A Labour councillor has criticised Prime Minister David Cameron’s attitude to people coming into the UK and outlined the serious problems faced by the UK’s voluntary legal sector.
On the decision to cut to legal aid for migrants in 2013, Ian Rathbone, councillor for Lea Bridge, told the Hackney Post: “People simply do not realise how racist this government is. Well some of them probably do, and they probably like it.”
Hackney Community Law Centre, an organisation that offers free professional legal advice, says it is in crisis.
“The centre is now relying on charity and Hackney Council to cover its immigration cases, and it only has enough resources to fund one caseworker. This severely hinders its ability to help these people fight deportation,” Mr Rathbone said.
Miranda Grell, the development officer at Hackney Community Law Centre, told Hackney Post: “Everything is now being dealt with in a crisis mode, rather than through a planned process.”
“Cases that need not ever see the inside of a court are not being nipped in the bud early.
“Debt, benefits, employment, in all these areas it is no longer possible to claim legal aid. It has just been wiped out,” she said.
Both said failures in other London boroughs make their job even harder.
Ms Grell highlighted the lack of legal aid in Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, while Mr Rathbone suggested the London-wide problem was party political.
“We are finding that we are getting people from other boroughs where they are getting cold shouldered,” Mr Rathbone said.
“I’m not saying which party controls these boroughs, but it’s pretty easy to see what’s going on,” he added.
(This story was corrected on 8 December 2015)
Royal Courts of Justice, image: Anthony M. (flickr)
