A leading barrister has called for a halt to magistrates? court closures, saying economies would be better made by returning the courts to magistrates? control. In a pamphlet, The Cost to Justice , published by think tank Politeia, Stanley Brodie QC said the programme to cut 142 courts undermines the government?s Big Society agenda and commitment to localism. He told a meeting that the Ministry of Justice could save ?1.5bn by reverting to the situation before 2005, when magistrates? courts were placed under central government control. read more