A senior barrister in Yorkshire said he hopes the all-out strike in his profession will compel the Government to reform the legal aid system “before it’s too late”.

Christopher Moran said criminal barristers will continue to “leave the profession in droves”, unless the Government takes urgent action, as their incomes have fallen by around 30 per cent over the last two decades due to cuts to legal aid funding.

Mr Moran, who works for Park Square Barristers also warned it will exacerbate the backlog of outstanding court cases, which has reached a record high of almost 60,000.

Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) are currently striking on alternate weeks as part of the dispute over pay. They will begin an indefinite strike from Monday, September 5.

The Criminal Bar Association is demanding a 25 per cent rise in pay for legal aid work, where barristers represent defendants who cannot afford lawyers

The CBA is demanding a 25 per cent rise in pay for legal aid work, where barristers represent defendants who cannot afford lawyers. Members have already rejected the Government’s offer of a 15 per cent increase, saying it would not kick in immediately or apply to existing cases.

Mr Moran, who has been practising for 15 years, said the hourly earnings of criminal barristers who take on legal aid cases are often below the minimum wage.

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He said: “They can earn considerably less than £15,000 a year after expenses are taken into account before tax. And that’s after many years of studying, after obtaining a law degree and after the training to become a barrister.”

Mr Moran said there has been a “haemorrhaging of talent” in recent years and this has had a “major impact” on the justice system, as there is a shortage of experienced barristers to prosecute and defend complex cases.

The CBA said 22 per cent of junior criminal barristers have left since 2016.

“We’ve let this happen over so many years and now we’ve got to the point where if we don’t do something about it now, the position will be unsustainable,” said Mr Moran.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said the “needless and indefensible” strike will cause “untold anguish” to the victims of crime.

He wrote in The Daily Mail: “We are increasing your pay. Now your actions are only harming victims, increasing the court backlog, and hampering our efforts to make our streets safer.

“The criminal justice system deserves better.”

Mr Moran accepted it will cause severe disruption, but said the system is “at breaking point” and it needs to be fixed now.

“Even if we don’t go on strike, people will still be waiting an extraordinary amount of time for their trials because of a lack of barristers, or lack of court centres and a lack of funding,” he said.

Barrister striking over pay dispute says legal system is 'at breaking point'