Dr. Don Thornhill:

It should be a matter of a complaint to the authority once it is operational. What the Chairman has said is interesting. Undoubtedly, there are practical barriers to entry to a satisfying professional career as a barrister. I have had personal experience of benefiting from it.

I had several colleagues who had studied at the Bar when I was a civil servant. Their period of study at the Bar certainly helped them to become remarkably effective civil servants and make great contributions, not just to the drafting of legislation but also to the implementation of policy. I can think of a number of cases when I was saved from rash acts by a colleague who had legal training.