Meanwhile, the sense of crisis at the criminal Bar cannot be exaggerated. Chris Grayling, the first Lord Chancellor who isn’t a lawyer, is now intent upon slashing advocates’ legal-aid fees still further, by up to 30 per cent. It’s not a question of cutting food for fat cats; some experienced barristers can no longer support their families, and many juniors — saddled with debt and struggling on salaries too small to live on — are leaving the profession. The Criminal Bar Association’s website describes it as “this time of unparalleled challenge to our survival”. The Bar will become a hobby for those with private incomes. High-street solicitors and barristers will go out of business; we are heading towards a criminal-justice system run on the lines of a fast-food franchise.