I sit at my desk reading the latest Gazette with my blood pressure at boiling point due to the article about the former aviation director suggesting the legal profession does more to help self-represented people.

Well here is a novel idea for him: pay for legal advice. I do not buy a plane and then go to Manchester Airport to walk around the departures lounge asking for tips from pilots on how to fly the plane. Successive governments have slashed the legal aid budget, making it less available to those who need it most. But it is not for this profession to do pro bono work in place of legal aid.

Peter Elliott should take his argument straight to the government. When we do so, we are accused of being ‘fat cat’ legal aid lawyers with no sympathy from the public.

James M Bagby, Russell & Russell, Chester