Legal aid is 70

Both Buckland and Solicitor General Michael Ellis were sworn in to office at a ceremony in the Royal Courts of Justice. Geoffrey Cox QC continues as Attorney General.

By coincidence, the ceremony took place 70 years to the day since Clement Attlee’s Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949, which introduced legal aid, received Royal Assent.

Law Centres Network head of policy Nimrod Ben-Cnaan said: ‘On its 70th anniversary, civil legal aid is plagued by narrow scope, regional “deserts” and underfunding, while need grows. Too often it lets down those it is meant to help, and a shrinking provider base casts doubts about its future. This vital system needs bolstering and, as a former legal aid lawyer, Buckland has the insight required.’