One of Britain’s most senior judges has launched a withering attack on cuts to legal aid after a couple with learning disabilities was not provided with a lawyer to fight the forced adoption of their two-year-old son. Sir James Munby, the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, released a damning judgment castigating the “state” for trying to remove a child from the couple while simultaneously failing to provide them with adequate representation. He said it was “unthinkable” that the parents should have to face the local authority’s application without proper representation after they were denied legal aid because the father earned £34.64 too much. In his conclusion, Sir James said the proceedings brought by Swindon Borough Council were a breach of the couple’s human rights. “Thus far the state has simply washed its hands of the problem,” he said.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 22:59:17 +0000