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The Law Show

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Conversation about the laws making headlines, and the laws that shape everyday life.

The Law Show is your guide to the law and the legal decisions that have a bearing on everyone in the UK.

Weekly conversation that will give you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it's unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.

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The Law Show: Interview with Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP

Interview with Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP

26/10/2010

BBC Radio 4 - The Law Show, Interview with Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP

Joshua Rozenberg questions Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke about the government's plans.

Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP, the new Justice Secretary, is interviewed in front of an audience at Gray's Inn by presenter Joshua Rozenberg.

Presenter Joshua Rozenberg interviews Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke MP in front of an audience at Gray's Inn about the government's plans for the legal system of England and Wales.

The Ministry of Justice is expected to make cuts of around 23% in the next four years. It plans to do this by reducing the number of prison places by 3000; closing the posts of thousands of probation staff; cutting the £2 billion legal aid budget by £350 million; and shutting over 150 courts. 

The Justice Secretary has said that he wants to see mentally ill and drug addicted offenders diverted away from prison and for more use to be made of community sentences. But if unemployment goes up, so too might crime. How will a less generously resourced criminal justice system cope in the event of such a rise? 

Producer: Simon Coates.

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