Magistrates hit by biscuit cuts

The judge says he will be providing his own refreshments for his meeting

Cuts in Ministry of Justice spending have resulted in magistrates in at least one city going without tea and biscuits, a senior judge has said.

Mr Justice Saunders said finances were so stretched, he would be supplying the refreshments for a meeting he was holding at a court in Oxford.

He likened the situation to "taking food parcels to refugees" and said "We're all doing our bit."

The ministry is seeking to save more than £1bn over a three-year period.

A large proportion of the money will come from the courts budget in England and Wales.

The presiding judge on the South Eastern Circuit was speaking at the official opening of an £18m magistrates' court in Cambridge this week.

Mr Justice Saunders said there was no money in the budget any more to cover the cost of refreshments for the magistrates.

He told an audience of criminal justice staff, including judges and magistrates: "Things are not getting any easier; anything that can be cut back is being cut.

"We're all doing our bit to cut public expenditure."

A spokeswoman for HM Courts Service said Mr Justice Saunders was going to Oxford for a private meeting and so they would not comment.

A spokeswoman for the Judicial Communications Office also declined to comment.