WE have said before howout of touch the legal establishment has become with the rights of victims and with the costs to society of their expensive deliberations.

Judges, barristers and solicitors are an élite closed shop.

Many have got to the top by hard work and great talent. But somewhere along the way in some cases humanity has dropped off in the pursuit of wealth.

The case of Levi Bellfield sickened us. Defence barrister Jeffrey Samuel subjected Milly’s family to the most intrusive questioning, backed by the judge.

An already grieving family were publicly humiliated in a tactical battle to shift the blame from the legally-aided monster who murdered their daughter.

Now former DPP Lord Ken Macdonald, QC, says the questioning was justified, adding to the feeling that The Bar is closing ranks around its own.

MPs should start pushing the legal establishment to display more humanity to crime victims.

We don’t want judges to be manacled, but some of them need to be told that the spirit of the law is as important in most cases as the letter of the law.

Innocent witnesses being torn apart on the stand does not serve the interests of justice.