Morecambe man accused of sexually grooming young girl has case adjourned due to barristers’ strike

A Lancashire man charged with sexually grooming a young girl had his case adjourned due to barristers’ strike disruption.
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Michael Whitaker, 33, is also charged with possessing over 10,000 pornographic pictures of children and distributing them to paedophiles.

Whitaker, of Albert Road, Morecambe is further charged with sexually touching a young girl and possessing extreme pornography.

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He did not enter a plea after appearing at Blackpool Magistrates Court on July 14 and was subsequently remanded in custody.

Preston Crown Court (Credit: Ian Taylor)Preston Crown Court (Credit: Ian Taylor)
Preston Crown Court (Credit: Ian Taylor)

Whitaker appeared at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday (August 17) for his first hearing but the case was adjourned due to industrial action.

He did not enter any pleas and was remanded in custody.

A new trial date of January 10, 2023 was set.

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Why are criminal barristers going on strike?

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) action is part of a dispute over conditions and Government-set fees for legal aid advocacy work.

Criminal barristers are due to receive a 15% fee rise from the end of September, meaning they will earn £7,000 more per year.

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But there has been anger that the proposed pay rise will not be made effective immediately and will only apply to new cases, not those already sitting in the backlog waiting to be dealt with by courts.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) previously said the strike was “forcing victims to wait for justice, despite a generous £7,000 pay rise for the typical criminal barrister” and urged barristers to “put victims first”.

The Government department claimed it had “repeatedly explained” to the CBA that backdating pay would require a “fundamental change” in how fees are paid, adding: “That reform would cost a disproportionate amount of taxpayers’ money and would take longer to implement, meaning barristers would have to wait longer for payment.”

The CBA is carrying out strikes on alternate weeks, with no end date, with the action to remain under review and subject to the Government’s response.