Last Wednesday was another nail in the coffin of legal aid, when any resistance to signing the new criminal contract disintegrated.


The majority of firms in Manchester had no desire to sign up to a contract where it is unlikely we will be able to remain profitable, and that could only result in huge losses, cuts in service, cuts in staff and cuts in quality.



However, we felt very isolated despite firms in all the other urban areas voicing the same concerns as ourselves, but unable to take collective action because of the government's anti-competition laws.



We have lost a significant opportunity to stand up to a government that has treated us with contempt, refusing to negotiate and cancelling meetings at the last minute for political reasons.



We are fighting with both hands tied behind our backs against the Legal Services Commission, which has no understanding of the legal aid market or the needs of business and in which the profession has lost all confidence.



We must ensure that, next time, we are better prepared to try and safeguard whatever remains of the hard-working, caring network of criminal defence lawyers or the state will be able to further suppress the weak and vulnerable in our society.



Franklin Sinclair, Tuckers, Manchester