of criminal legal aid that delivers value for money to taxpayers, that provides high quality legal advice to those that need it most, and that puts the profession on a sustainable footing for the long term.
"Having listened carefully to the case put by the profession we decided not to reduce advocacy fees, but instead to work closely with them to explore alternative ways of securing these savings. In July 2016 an independent reviewer will start an assessment of the impact of the new arrangements on access to justice and quality of the service."
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