Burstow and Brake vow to fight for future of Magistrates' Court

11.10.59am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 11th Sep 2006

Left to right Tom Brake, Roger Duckworth (Deputy Chairman of Sutton Magistrates), Graham Reed (Chairman of Sutton Magistrates) and Paul Burstow outside Sutton Magistrates' Court in Shotfield, Wallington

Local MP Paul Burstow joined Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington last week in a meeting with Graham Reed and Roger Duckworth Chair and Deputy Chair of Sutton Magistrates Court.

The two MPs renewed their commitment to fight for the future of the court in the light of proposals to close a number of courts in the Greater London Area; Sutton's court is one of the courts under threat.

The closure of the court would place further strain on local police and would force those attending court to make the journey from Sutton to either Croydon or Bromley, where cases would be likely to be moved in the event of a closure.

Commenting after the meeting, Paul Burstow MP said:

"Tom and I offered our continued support to the local court and the need for local justice."

"It is unreasonable to expect people to have to travel all the way from Worcester Park to attend court. Its unfair on victims and their families and a waste of local police time."

Tom Brake MP said:

"The response to the petition on this issue has been outstanding - we have nearly 250 signatures already - this is clear evidence of the strength of local opposition to the closure of the court."