Victims’ commissioner quits with damning letter to government

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has quit her post with a damning letter warning that the “criminal justice system is in chaos”. In a letter to the new justice secretary Brandon Lewis, Dame Vera accused the government of “downgrading of victims’ interests”, “side-lining” her office and reducing access to ministers. The victims’ commissioner said the situation was “part and parcel of the gross underfunding of the criminal justice system that has been ongoing for a long time” and called for the government to urgently resolve a dispute over legal aid payments with the Criminal Bar Association. As a result, the recruitment process is set to be relaunched.” open image in gallery Dame Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has refused to extend her tenure and re-apply for the post No further details of why the timing was not “appropriate” was not given, but public records suggest that the process stopped during the breakdown of Boris Johnson’s government.