Report comment

Dear Peter Piper.

I'll declare my position first of all - I'm an NRPSI interpreter and I have refused to sign up with Capita TI (and also turned down all direct offers of interpreting assignments from any police force or court that is part of the system that uses Capita). That's four years in the case of the Police in my region and two and a half years of surviving without what used to be the mainstay of my living. Ninety percent of what I did disappeared between August 2010 and January 2012 in two huge chunks - Police first and then courts.

Have you considered that you don't actually know the parents concerned in this case and whether they have learned some English since they came to the UK.

If it is the case, the English spoken by some migrants to this country may be strong enough to just get by, simply due to someone's lack of aptitude for picking up a language fluently. Some others may learn very good levels of English but not be very confident in legal proceedings. I don't really think that is something anyone should be criticised for.

Others - using Portuguese and Spanish speakers as what I base my comments on - work in jobs or are parents and despite best efforts, not everyone has time, when working long hours, to dedicate themselves to learning fluent English.

Many Portuguese, for instance, work in agriculture and factories where their co-workers are compatriots (although many don't) and so they almost live in a bubble of work/eat/sleep/etc/etc/etc - how do you expect these people to learn English to a standard where they understand court proceedings?

On the other hand, I've been the interpreter in the case of some highly educated people who do speak good English. They still want an interpreter so they don't misconstrue anything.

If I was in court in Brazil, I'd definitely want one - and I hold my interpreting qualification in the English Law category.

I hope that sheds light on why the whole "They should speak English and we'd save money on interpreters" is a defunct and unworkable position.

Regarding the judge, I imagine most judges are quite aware of what is going on but I'm also informed that it is highly unusual for a judge to make such coruscating criticism publicly.

I am sure Mr Munby has been quite aware and the fact such a senior judge is speaking out is yet another huge blow for this disgraceful contract. It is a good thing this judge has made his feelings public, he should not be criticised for it.

The contract is utterly unsalvageable and which should have been put to sleep humanely within the first 12 months, rather than remaining toothless and ineffective close to its 30th month in existence.

As regards Shailesh Vara: another flimsy busted flush excuse for a minister whose letters must come from some sort of random MOJ nonsense generator, either that or Grayling himself is writing them all and Vara just signs them. He also has a negative side.