All that Clare Suttie says about the chaos and worse wished upon the criminal justice system by the Ministry of Justice’s incompetent and arrogant outsourcing of interpreter services is entirely correct. The disarray and potential for miscarriages of justice continue unabated, whatever the ministry’s protestations to the contrary.

It, after all, is relying entirely upon the reports of Capita. That company is beholden to its shareholders and the need to squeeze profits out of this deeply flawed model.

That said, the superficially attractive proposal of provision at local level through agencies would be a case of ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’, unless each agency could demonstrate its reliance on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters. Further, each agency would need to demonstrate that its terms of engagement and remuneration equated with those applicable under the earlier national agreement.

Otherwise it would be the abysmal status quo or worse, with the most appropriately qualified interpreters continuing to boycott a regime just as damaging to their individual reputations and professionalism as the current sorry state of affairs.

I have a good idea: why not return to the earlier tried and tested system of the police and the courts contacting direct by reference to the national register?

That is what they clamour for, even though their voices are yet to be heeded.

Malcolm Fowler, Dennings, Tipton

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