The government minister in charge of the courts in England and Wales has accused barristers of “holding justice to ransom” after they voted to stage an all-out strike next month.
On Monday the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which has been staging periodic strikes since June, announced its members had voted to withdraw their labour altogether from Sept. 5, which threatens to derail hundreds of trials up and down the country.
Criminal barristers have been promised a 15 percent rise in their fees from the end of September but the rise will only apply to new cases and not ongoing legal work, much of which has been delayed by the pandemic….