Debate contribution: Criminal Bar Association: Withdrawal of Service
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 10 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Criminal Bar Association: Withdrawal of Service
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5224685
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her question. My officials were engaging intensively over the weekend to clarify the specific actions that the CBA membership plans to take with immediate effect this week. The Bar Council confirmed the definition and scope of the planned action late yesterday afternoon. Over the weekend, there was a lack of clarity on the matter within the criminal Bar and between the Bar and ourselves, which is incredibly concerning. I understand that a number of CBA members were planning to withdraw from all Crown Court cases from today, which only serves to demonstrate the vulnerability of those people who turn up at court and face the lottery of whether a barrister will take their case. The fact that such a course of action was even being considered is profoundly concerning. I had a positive meeting with both arms of the profession last week, which makes this all the more depressing. At that meeting, I reaffirmed my commitment to bringing forward enhanced legal aid fees and ongoing engagement. Officials in the Department and Judge Burgess have been working tirelessly to bring the previous partial withdrawal of services by the CBA to an end. Since the CBA clarified why it had engaged in a partial withdrawal of service, its conditions have, essentially, been met. I understand that, over the weekend, for the second time in three months, the entire executive committee of the CBA resigned. I am not going to get into the internal machinations of, or politics within, the criminal Bar. There are enough politics in this place to keep me fully occupied. I want to ensure that the criminal Bar continues to take instructions in complex cases and moves away from its current partial withdrawal of service. Crucially, I want to ensure that victims, particularly the most vulnerable victims, are able to access justice in a timely fashion. I am committed to doing that. I believe that the people with whom I spoke last week were genuine in their commitment to doing that, and I hope that we can proceed with that by the end of the month, as anticipated.
354 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.85).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.85 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.93 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.03 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.02 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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