Clause 58
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
3:15 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I do not want to repeat everything that has been said adequately and fully by the hon. Members for Enfield, Southgate and for Broxbourne, but I wish to express sympathy with their views. I see the provision not as a trade union or closed shop matter, but as something that affects the interests of justice in our courts system.
It is important that we ensure that all sides of a case—both the prosecution and the defence—are properly represented in court. There is at least a suspicion—I would say a real doubt—about whether that can be the case if relatively unqualified people represent the prosecution in an opposed case. Completely different questions apply in an uncontested case, but in a contested case it is innately wrong that we should put ourselves in such a position simply out of economic expediency, which can be the only argument in favour of the measure.