Head of Trinity's Criminal group and former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Caroline Goodwin Q.C. was interviewed by Ciaran Jenkins on this evening's Channel 4 News supporting today's industrial action.
In response to the question of what it would take to end the protests, Caroline Goodwin Q.C. stated,
"...what we need is a properly resourced Criminal Justice System and what I want out of this and what many senior members of the profession want is a profession that is going to last and is going to be a profession that attracts junior talent..."
Defending the continued action following a proposed pay increase of 15% from September 2022, Caroline Goodwin Q.C. pointed out that this would only apply to new certificates, highlighting,
"...there's a criminal backlog of 58,000 cases and all of those cases are going to be paid at the old rates. Now, given that backlog and the time it takes for trials to come to Court...it is going to be a long time before members of the Bar see anything like near an opportunity to be paid fairly and properly for the work they do."
The interview follows a day of action across several Crown Courts, as well as the Central Criminal Court in London, the Old Bailey, and the publication of a letter signed by 70 leading criminal barristers to The Times in response to the Lord Chief Justice's suggestion of disciplinary sanctions against members of the Criminal Bar taking industrial action.
The full interview can be found here.