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| Move to halt fraud trial overturned | Move to halt fraud trial overturned |
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| A decision to halt a multimillion-pound fraud trial because of a lack of legal aid barristers has been overturned by the Court of Appeal. | A decision to halt a multimillion-pound fraud trial because of a lack of legal aid barristers has been overturned by the Court of Appeal. |
| Three judges quashed a ruling made after the prime minister's brother, Alex Cameron QC, argued the defendants would not get a fair trial due to cuts. | |
| Many barristers in England and Wales are refusing to take on complex cases because of 30% cuts to their fees. | |
| Mr Cameron said the five defendants would not be sufficiently represented. | |
| In May at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Anthony Leonard had stopped the prosecution of the men accused of a massive land-related scam after hearing that no senior barristers would take on the case. | |
| The decision to halt that trial had implications for similar major prosecutions - but the Court of Appeal said on Wednesday that the judge had acted incorrectly. | |
| In its judgement, the court said that the correct course of action should have been to postpone the trial while further searches for suitable barristers continued. |