In an embarrassing setback for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in its long running dispute over legal aid with the Bar, a Crown court judge today (1 January) halted a costly publicly funded serious fraud trial after the defendants failed to find representation.
His Honour Judge Leonard QC, sitting in Southwark Crown Court, found that while the case was ready for trial and the court had set aside the necessary time to hear the case, ‘none of the five defendants can receive a fair trial unrepresented. It follows that none of the five defendants can be tried now.’
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