[14] On the day of the book's publication it was commended in the House of Commons by the shadow Leader of the House, Valerie Vaz: "I suggest that the Leader of the House and all members of the Government read the book by "The Secret Barrister", who states: 'Walk into any court in the land, speak to any lawyer, ask any judge and you will be treated to uniform complaints of court deadlines being repeatedly missed, cases arriving underprepared, evidence lost, disclosures of evidence not being made, victims made to feel marginalised and millions of pounds of public money wasted'".
Writing in The Observer, Alexander Larman called the book "terrifying and occasionally hilarious", an eye-opening if depressing account of the practice of law today.
According to the author, "the courts in England and Wales have been brought to their knees by government cuts and left so plagued by daily errors they are no longer fit for purpose".
[22] For The Times, Imran Mahmood called the book both a lament and a celebration, carrying a message that is delivered with great skill.
Fluently and engagingly written by an anonymous junior criminal barrister, according to Bates, the book tells of underfunded, dilapidated buildings, ever-lengthening trial delays and miscarriages of justice.
Bates noted that "in a staggering 87 per cent of cases" audit trails show the disclosure of evidence to defence lawyers from the police or by the hassled, overworked and understaffed Crown Prosecution Service to be unsatisfactory.
[25] In Criminal Law and Justice Weekly (CL&J), Jon Robins wrote that the book "shines an unflinching light on the nightmare of our courts", with chronic underfunding, staggering inefficiency and deathly managerialism being endemic within the system.
He noted that austerity has hit the criminal justice system hard, and quoted the book's author as making it evident how dangerous a place the courts have become should you have the misfortune to end up there.
The book's author, she wrote, sets out with clarity and eloquence in a dozen angry, passionate and frustrated chapters a damning verdict on a system "close to breaking point", and "lays bare the result of the wrong-headed, short-sighted, politically expedient and dishonest drive to prosecute and defend on the cheap".
[4] Theo Barclay set out for readers of The Daily Telegraph the author's principal allegation: "that successive governments have neglected and wilfully abused what was the jewel in the crown of the British constitution.
He noted that "Day-in, day-out, the innocent are punished and the guilty walk free because the system is underfunded, neglected, and failing those for whom it was designed to work".
[26] In the New Law Journal, Chris Dale wrote that the book would "make you hate politicians", pointing out that the conditions described are the result of decisions which "are the product of more than just budget-cutting; ideology and ignorance play their part, along with a cynical calculation about who votes for what".