Barristers strike is a worrying sign for our democracy - The Yorkshire Post says

Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) had already been walking out on alternate weeks but an indefinite, uninterrupted strike will start on September 5.

It is a further sign of discontentment across the country in a wide range of industries at pay and working conditions.

However, the justice system was already playing catch up following the pandemic with a backlog of mounting cases. Strike action will do little to alleviate this strain.

According to Ministry of Justice figures, more than 6,000 court hearings have been disrupted as a result of the dispute over conditions and Government-set fees for legal aid work.

What that will mean is that the plight of victims awaiting justice will be prolonged. On the other side the accused are also left in limbo. The strikes compromise a defining principle of our democracy.

Criminal barristers are due to receive a 15 per cent fee rise from the end of September, meaning they will earn £7,000 more per year but the proposed pay rise will not be made effective immediately.

It will also only apply to new cases, not those already sitting in the backlog waiting to be dealt with.

The strikes coupled with closures of magistrates courts up and down the country and cuts to police numbers in recent years are alarming signs for the whole country - and should be a cause for concern for the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab.

Mr Raab, who has not met with the CBA since industrial action began, must come around the table and start negotiating to ensure that the justice system that underpins our democracy doesn’t continue to suffer disruption.