UK's reputation for respecting the rule of law at risk

In his latest comment piece on the Centre's website, Professor Ed Cape argues that the coalition government's negative attitude to fair trial rights and attacks on legal aid and lawyers risks undermining international respect for the UK's legal system.

He writes:

'Ironically, the current framework in England and Wales for protecting the procedural rights of suspects was introduced by a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Since then, no government has expressed any interest in fair trial rights. You will look in vain for any mention of procedural safeguards, or fair trial, in the current Business Plans of the Home Office or Ministry of Justice. Government policy is directed at closing courts and decimating legal aid, and when the term ‘justice’ is deployed, it is always preceded by the word ‘efficient’, thus depriving it of any meaning.'