Hundreds of lawyers and National Probation Service staff protested outside the Ministry of Justice against the UK government's cuts to legal aid and the privatisation of offender rehabilitation services.

The combined demonstration, which was part of a 48 hour strike, saw the groups march from the Houses of Parliament to the Ministry of Justice with signs reading "Probation Not For Sale" and "Save UK Justice" as well as an effigy of the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling.

The action took place as the MoJ plans to cut £215m from the £2bn annual cost of legal aid in England and Wales.

The Ministry has argued that the country's £2bn legal aid budget makes it "one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world," and now wants to privatise the majority of the probation service and hand it over to private companies who have a financial incentive to reduce re-offending. But probation officers at the protest do not think it will work.

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