Richard Benyon, Member of Parliament for Newbury, has described the decision by the Ministry of Justice to consult on the closure of Newbury Magistrates’ Court as a “blow for local justice”.
Richard said: “I believe that the court service has run down the use of Newbury Court to claim that the level of usage warrants its closure. Decades ago, justice was delivered in Lambourn, Hungerford and Newbury, now victims face travelling to Reading to give evidence”.
He continued: “I have already held discussions with the Chief Executive of West Berkshire Council to see if their video link could be used by the court service and I will be making representations to the consultation to keep the court open”.
Richard has previously fought a successful campaign to stop the closure of the court in 2010.