Mayday! Mayday! Justice is losing a leg to save the body

As the news broke in robing rooms up and down the land, the tired old dispirited bedraggled
army looked up from their wilting tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches (a bargain at £2.80 in the Eurest canteen) and asked: “Could it be true?”

Had it come to pass that suddenly, after years of battle and barrages of emails, something mighty had emerged from the fog. “Yes, it is true!” they cried
aloud. A case collapsed because there nobody was there to represent the defendants. VHCCs, as they currently stand, have begun to die, mortally wounded.

Stunned barristers descended from the barricades, removed their wigs and wiped the grime of battle from their eyes. The wounded looked up and gave weak but happy thumbs up signs. he tannoys still roared out instructions but in the din was a sense of calm: a battle won, a point made, a reality hit home. The brave little band of brothers and sisters had stuck it out,
seen it through, defended an important part of this England and Wales.

Toasts with brimming paper cups of tea (only £2.90 in the Eurest canteen) slopped down tattered waistcoats and tired
but still trim-cut jackets. And there were quiet moments of reflection for the fallen: those who had gone off to the CPS on the promise of a pension and paid holiday and, er, pay.

So, what now, following a day with a ring of sadness to it? A
trial will not now take place with all of the unfinished business that that entails. Money has been spent to no end. Difficult and
sad conversations will have taken place with clients and instructing solicitors. Court
time allocated has been lost.

It is staggering, actually, to think that in a country such as ours with such a fantastic, well-respected, incorrupt
and fair system of justice that
the government has so badly engineered things and misunderstood what it is tinkering with. How can a government remotely have thought it appropriate to cut fees after a contract had
been signed?

So, what will Mr Grayling and his advisers do now? Might they, for a moment, rue what appears to be being lost? Will they consider that maybe, just maybe, they have not got it right? That their figures, arguments and the prevailing consensus are wrong? Might they just see that they really are in the process of wrecking something precious?

As ever, time will tell. In reality, there are many more arguments to be had and proposals and solutions to be fought over. But it may well be the case
that when these days are
looked back on in years to
come, when social historians and legal commentators reflect on the system we have and
whether it is a good one and
how it can be made better, 1
May 2014 will have been a very significant day. SJ

Felix is the pen name of a barrister practising in London