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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
George Lithgow

MPs issue legal aid warning as restrictions create ‘unacceptably high’ risk of wrongful convictions

Chair of the Justice Committee Andy Slaughter - (Victoria Jones/PA)

MPs have warned that tough access to legal aid is creating an "unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice", with as many as half of defendants facing prison in magistrates’ court cases forced to appear without legal representation.

The Justice Committee found the financial eligibility threshold for criminal legal aid in the magistrates’ court to be "shockingly low".

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