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Kia, barristers on legal aid very rarely get to charge 'hourly' rates. We earn fixed fees for appearances.

Placing the emphasis on litigants where liberty is at stake is incredibly dangerous, just look at our own history of miscarriages of justice perpetrated and exacerbated by the police, the crown prosecution service and our own judiciary.

If there is no someone on the side of the defendant, those miscarriages will happen more often and go undiscovered for longer.

I understand that many in the public feel that barristers are all earning a jolly little packet, living on manor estates in the country and laughing at the taxpayer. That is just simply not the case for those on legal aid. At the junior end, and we are talking up to 5 years in the job, it is not even a living wage.

I doubt I can change your mind, but you should look at the facts of the situation and see the reality of the criminal justice system in crisis and the ONLY people that will pay the price for that are the wrongly accused and victims.