Trolley rage becalmed by steering committee

Peace has been restored to the Royal Courts of Justice after a potentially nasty spat over the trolley handling skills of barristers' clerks was settled amicably.

The Court Service has been unhappy about the document trolleys used by clerks and the damage they have been doing to the historic woodwork and stone steps.

The service even threatened to blacklist chambers whose clerks handled their trolleys recklessly while cruising the corridors of justice. Just how such a blacklist would work was never made clear.

Fuel was added to the fire when reported but unattributed comments labelled the trolley totting barristers' clerks as "clumsy" and accused them of causing "extensive damage".

But a meeting was held between Institute of Barristers' Clerks chair Stephen Graham and the superintendent of the Royal Courts of Justice, Doug Noon.

Chambers have agreed to fit air-filled pneumatic tyres to their trolleys to protect the court's stone steps.

However, Graham is still not totally happy and accuses the Court Service of failing to introduce modern facilities - such as automatic doors - at the courts, which were opened in 1882.

"If these simple things haven't been done what hope is there of them providing new technology?" he said.