• Home
• Order now
• Prices
• How we help
• Press
• Law marking
• Contact us
• Resources
• Log in

Independent
15 October 2000

 

Labour holds back law students, Cherie told

By Robert Verkaik, Legal Affairs Correspondent

 

Cherie Booth QC was told by the leader of her profession yesterday that her husband was stopping poor students from becoming barristers. Johnathan Hirst QC, chairman of the Bar, told the Prime Minister's wife it was a problem caused as a "direct result of deliberate government policy".

Earlier this year, Mr Hirst had been angered by a speech by Ms Booth, a prominent employment barrister, criticising the Bar and the judiciary for not helping poorer students and encouraging more ethnic minority lawyers to promotion.

She had told American lawyers in London that unless more was done to help underprivileged students, the British Bar would be dominated by white middle-class males.

Mr Hirst agreed this was now the experience of many students from poorer backgrounds entering the Bar.

But he added at the Annual Conference of the Bar: "The Prime Minister's wife has done much to highlight this issue. Though let's be clear - and Cherie Booth please note - it is the result of deliberate government policy to cut grants and force students to borrow."

He did say the Bar had become "more representative of society as a whole" in the past few years. "The picture of a profession drawn from the upper middle classes was never an accurate one," he added.

He referred to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, Ms Booth's former pupil-master, as someone who had not been born "a grandee with a silver spoon in his mouth".

The Lib-Dem leader, Charles Kennedy, said unless the Government did more to ensure "as many people as possible from all backgrounds" were given the opportunity, the profession would suffer and remain "the preserve of white, middle-class, privately educated middle-class men."

Mr Hirst defended the 26-strong élite group of millionaire barristers, often depicted as fat cats. He said that 26 had joined what he described as "the so-called million-a-year-club" but his only complaint was that he was not one of them.

He also compared other professions, including prostitution, which he called the oldest, adding: "There were always going to be a few high-earners."

Tweet

Do you need to translate this page?

To translate this page into another language, please select the correct language from the box below.

LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC HELP? We can help you in many law areas!

Did you know that we also provide a service that can help you in other law areas such as:

• GCSE Law Coursework
• A Level Law Coursework
• Law Essay Writing
• BVC/BPTC Writing
• LLM Writing
• LPC letter drafting
• Opinion Writing
• English Legal System
• And much more!

Want to see what our customers say about us? Click here to watch our video.

Want to become a writer for Law Teacher and earn up to £4,000 per month? Click here now!

Secure your law degree, order your custom law essay right now!

Order Now. It takes less than 2 minutes.

1. * Name   
2. * Email   
3. * Phone   

1. * Your essay question 
   (please give as much detail as possible)  

Copyright © 2012 All Answers Ltd. All Answers Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with Company Registration No: 4964706 VAT Registration No: 842417633 - Law Teacher - The law essay professionals