The Dowlers used no win no fee to gain multi-million hacking settlement
from News of the World

The parents of Milly Dowler have warned that people of 'ordinary means' will no longer be able to defend themselves in court as a result of the Government's plans to reform no win, no fee agreements.

The Dowlers, who used the no win, no fee system to obtain a multi-million pound settlement over the hacking of the murdered schoolgirl's phone, were among signatories of a letter published in the Guardian criticising the reforms.

Christopher Jefferies, the former landlord of Joanna Yeates who was defamed by a number of tabloid newspapers during her murder inquiry, also signed the letter, released today as the Government's Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is debated in the Commons.

Bob and Sally Dowler are against the Government's plans to reform no win, no fee agreements

The letter says: 'We are all ordinary citizens who found ourselves in a position of needing to obtain justice by taking or defending civil claims against powerful corporations or wealthy individuals.

'We would not have been in a position to do this without recourse to a 'no win, no fee' agreement with a lawyer willing to represent us on that basis. As was made clear to each of us at the beginning of our cases, we were liable for tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds if we lost.

'Without access to a conditional fee agreement (CFA), which protected us from this risk, we would not have been able even to embark on the legal journey.'

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke is planning to reform the no win no fee legal scheme amid fears of a compensation culture.

Under the current system, claimants are not obliged to pay anything if they lose a case, providing no incentive not to sue and giving people a perverse incentive to ramp up their claims, the Ministry of Justice has said.

However, under the new proposals the winning claimant's fees will be paid from the pot of damages they receive, not by the defendant

Robert Murat, the original suspect in the case of missing Madeleine McCann, is another who is against the reforms

It is hoped the move will give claimants a more vested interest in what they pay their lawyers and reduce costs in the system.

Legal aid to victims of domestic violence will also be cut as part of the changes, with people only qualifying for assistance if they have reported the abuse to police.

Labour MP Helen Goodman yesterday told the Commons that tens of thousands of women will 'suffer in silence' as a result, claiming that in most cases, victims only alert the authorities after 20 episodes of violence in the home.

The letter, co-ordinated by media campaign Hacked Off, is also signed by Robert Murat, who sued British media organisations for libel in the wake of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Mary-Ellen Field, Zoe Margolis, Nigel Short and Hardeep Singh. All have used CFAs to seek justice in the courts.

The letter goes on to say: 'We would like to voice our dismay at the CFA reform proposals in the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill, which effectively remove the opportunity of people of ordinary means to seek redress when they have been libelled or intruded upon, or where they need to defend a libel claim. We do not believe this is fair or just.

'While there is a case for amending the way they function in practice, the current drafting of the bill will deny access to justice to people like us in the future.

'Tom Brake MP has tabled an amendment this week which would exclude privacy and defamation cases from the proposed CFA reforms with no extra cost to the public purse, and we call upon MPs to support that amendment and for the Government to discuss with those of us who have been through this experience how access to justice can be preserved for those who come after us.'