The criminal bar is staging the first full week of court walkouts over legal aid funding as barristers prepare to argue their case directly with MPs. 

As parliament prepares to go into summer recess, a delegation of barristers will meet MPs and parliamentarians at the Palace of Westminster this morning.

Members from all circuits will proceed to the central lobby this afternoon and ask to see their MP.

If MPs are unavailable, the Criminal Bar Association says barristers are entitled leave a ‘green card’, which obliges the MP to contact them as soon as possible to discuss their concerns about the crisis in the criminal courts.

Government data published last week shows the criminal bar’s strike action biting hard. The proportion of disrupted hearings jumped significantly during the first week of escalated action, when barristers staged a two-day walkout.

Court walkouts have escalated by one day each week since the start of the protest.