Cuts to free legal services 'leave asylum seekers at risk'

A group of lawyers has penned a letter which claims that cuts to free legal services will leave asylum seekers at risk.

The letter, which was written to the Times, was signed by almost 430 barristers.

It said that advice services for immigrants, such as the Immigration Advisory Service and Refugee and Migrant Justice, were being closed due to insufficient funding and that the government should reconsider its plans.

"Legal aid deserts are forming in areas of the UK ... An immigrant living in Ipswich must now travel some 45 miles to Cambridge to find the nearest legal aid solicitor qualified to assist her – a hurdle that may prove intractable for a destitute non-English speaker," the letter said.

The barristers who signed the letter also said that the situation could worsen as proposals within the Legal Aid Bill aim to take free legal advice away from non-asylum immigration cases.

In June, 200 people in Coventry joined together to march through the city centre in protest at the government's cuts to free legal advice, the Coventry Telegraph reported.

Published by Hannah Carr