PEOPLE will be denied access to local justice if a huge-shake up of legal aid goes ahead, Bolton solicitors have warned.

Lawyers Mike Garstang and Darin Millar have now joined a national campaign — Save UK Justice — amid fears law firms representing people in police stations and courts face the axe, if the changes go ahead.

And they stress that the changes will not just impact on the poorest people and will also affect wealthier defendants.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill became law last year and came into force in spring.

Consultation has taken place about how law firms can bid for contracts.

Mr Garstang, of Garstangs Burrows Bussin, in Bradshawgate, said: “These new plans would effectively remove genuine access to justice.”

“Defending the criminal defence system is not a vote-winner with the general public. This is not the Middle East where confessions are beaten out of people. There are numerous examples where ordinary citizens with no previous convictions can get into difficult situations.

“For example, a man might attend a party, drink alcohol, get involved in a relationship with a women and later be accused of rape.

“These type of cases cover people from all backgrounds, rich and poor. Or a business person might be accused of assault after an argument with a taxi driver, which presents a serious risk to their professional reputation.”

The potential impact on local law firms is another worry.

Mr Millar, of Cyril Morris Arkwright (CMA) Solicitors, in Churchgate, said: “I employ 35 staff of which 18 are qualified solicitors. Seven are full-time criminal defence lawyers covering Bolton Central Police Station, magistrates’ court and crown court.

“If the firm lost out on these future contracts, there would be six redundancies and I’d have to work very hard not to be chucked out too. We’d probably lose three support staff too. It would have an enormous impact on our business while we could see a few large, national firms being awarded contracts.”

The two solicitors said the changes will also affect innocent defendants’ ability to recover legal costs after success in a court case, which they describe as a “tax on innocence”.

Mr Garstang said 83 per cent of its turnover is linked to criminal law, which includes some highly specialist areas.

He added: “If these proposals went ahead, we would lose all 17 of our criminal law solicitors plus backroom staff. If just a few big national firms were used, there would be a lot of potential conflicts of interest. In larger fraud, money laundering, drug importing or murder cases, there can be 12 defendents in the dock, each needing to be represented by a differerent law firm.”

Consultation is under way now before the proposed bidding process starts.

Mr Millar added: “The government has no clear idea of how work would be divided between successful firms after bidding. Suggestions have included allocating clients based on their surname or the day of the month they were born, or by using a duty rota.

“How would 38 firms cover a monthly rota, where there can be 28 or 31 days? One proposal is for firm’s to be given a one-in-37 day contract to cover eight Greater Manchester courts and 32 police stations. We’ve got seven staff so how could we cover a massive workload like that? The staff would then have to sit on their hands for the next 36 days.

“It’s utter nonsense.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "At £2 billion a year we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world and must ensure we get best value for every penny of taxpayers' money spent.

"We have just finished consulting on a number of proposals and are now carefully examining all the responses.

"Quality, professional lawyers will still be available to anyone needing advice or charged with a crime - just as they are now.

"The justice secretary has been very clear this is a genuine consultation and we are listening to views.

"We are expecting a short period of further consultation on certain changes to the current proposals, for example how to add client choice."