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A Lib Dem MP who publicly defended Tory tribunal fees when she was in government now says they were terrible all along.

Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems' deputy leader, was an employment minister in the Coalition, which brought in the £1,200 barrier to justice.

She joined unions' celebrations today when the Supreme Court ruled the fees were unlawful, saying the government should be "ashamed" and people should get a refund.

But when in government with the Tories herself, Ms Swinson defended the fees instead of resigning - which under the Westminster system would be the only other option.

Ministers are expected to defend policies they disagree with under the notion of 'collective responsibility', otherwise quit or be sacked.

In one 2013 exchange in Parliament, she batted aside fears the fees would stop justice for new mums who'd suffered maternity discrimination, claiming they should "see the whole picture".

(Image: AFP)

She said "most women" wouldn't need a tribunal anyway because "the vast majority of cases can be dealt with well outside the tribunal system."

In a second House of Commons exchange, she was asked directly if government plans would "reduce access to justice".

She replied there was "genuine concern" about fees, but MPs should remember there was also a "remission regime" - and added some cases were "vexatious and abusive".

In a separate press release, also in 2013, she said legal tribunals should "always be the last resort".

Challenged on her past statements by BBC Radio 4, Ms Swinson insisted the vast majority of reforms were right - but there had to be "compromises".

She said: "The fees that were part of this were... part of the Ministry of Justice and I fought against this in the Coalition.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

"It was a decision that was made before I was a minister in 2011 and I became a minister in 2012.

"It became so clear this was problematic for justice and the Ministry of Justice, ironically, seemed to be nothing short of obstructive and refused to see the issues it had created.

"Employment rights were, as you can imagine, an area of great tension within the coalition and of course compromises were made."

Ms Swinson insisted she "fought against" the fees "and just hit a brick wall from justice ministers. I even raised it in Cabinet."

On Twitter she added later: "It was hugely frustrating not to make progress on this battle - but I did on many others which is what made me hope."

The ultimate architect of the changes was Tory Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - eight of whose schemes have now fallen apart.