LAWYERS called on Chris Grayling to resign yesterday after appeal judges declared the Justice Secretary’s callous bid to cut legal aid for immigration cases unlawful.

Lord Chancellor Mr Grayling’s attempt to overturn a previous High Court ruling that the proposed policies were “unlawful and too restrictive” was rejected at the Court of Appeal.

Award-winning lawyer Raj Chada told the Star: “Grayling is now a serial offender in getting it wrong — he needs to resign.”

Mr Chada, a Hodge Jones & Allen partner who has worked extensively on human rights cases, added that the Lord Chancellor “gets it wrong so often because he doesn’t appear to believe in the rule of law or that you should be allowed to challenge government decisions.

“This is an ideological purge against legal aid.”

The original case concerned the refusal of financial support to cover the legal costs of foreign citizens threatened with deportation.

High Court judge Mr Justice Collins said in June: “I have decided that the guidance in certain respects is indeed unlawful in that it is too restrictive and in other respects not in accordance with the law.”

Government cuts to the legal aid bill — under section 10 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Lapso) — planned to reduce it to a mere £350 million a year by 2015.

The reform officially came into force on April 1 this year but has been challenged ever since.

Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers secretary Sam Parham said: “Grayling cannot expect the courts to roll over and allow the very vulnerable to be denied their basic rights.

“He must learn to realise that our justice system doesn’t properly function without a properly funded legal aid scheme that ensures access to justice for all.”

The Garden Court Chambers barrister added that yesterday’s decision should ensure “that the poor have the same rights as the wealthy.”

Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter pilloried the government’s justice record.

He said: “Just when you thought the mess caused by the government’s legal aid changes couldn’t get any worse, new depths are plumbed.

“The government’s legal aid cuts were rushed through and Labour, alongside most of the legal profession, warned that this would raise substantial barriers to access to justice.

“(Prime Minister) David Cameron should listen and fix the mess that he has created.”

The Ministry of Justice said it would “carefully consider our next steps.”

A spokesman added: “We continue to believe that the exceptional funding scheme is functioning as intended.

“Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system but resources are not limitless and must be properly targeted at the cases that need it most.”