ALLISTER HITS OUT AT BREXIT CAMPAIGNER COST OF HIGH COURT ACTION QUESTIONED
JUSTICE officials are facing questions over the level of public money awarded for court challenges taken by a high-profile victims’ campaigner.
TUV leader Jim Allister has written to the Department of Justice (DoJ) asking how much legal aid has been granted for proceedings brought by Raymond McCord.
Earlier this week, Mr McCord launched the latest in a series of publicly-funded legal proceedings at the High Court.
He is seeking an urgent injunction aimed at forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to change his advice to the Queen to prorogue the House of Commons.
His lawyers claim it is an unlawful attempt to stop MPs from debating a potential no-deal Brexit.
At yesterday’s hearing, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan adjourned proceedings until next week.
It was heard that no-deal would plunge Northern Ireland into turmoil after counsel for Mr McCord claimed the region would suffer the most from the UK quitting the EU without an agreement.
The campaigner is also taking judicial review proceedings against the Government to prevent a no-deal Brexit, having previously sought to judicially review the Government’s move towards leaving the EU.
In a letter to the DoJ’s permanent secretary Peter May, Mr Allister asked for a list of all the occasions Mr McCord has been granted civil legal aid, the subject matter of each proceeding and the amount of legal aid spent on each venture.
The North Antrim MLA believes each court bid may have cost the public “tens of thousands” of pounds.
“All of what he has been doing as a serial litigant, is on the back of public expenditure as it’s all legally aided,” he said.
“That means you and I pay for it and to me it seems a total abuse of legal aid and I think civil legal aid needs to get a grip of itself. I have many constituents who have genuine civil cases that need to be brought and they can’t get support for them, but Mr McCord seems to be able to squander public money left, right and centre on all of these normally groundless applications that he brings.”
Under legal aid, the Government pays the cost of lawyers for those who cannot afford legal representation. It has long been a source of controversy because of the huge sums handed out.
Legal aid in Northern Ireland currently costs more than £63.5m a year — of that around £38.2m is spent on civil cases.
Mr Allister added that there must be a limit to the amount of legal aid that can be granted to an applicant.
“If Mr McCord wants to litigate to the cows come home let him do it, but let him do it out of his own pocket,” he continued.
In response, Mr McCord, whose son Raymond Jr was murdered by loyalist paramiliin 1997, said that instead of questioning the DoJ over his legal aid applications, Mr Allister should be helping to find out why no-one was ever arrested for his son’s death.
He said he has never questioned the amount of legal aid Mr Allister received while “representing criminals” in his role as a barrister.
“If a person does get legal aid in this country, no matter who it is, legal aid is based on the merits of the case,” said Mr McCord.
“What I am doing in court is not just for the benefit of Raymond McCord.
“I have four grandchildren, I have been fighting for over 20 years to get justice for my son and there hasn’t even been an inquest.”
In a separate case, Mr McCord is mounting a wider legal challenge against any withdrawal from the EU without a deal, which he claims would breach the Good Friday Agreement.