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Before the general election in 2005 the Labour Party held a fringe meeting at its Annual Conference in Brighton. The subject was 'legal aid' and it was presented to an audience of about 50 by David Lock who was then No.2 in the old Justice or Lord Chancellor's Dept.
There were solicitors and at least one District Judge present with a mixture of para-legals. We were there to hear what the Labour Government had to say on the future of legal aid. The system then had been under annual attack from the Labour Government.
Lock perhaps did not know his audience and stood in front of us and said, with a grin on his face "Well, of course, all Labour M.Ps hate lawyers." Perhaps he thought such an inane comment would be well received. I have always wished with hindsight I had walked out but I was taken aback by the ignorance underlying that statement. I realised there was no future for that area of work and my Firm soon after withdrew after providing legal aid services for more than 20 years. So, labour definitely set the ball rolling to destroy a great public service and to vindictively undermine the legal profession. Successive governments having to make public expenditure savings have continued the trend with a vengeance.