Legal professionals must not be targeted for doing their job, says expert
THE government’s recent anti-lawyer rhetoric is not new. It has used this in the past, unfairly describing lawyers as “lefty” and “activist.”
This loose language is damaging to the vast majority of lawyers who work hard to uphold the rule of law and act in the best interests of their clients.
??@guardian creates a timeline of the Tory govt's attacks on immigration lawyers and mentions our two joint statements with the @thebarcouncil calling on the govt to stop its targeted campaign.
See the timeline here ? https://t.co/RGGhXfeKcH pic.twitter.com/5IGzzytsmH
— The Law Society (@TheLawSociety) August 18, 2023
The Law Society recognises there is a genuine problem in relation to a very small number of lawyers potentially acting dishonestly. We fully support all action taken against them by the government and the regulators. It is quite right that they should be dealt with robustly and appropriately.
However, it is wrong to conflate their potential misconduct with the work of the vast majority of lawyers, whose job is to hold the government to account when challenging its decisions.
Last week the government attempted to get its plans back on track to stop Channel crossings.
??“The Bibby Stockholm episode is one example of how the govt is failing to address concerns with the asylum system.”
??President @lubnashuja writes in @AsianTimeOnline about the impact of the #Backlog in processing asylum claims.https://t.co/aC1OAPCbSq pic.twitter.com/lqo3raM8uJ
— The Law Society (@TheLawSociety) August 18, 2023
This included the opening of the highly controversial Bibby Stockholm barge, which can accommodate 500 people as they wait for their asylum claims to be processed.
Asylum seekers have already spoken to the media about their experience, with one person telling the BBC: “Many of us entered Britain nine to 11 months ago, by airplane. Some of us applied for asylum at the airport. We did not come by boat.”
Of the immigration lawyers working in the UK, Suella Braverman chose a Black woman to throw to the right wing media wolves. Because she attempted to weaponise anti-Blackness as she is disgusting pic.twitter.com/6WdQSyr7qO
— ?????? m a r c u s (@marcusxdusty) August 14, 2023
The Bibby Stockholm episode is one example of how the government is trying, but failing, to address concerns with the asylum system. What it needs to do is fix the UK’s immigration issues wholesale.
[…]
