We have been repeatedly talking about areas of law where you cannot get Legal Aid any more. It was something of a shock earlier this year to discover through the Police Action Lawyers Group that the Legal Aid Agency were arguing that Legal Aid was not available to take action for wrongful arrest unless you could prove that the officer had deliberately misused their power.

I have been conducting cases against the police for more than twenty years and in that time I have seen lots of cases where people have been wrongly detained – some because of the police officer’s wilful misconduct but not that many.

It was therefore a relief yesterday when we heard that the High Court don’t agree with the Legal Aid Agency. You can read more about this here.

The judge told the woman in question that she should have Legal Aid to pursue her case and, reading between the lines it seems, he was not that impressed by the way in which the Legal Aid Agency was attempting to prevent her.

When the Legal Aid Agency became a part of the Ministry of Justice many of us were worried that they would no longer make decisions which were free from political influence. When we read of cases such as this our worries were confirmed, but we are given hope by the independence of the judges dealing with such matters.

As we approach the eight hundredth anniversary of Magna Carta we must hold our liberty dear. No one should be deprived of it without having access to the law to seek redress if it is wrongly removed.

Thanks to Mr Justice Dingemas, Sunita Sisangia will get Legal Aid to fight her case.

Our Actions Against the Police team are able to assist and apply for Legal Aid which is still available in such cases. Please click here for a call back or message us your enquiry.