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England cricket legend takes to Twitter to ask how lawyers can defend terrorists — barrister responds and gets blocked

Michael Vaughan poses a clichéd question that lawyers are really tired of hearing

An England cricket legend has blocked a prominent blogging barrister on Twitter after he tried to explain why a lawyer would defend a terrorist.

Just days after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned how lawyers can defend those responsible for such atrocities. Addressing his 920,000 followers, the former batting-supremo — who retired in 2009 — tweeted:

Responding to Vaughan’s tweet, the Secret Barrister — who is an anonymous junior barrister specialising in criminal law — provided a link to a blog post that addresses Vaughan’s query.

Paragraphs nine and ten of the the helpful blog explain how barristers can defend an individual who is charged with a particularly grotesque crime, such as terrorism.

The unnamed barrister explains that in the interests of “fairness” someone accused of such a crime should receive “suitably qualified” representation, especially when he or she is up against a “state agency with an annual budget of £600 million”.

James Turner QC, a criminal barrister at 1 King’s Bench Walk, also responded to Vaughan’s tweet, questioning the cricketer’s thought process.

Despite being provided with the answer, Vaughan continued to question how lawyers can defend individuals accused of terrorism.

Having “politely” responded to Vaughan’s question, the Secret Barrister then discovered he had been blocked by Vaughan.

That’s just not cricket.

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