Ethics

Telegraph: From Sir Cyril Smith's obit:

In 1985 [Smith] was instrumental in making a small dent in one of the biggest closed shops of all, the Bar. A group of Labour MPs had brought a libel action against him, claiming he had accused them of treachery during the Falklands war. Smith decided to apologise, but discovered he would have to pay a barrister £150 to read his statement to the High Court rather than employ a solicitor at a fraction of the cost. He took the issue to the Court of Appeal, which conceded that the rights of audience rules could be changed by the judges in a particular case.