02/06/10

By Andrew Holt

Charities including Amnesty International, Liberty, and Barnado's have joined faith leaders, legal and human rights experts in an appeal to save Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) from closure.

In an open letter to the Justice and Home Secretaries, they have warned that thousands of vulnerable people will be left without legal help unless RMJ is paid promptly for the legal work it has done.

The open letter states:

Dear Justice and Home Secretaries,

Over many years, Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) has provided essential legal advice and representation to 110,000 asylum seekers and victims of trafficking, including many children. Many of the charity's clients have been deprived of their freedom in this country through detention or wrongful imprisonment, and without RMJ's help they would have faced torture or death if forced to go home.

Sadly, we have become aware that this pioneering charity is at risk of closure simply because of delays in legal aid payments for work already done. It would be a tragedy if RMJ were allowed to go under because of bureaucratic rules. No charity can be expected to wait six months or more for the money it is owed, and no private sector organisation will be able to replace RMJ's longstanding commitment to those with the greatest needs.

If RMJ has to close, 10,000 individuals will immediately be left without a lawyer. The Government has said it wants to speed up asylum decisions, but closing RMJ would be a huge backward step.

Many asylum seekers will be unable to access good quality legal support, or any support at all. Lives will be put at risk and there are likely to be many more miscarriages of justice - which are already common in our asylum system. This would also add to the UK Border Agency's enormous backlog, as the cases of existing clients would have to be suspended while new lawyers are found.

RMJ is not asking for more money, just what it is owed. The Government's decision to review legal aid is the perfect opportunity to cut out inefficiency so that good quality providers like RMJ can be saved.

Yours sincerely,

Lord Avebury, House of Lords

Keith Best, director of Medical Foundation

Julie Bishop, chief executive of the Law Centres Federation

Donna Covey, chief executive of Refugee Council

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind

Guy Goodwin-Gill, fellow All Souls, Oxford

David Harker, chief executive of Citizens Advice Bureaux

Baroness Howe, House of Lords

Professor Francesca Klug, London School of Economics

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnado's

Professor Sir Nigel Rodley

Jan Shaw, Amnesty International UK Refugee Programme Director

The Earl of Sandwich, House of Lords

Roger Smith, director of Justice

Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Maurice Wren, director, Asylum Aid

In a separate statement, Roland Schilling, the UK representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), said: "The UN Refugee Agency has raised its deep concern to the Government if legal aid to the persons in need of protection is not anymore provided by specialised and highly professional organisations like RMJ.

"A discontinuation of these services would severely damage the effectiveness and fairness of the asylum system in the country."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, also noted: "RMJ does an invaluable job in helping those who come to our country in search of succour. In the UK, asylum seekers can be indefinitely detained with limited access to legal advice and support. As some of the most vulnerable members of our society, justice can often be hard to find - the loss of this vital organisation can only make things worse. "

Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, commented: "It is already very hard for asylum seekers to find a good legal representative because of poor legal aid funding. We are terrified about what will happen if RMJ is forced to close. We fear that RMJ's former clients may fall prey to poor quality legal representatives or be left without representation at all."

RMJ's cash crisis has been caused by the fact that a growing proportion of its legal aid work is now only paid upon completion - leaving it with a lack of funds. The problem has not been caused by spending cuts, but changes made to legal aid payments by the previous Government.

Under these changes, payment for most legal work is being made once decisions are made on legal cases by the Home Office or Tribunals, resulting in a delay of up to two years before costs are reimbursed.

The crisis comes as the new coalition government has committed to speeding up the asylum system and reviewing the legal aid system.

Caroline Slocock, chief executive of RMJ, said: "RMJ is not asking for new money, simply prompt payment of legal aid by the Legal Services Commission, or failing that, interest free loans by the Government to cover the gap. We know times are hard but it doesn't make sense to drive charities out of business.

"Money could be found through the Government's promised review of legal aid which could reduce waste - for example, paying the same fee for a piece of short advice that does not resolve the case as for the intensive - and expensive - work needed to finish the job. That would free up resources to pay good quality providers like RMJ fairly and promptly."