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Why we must turn our attention to the justice emergency

As the country emerges from a year of lockdowns, the criminal justice system is feeling the strain. We met up with Derek Sweeting QC, Chair of the Bar Council, to find out more about how COVID has impacted on the criminal justice system, and to discuss how justice can build back better.

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29 Apr Home affairs

Bar Council backs Charter for Black Talent

The Bar Council, the barristers profession’s representative body, has today become the latest organisation to give its backing to the Charter for Black Talent in Finance and the Professions, an initiative aimed at increasing the number of talented Black professionals in senior positions in the financial and professional services sectors in the UK.

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27 Apr Foreign affairs

Statement of the Four Bars on PRC Government Sanctions against barristers of England and Wales

The four professional bodies of barristers and advocates of the United Kingdom and Ireland are united in their condemnation of the sanctions announced by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government against barrister members of the legal profession and their “immediate families”.

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03 Mar Economy

Bar Council Budget reaction: The Chancellor has turned a blind eye to law and order

It is disappointing to see no extra funding emerging from the Treasury in today’s Budget announcement.

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01 Mar Home affairs

Covid-19, rights and freedoms – Justice Week 2021

The time is right for a vital health check on our rights, our justice system and ultimately on the rule of law, the Bar Council, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) and the Law Society of England and Wales said, as they mark the launch of Justice Week (1 to 5 March) with the United Kingdom still locked-down in the Covid-19 pandemic.

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17 Feb Coronavirus

New Nightingale Courts 'a step in the right direction' say barristers

Responding to the government’s announcement of more temporary courtrooms and a first ‘super courtroom’, Chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC said:

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04 Feb Coronavirus

Bar Council warns of "pandemic gap" caused by drop in pupillages

Responding to new figures from the Bar Standards Board which show a 35% decline in pupillage registrations in 2020, Chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC, said:

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29 Jan Home affairs

Change on diversity cannot come soon enough, says Bar Council

Responding to the BSB’s Diversity at the Bar report, Chair of the Bar Council, Derek Sweeting QC said:

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18 Jan Home affairs

Bar Council calls on Chancellor to provide £55m to help Covid-stricken courts

A newly published response to the 2021 Budget from the Bar Council calls for an increase in funding for the justice system.

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15 Jan Home affairs

New report finds serious problems with legal help for the public

A newly published report “Running on Empty” from the Bar Council, which represents all barristers in England and Wales, reveals the severity of problems in the civil legal aid system.

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20 Dec 2020 Home affairs

Criminal legal aid solution 'alarmingly overdue' says Bar Council Chair

Responding to the MoJ’s announcement of the independent review into Criminal Legal Aid (CLAR2), Chair of the Bar Council, Amanda Pinto QC said:

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17 Dec 2020 Coronavirus

Today's criminal court backlog statistics show justice system in poor health

Responding to the criminal court statistics quarterly for July to September 2020, which have been published today, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:

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14 Dec 2020 Home affairs

"U-turn should not have been necessary" says Bar Council on Internal Market Bill

Responding to news that the Government is to drop clauses in the Internal Market Bill that would have put the UK in breach of international law, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council said:

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25 Nov 2020 Economy

Bar Council: Spending Review announcement 'a pivotal moment'

Responding to the Treasury’s Spending Review announcement today, Chair of the Bar Council, Amanda Pinto QC, said:

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24 Nov 2020 Home affairs

Mind the gap: Government urged not to let law and order slip through the cracks in levelling up plans

The Bar Council has urged the Government to regenerate areas of the Midlands and North by investing in the local court system and providing access to early legal advice for the most vulnerable, as it highlights regions where local law and order is particularly weak.

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12 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Bar Council calls for public apology from Prime Minister and Home Secretary

Following reports over the weekend of a violent knife attack at a law firm in September, and following her letter to the Prime Minister regarding his recent anti-lawyer comments, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, which represent all barristers in England and Wales, said:

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09 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Chair of the Bar Council writes to the Prime Minister after recent comments attacking lawyers

Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, urges the Prime Minister to withdraw recent comments and to reassure thousands of key workers – including lawyers employed by your own Government - that they are not being attacked for their important contribution to the justice system.

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08 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Latest court backlog figures: "depressing" for the British public and crime victims, says Bar Council

Responding to new government figures out today, which show the latest number of cases in the criminal courts backlog are actually increasing in the Crown Court, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:

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06 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Bar Council: Prime Minister's comments are "shocking and troubling"

Responding to comments made about lawyers by the Prime Minister today in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, Chair of the Bar Council, Amanda Pinto QC, said:

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05 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Bar Council reaction to Home Secretary's asylum speech

Responding to the Home Secretary’s speech Fixing our broken asylum system which was delivered at the Conservative Party conference at the weekend, Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:

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02 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Government paying junior barristers less than national minimum wage

Bar Council provides blueprint for justice system in Spending Review paper

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02 Oct 2020 Home affairs

Bar Council calls for commitment to zero tolerance on discrimination

New race-focused guidance launched in Black History Month

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23 Sep 2020 Home affairs

Bar Council’s annual conference enters new virtual reality

The line-up and programme for the Bar Council’s Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2020 has just been announced, entitled ‘Forward thinking: Bar of the Future’.

Covid-19 is creating new challenges for social mobility at the Bar

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15 Sep 2020 Coronavirus

Covid-19 is creating new challenges for social mobility at the Bar

This week, the Bar Council launch a new group of #IAmTheBar advocates and a Leadership Programme, to bring together work across the profession to shape the Bar of the future.