Being reminded of the battle over criminal legal aid in the last decade or more in Ch 6 of @BarristerSecret's book #FakeLaw was a tough read, not least cos it was a battle we should have won. We had Grayling in a corner and @TheCriminalBar fought valiantly...

Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the rest of the QCs who make up the Bar leadership and we got sold out. We are still paying for that defeat today. But even that was eclipsed by the appalling suffering caused by the savage cuts to legal aid in LASPO 2012.

In 1979, 79% of people were entitled to civil legal aid. By 2009 it was just 29%. Whole areas of law like, employment, welfare benefits and family law was removed from scope [p.195] leaving the public to work it out for themselves.

There's no point having legal rights if you can't enforce them by accessing the courts seeking redress. Not a single rich person was affected. Instead the victims of these cuts were the most vulnerable members of society as part of the cruel austerity programme.

When legal aid was introduced in 1949 the idea was that rather like protecting your health, access to justice shouldn't depend on your bank balance. It was meant to ensure all of us could enforce our rights. Instead, aided by a willing press successive govts have robbed us blind.

That's why @BarristerSecret's latest book is so important. Find out how this all happened but be prepared to get angry and upset.