Emergency meeting aims to prevent strike

Executive to discuss legal aid payments with Society in bid to stop sex offender boycott

News, 14 June 2006

The Scottish Executive will be holding emergency talks with the Law Society of Scotland tomorrow in a bid to settle the ongoing legal aid dispute.

Glasgow, Edinburgh and Hamilton Bar Associations had voted to boycott sex offender cases because of delays in introducing new block payments for legal aid. Lawyers have been told that the new fees will not be introduced until April 2007, 18 months later than promised.

An interim pay rise of 8% for court work and 5% for other work was dismissed as unsatisfactory.

Sex offender cases have been targeted because those accused of such crimes cannot cross-examine witnesses in court, so without a defence solicitor, trials cannot go ahead.

Last night, the chairman of the Aberdeen Bar Association, James Steel, confirmed it had agreed to back Edinburgh and Glasgow Bar Associations. It is thought that about three-quarters of the 1,500 defence lawyers registered to take on legal aid work are signed up to the strike.

Vincent McGovern of the Hamilton Bar Association said a 50% rise would be required to restore the value of legal aid to its 1992 level. He added that solicitors had never before been so united on a single issue.

A spokeswoman for the Law Society of Scotland said: "We hope that tomorrow's meeting will lead to meaningful debate and lead to real progress on the legal aid issues that have come to the fore in recent weeks.

"The Society is acting on the motion from the special general meeting and is aware of the increasing numbers of the profession supporting the Glasgow Bar Association's proposed strike action."