Ministers would be foolish to ignore legal aid warning

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 1st May 2007

Responding to today's [Tuesday] Constitutional Affairs Select Committee's report into the Government's legal aid proposals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Constitutional Affairs Secretary, Simon Hughes MP said:

"Today's report is the bluntest of warnings about the folly of the Government's legal aid plans.

"When a cross-party committee says that access to advice and justice could be irreversibly damaged and calls for a fundamental rethink of the proposed legal aid changes then ministers would be foolish or careless not to stop for a rethink.

"The Select Committee is the latest and most influential of voices joining the chorus of alarm and criticism of the Government.

"We must all hope that the impending new Ministry of Justice, with or without different ministers at the helm, will take a decision to completely halt and review the present harmful plans."