Liz Truss orders review to stop domestic abusers cross-examining victims, lawyers still not happy

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By Katie King on

Damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t?

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Justice Secretary Liz Truss has ordered a review which could bring an end to alleged domestic violence perpetrators directly cross-examining their victims in family law courts. This would bring these cases in line with criminal ones where the practice has been banned.

A welcome step, you might think, but pantomime villain Truss has come under criticism for it.

Though legal commentators were shocked to learn violent and abusive men are allowed to cross-examine their exes in family law hearings, the Ministry of Justice’s plans to ban this practice haven’t been met with quite as much enthusiasm.

Take criminal law specialist Mark George QC, who — reacting to today’s news — had this to say:

Then there was Steve Hynes, director of the Legal Action Group, who thinks a “wider review” is needed:

Others said the Justice Secretary should not be “shocked” domestic abusers take advantage of legal aid cuts, while another questioned whether this would mean some men would be banned from questioning partners’ testimony.

In her short time as Lord Chancellor, Truss has managed to make a name for herself as, well, pretty cringey.

When her Cabinet position was confirmed, a video of Truss getting passionate about cheese began to do the rounds. Since then the Twitterati couldn’t help but facepalm after she told MPs barking dogs help deter drones from prisons. This week, the MP for South West Norfolk was voted “The Cabinet Clown 2016” in a Twitter poll run by former prisoner and academic Alex Cavendish.

Since it’s New Year’s resolution time, will 2017 spell the end of ‘moron Truss’?

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