THIS month marks the 70th anniversary of the Legal Aid & Assistance Act 1949, introduced by the Labour Party, which set up the legal aid system in Britain. Legal aid may be three score years and ten but it would not be in the interests of the public for it to fly away. Legal aid workers continue to struggle to provide legal aid following the devastating cuts imposed by the coalition government in 2012. Fortunately Labour plans a golden age of law centres and restoration of vital legal aid services.

The Justice Alliance, set up in defence of legal aid, has marked the anniversary by publishing Legal Aid Matters. 70 contributors, including legal aid lawyers and individuals receiving legal aid, celebrate 70 cases in which legal aid made a difference. I write about the case of R v Limbuela ex parte Secretary of State for the Home Department.

In 2002, Blair’s Labour government had passed legislation which deprived asylum-seekers without children of any support whatsoever if the Home Office decided that they had not claimed asylum “as soon as reasonably practicable” after their arrival in Britain. As a result, asylum-seekers had no accommodation and no money. Some of them slept on the streets and begged. Some received a small amount of support and overnight accommodation from overstretched charities.