This book is astonishing. I am now completely terrified of having any involvement in our criminal justice system as it currently stands. The author argues convincingly that our (England+Wales’) two-tiered court system and adversarial trial setup should result in the utmost justice for both defendants and complainants, but severe underfunding over the last two decades has turned it into a farce.

I am not a big lefty, politically I’m much more inclined to a small state, but I truly believe that a reliable justice system should be the cornerstone of any government. There is a limp handshake in this social contract, and my eyes are now acutely open to it.