Letter: Paying the bill for justice

Paying the bill for justice

Sir: According to the Lord Chancellor, higher court fees don't deter litigants any more than increases in excise duty stop people buying cars (" `Fat cat' lawyers face censure", 15 July). However, the only people who buy cars are those who have cash or credit - everybody else does without. Many people deserve redress but can't get legal aid and can't stump up the fees.

Lord Irvine is right to be concerned about "the price at which lawyers value their own services", but this is a separate issue. Making litigants pay most of the costs of running the courts is like making only sick people pay for the NHS.

SUZON FORSCEY-MOORE

Organiser

The Campaign for a Fair Hearing

Cambridge