Analysis and Comment
'If one can’t conceive the idea that one becomes a judge just because one can read law books and have a good sense of fairness, one shouldn’t be capable to believe that one can become a court interpreter just because one can speak more than one language and went on to attend one-day interpreting ‘non-accredited’ certification course.'
It is bad enough that an entire generation of talented public service interpreters has been forced out of the profession by the court service. It is bad enough that the police service is about to follow the court service’s lead. But for my colleagues & me to go down in Whitehall’s records as ‘SMEs’ - & all in the same breath as Capita-ALS - would be to add too much insult to injury
A man charged with perverting the course of justice is told he is a pervert. A passer-by, found by chance to speak Lithuanian, is brought in to court to act as an interpreter. And a pet rabbit is registered as a Czech interpreter.
Next time, when you get that desperate call asking you to hurtle across the country, you could name your price
