Government proposals to slash legal aid have passed through the Commons, amid suggestions the legislation will wipe out specialist lawyers. The bill will now move to the Lords, following a heated debate during which opposition MPs also rejected the suggestion that lawyers are only interested in self-preservation. Labour MP Valerie Vaz, who worked as a solicitor for more than 20 years in private practice and the public sector, said: ?I am concerned by the removal of welfare benefit, education and debt recovery cases from the scope of legal aid. read more