Ministers face legal battle with criminal solicitors over legal aid | Legal aid
Ministers could face a legal battle over their refusal to increase legal aid rates for criminal defense solicitors in England and Wales by the minimum recommended in an independent review.The Law Society, the professional body for solicitors, claims there has been an “unlawful and irrational” failure to implement the 15% minimum increase recommended by Christopher Bellamy as necessary to sustain the future of the criminal justice system.It has issued legal proceedings after it put the government on notice through a pre-action letter sent to the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, in January, warning that it would go to the high court if he did not rethink the decision.Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society, said it had been left with “no choice” but to take legal action after Raab, who also…