Mackay demands 'legal system for all'

The UK legal system is not reserved for British subjects alone and legal aid should be available to people of all nationalities, the Lord Chancellor says. Speaking at a meeting of the London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association last week, Lord Mackay said: "Anybody who has a dispute which the courts have jurisdiction to hear is entitled to be heard. Whether in criminal or civil cases the interests of justice do not end at national boundaries. My present view is that it would not be right to restrict legal aid on the basis of nationality."