Why does Roger Smith assume that ‘most readers will never have been on a demonstration’.

I, and most of my colleagues who work in publicly funded legal work, have been on countless demonstrations, relating to many different civil liberties issues over the years, and many of us were motivated to work in these areas as an extension of a desire to fight for and protect those rights.

Lawyers who work for organisations such as Justice are not the only ones who care about the erosion of civil liberties in this country.

Bridget Irving, solicitor-advocate, London