Lawyers condemn Cameron over legal aid
Plans to ban immigrants from legal aid in civil cases have been condemned by the Law Society.
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked the Department for Justice to devise a "residency test".
"We can no longer grant legal aid to non-UK nationals or for civil cases, people who are facing housing cases or benefit cases," he said.
"We need a proper residency test for those cases and we're going to consult on introducing one.
"That is just one element of a huge range of measures to make sure that people who do come here are coming here because there is a particular job of work they want to do - rather than coming here because they want to use the health service or get a council house."
Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said:
“Access to justice is a vital right for everyone, no matter what their origin.
“The Government has already, from 1st April, removed the right of everyone, British-born and immigrant alike, to get legal-aid advice on their entitlement to welfare benefits unless there is an appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law.
“It would be astonishing if the savings from this proposed further change amount to more than a few tens of thousands of pounds. It certainly will not save millions.”
