LETTER : Justice is a right, not a commodity

From Mr Dave Morris

Sir: Regarding the issue of increasing numbers of people denied legal aid and the difficulties faced by litigants-in-person, as well as the problem of access to legal advice, there's the problem of a sheer lack of money and resources that working-class people face when they act for themselves in a case ("How to tell it to the judge", 23 August).

When you consider that we're currently having to raise pounds 350 per day just to buy copies of the daily official transcripts of the McLibel trial hearings, on top of all the other basic expenses, it's no wonder that people are cynical about the courts dispensing "the best justice that money can buy".

I send my solidarity to all those who, whether for personal or political reasons, have decided to stick up for themselves despite all the hardships and difficulties. After all, justice is not a commodity to be bought but a right to be fought for.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Morris

London, N1

23 August

The writer is a defendant in the "McLibel" trial, in which he is being sued by McDonald's for distributing a leaflet critical of the fast-food chain.