Raab pay deal for solicitors unlawful, court finds

Judges say the former Justice Secretary Dominic Raab broke the law in the way he increased defence solicitors' pay by less than he had been advised to.

In a partial victory for the profession, the High Court said the former deputy prime minister had acted irrationally.

The Law Society had argued that Mr Raab had unlawfully ignored an expert recommendation.

The Ministry of Justice said it would "consider the judgement carefully".

"While the claimants were successful on specific narrow grounds, the majority of their arguments were rejected by the court," a spokesperson said.

Solicitors said the cash is essential to protecting criminal justice.

The judgment does not formally reverse the government's pay settlement of 11% - but it places huge pressure on Mr Raab's successor Alex Chalk to rethink how much solicitors are paid in the legal aid system.

Legal Aid pays for lawyers in England and Wales to represent suspects and defendants who cannot afford to pay for the advice themselves.

It is a key part of the criminal justice system because it saves court time and generally makes sure that most suspects who should plead guilty to a crime do so.

According to the Law Society, which is the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, 1,400 duty solicitors have quit since 2017 over long-frozen legal aid rates.

That in turn, it says, is leading to "deserts" in some parts of the country.

2022 pay award

In 2022, the government awarded solicitors 11% - but that fell short of an independent recommendation that pay should be increased by a "bare minimum" of 15%.

In a highly detailed and technical judgment, Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Jay said Mr Raab had acted irrationally in failing to ask whether giving solicitors less would still meet the independent review's objectives.

Secondly, he had not met his legal duty to ensure there had been a proper investigation of all the evidence.

The judges said they had received a huge amount of evidence from defence solicitors - material the government had described as "anecdotal".

"That [description] understates its value," ruled the judges. "The court is being confronted by a mass of convergent evidence from honest, professional people.

"What this impressive body of evidence brings home is the women and men working up and down the country, at all hours of the day and night, in difficult and stressful circumstances, carrying out an essential service which depends to a large extent on their goodwill and sense of public duty."

The judgment does not overturn the legal aid pay settlement, but Nick Emmerson, president of the Law Society, called on the government to act on it.

"We are delighted the High Court has recognised that then Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab's decision was irrational," he said.

"We may have won the court battle but it's the public who will lose out in custody suites and courtrooms across the country unless the government takes immediate action to stop the exodus of duty solicitors from the profession.

"This situation will only get worse, with potentially dangerous consequences for society."