Naomi Long

Speaking in the Assembly, Naomi Long said that the uplift would apply to civil, family and criminal legal aid fees and would be backdated to 1 December 2024, which she said was the date she decided to increase fees.

Retired judge Tom Burgess had recommended an interim uplift of 16 per cent in criminal legal aid fees, to be introduced “as soon as possible”, in a report commissioned by the Department and presented to Mrs Long in August 2024.

An unexplained months-long delay in the publication of the Burgess report led the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) to begin industrial action in November 2024.

This subsequently escalated into an all-out withdrawal of services in the Crown Court for the duration of January and February 2025, which has since been scaled back.

In her statement yesterday, Mrs Long accused the CBA of making “ever changing and often unrealistic” demands and doing “serious damage” to the justice system.

She went on to threaten the introduction of “alternative models for delivery of services currently providing by the criminal Bar”, saying that criminal barristers could not be allowed to prevent cases from going ahead.

“That is not a step I want to take, nor is it one I undertake lightly, but it is difficult at this juncture to see another way,” she said, adding that this measure “may impact on capacity to deliver other reform”.

The CBA has not yet responded to yesterday’s statement, but has previously criticised the Department for failing to “engage meaningfully” during its industrial action.

The all-out boycott of legally-aided Crown Court cases was not extended past the end of February.

However, CBA members are continuing to refuse to accept instructions in Category A cases, which include trials for murder and serious sexual offences, as well as retrials and multi-complainant Category D cases.