Managing Director and Advocate at SL5 Legal, Andrew Sperling, has again written to the Lord Chancellor Rt Hon Robert Buckland on behalf of The Legal Aid Practitioners Group, alongside Rikki Garg representing The Association of Prison Lawyers. Click here to read the letter.
In his letter, the Lord Chancellor promised to facilitate communications between prisoners and their legal representatives during the pandemic via video-links and telephone conferences. While we recognise the amazing efforts of staff at some prisons to make this happen, server problems are still preventing access to justice in the majority of HMP establishments. The Ministry of Justice must act now to ensure prisoners have reasonable access to confidential legal advice.