THE “destruction” of the criminal justice system must be treated as a “national emergency,” striking criminal barristers said today.

Hundreds of lawyers walked out across England and Wales in a dispute over legal aid funding, amid anger at the government’s 15 per cent pay offer, which the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said would not take effect until late 2023.

By then, the uplift will have been cancelled out by rising inflation and failed to prevent an exodus of junior barristers, who are paid just £12,200 a year after expenses — less than minimum wage — the association said.