End Legal Aid for Non-Citizens
Report in the Scottish edition of the Daily Telegraph of 23-10-26 reports that no official body anywhere in Britain is keeping a record of the nationality or citizenship of those who apply for Legal Aid. In this article, Alistair McConnachie describes what needs to happen.
Many people will be amazed – but not really surprised – to learn that illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and people who are not British citizens, are all entitled to access free Legal Aid (paid for, of course, by the long-suffering British taxpayers).
For asylum seekers, this covers legal help with their initial asylum claims, and any pre-decision legal assistance. Especially, it covers their Appeals if the first decision fails. This Legal Aid – paid for by us – directly helps them to stay in the country!
WE ADVOCATE
1. Legal Aid should only be available for British Citizens, and the appropriate documentation should be required and recorded.
2. Legal Aid should not be available for any immigration-related case, whether legal, illegal, or asylum-related.
3. Illegal Immigrants and Asylum Seekers should only have access to legal representation via voluntary "charities" who want to help them, or lawyers who are prepared to work "pro bono". If they can't find anyone to represent them, then they can leave. Naturally, this will also have the added benefit of discouraging a lot of people from trying to claim asylum in the first place!
4. If they are granted official "refugee status" then it will be for the relevant "charity" or lawyer to seek recompense from the individual if they choose. If a publicly-funded lawyer had to be used for some reason, then it will be for the British Treasury to acquire the money back from the refugee.
5. Asylum "Appeals" should be strictly curtailed and no public money should be available for legal representation of the applicants.
The Daily Telegraph article, above, points out that the State is not keeping any record of the immigration or citizenship status of Legal Aid applicants.
It also notes: "Asylum seekers' eligibility for legal aid has enabled a huge rise in the number of appeals against adverse Home Office decisions. As of June, there were more than 90,000 outstanding immigration appeals for asylum – a near doubling in the past two years."
6. Legal non-citizens should simply NOT be able to acquire any Legal Aid, whether for civil or criminal cases. This is regardless of the fact that they might be in some kind of employment and paying taxes.
HISTORY OF LEGAL AID
Legal Aid was first introduced in England and Wales with the "Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949", and in Scotland with the "Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1949". Both Acts were given Royal Assent on 30 July 1949.
There was never any understanding, intention, nor expectation at the time, that this benefit would come to be heavily used by illegals, asylum seekers, refugees and even people who were not British Citizens!
Indeed, neither Act framed eligibility in terms of nationality or citizenship. Rather, they used the description "any person" (para 2.1 in both). They can be downloaded as PDFs at Legislation.gov.uk
As times changed, and as immigration became highly weaponised by its advocates, and as the subject became too controversial to touch – even by the sceptical – and as the publicly-funded Invasion Migration industry of lawyers, NGOs and "charities" solidified and grew in power, the useless British Establishment never saw fit to adjust the law to the changing circumstances.
This generous Legal Aid provision is yet another of the incentives which encourages and perpetuates the endless flow of mass immigration and asylum.
Defunding this entire Immigration and Asylum Sector of public funds is now a necessity!
While this won't happen tomorrow, the point is to start speaking about it today, in order to normalise what needs to be done in the future.
LEGAL AID is DEVOLVED but ULTIMATELY CONTROLLED by WESTMINSTER
The devolved parliaments have a degree of responsibility over Legal Aid payments but not ultimate control over the law on Legal Aid.
Ultimately, Legal Aid in Scotland is governed by the Westminster law, the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1986.
This established the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) to administer legal aid in Scotland. SLAB is overseen by a board of members appointed by Scottish Ministers at Holyrood.
The 1986 Act could be amended at Westminster in order to prohibit non-citizens from receiving Aid, and/or to prohibit its application in any immigration or asylum case, or an entirely new law could be established. SLAB would be required to follow that law.
It would be perfectly in order for Westminster to make such a law relating to this matter, especially considering that immigration, asylum and citizenship are all reserved.
This means that anyone elected to Holyrood can highlight this issue and get the ball rolling. Even if, initially, there was little chance of such a policy succeeding, it is, as we say, important to start talking about it, and start moving the conversation in our direction.
This is an example of how a local issue at the Holyrood level could be used to effect change at Westminster.
We examine this, and related matters, in chapter 13 of our definitive book "Protect our Country: Policies to Stop Mass Immigration" available on Amazon here or search Amazon for "Protect our Country".
Image by Grok.
For more articles on immigration see our Territorial Sovereignty: Article Index
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