New bid to cut down long trials

The Lord Chancellor today unveiled reforms to end long-running and expensive criminal trials.

The reforms are aimed at stopping trials such as the £60 million Jubilee line fraud case which collapsed after 21 months. The legal aid bill for the trial topped £13 million.

Lord Falconer believes the legal aid bills for such protracted trials are swallowing funds intended for the less well-off involved in family or money disputes. He said: "The days of the 18-month trial are over."

Juries could not remember evidence over such a long period and cases should last "a few months at the very most".

He added: "We can all think of cases where disproportionate amounts of money have been spent on unsatisfactory outcomes." Under the changes, judges will be encouraged to manage cases more tightly. A specified time for the trial could be set with lawyers paid only for that agreed period - even if the case goes on longer.

Lord Falconer said the legal aid bill had risen from £1.5 billion to £2.1 billion a year since Labour came to power in 1997. But spending on civil and family legal aid had fallen by 22 per cent.

He said: "There are too many areas where people don't get the advice and representation they need at an early enough stage. For me it is an absolute priority to make legal aid work for fairer outcomes.

"We need the legal aid system to be encouraging fair but more expeditious resolution of legal cases. This is about value for money but it's also about reducing the pressure on the victim, the witnesses and the defendant."