The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) plans a clampdown on solicitors who cause delays by not responding to its queries, its new chairman said this week.

Barrister Professor Graham Zellick, who has replaced the retiring Sir Frederick Crawford, said failure to co-operate with the CCRC's case review process amounted to professional misconduct and would be treated accordingly.

Delays are caused by former solicitors of defendants whose cases are under review, he claimed.

He said: 'Delays by solicitors and counsel are enough to cause frustration here and cause real delays to people who may be innocent and should not be in prison.

'We find it very dispiriting when counsel don't answer our letters and firms of solicitors give us their lowest priority.

At our end, we will do everything we can to speed up the process - but not at the expense of less thorough reviews.

We will be much more vigorous in future in pursuing delays [by lawyers].'

Prof Zellick said he hoped to meet the Law Society and Bar Council to create a formal protocol for dealing with obstructive lawyers.

He hopes to agree a series of steps to be taken against practitioners, which is likely to result in misconduct for the lawyer reported.

Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said: 'If there is a perception by the CCRC that there is a problem, then this is something we need to work together to cure - I would certainly be interested in hearing the evidence.

'Perhaps the CCRC has a high expectation that former solicitors [who are no longer acting for the defendant] will perform tasks and do work which is quite unrewarded.

That means it is not going to go to the top of their list of priorities.'

Graham White, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law communities, said delays should be highlighted, but they probably involved a minority of solicitors.

There is no need for sanctions beyond the usual ones for delays, he added.

Rachel Rothwell