Defenders' independence at risk, top panel claimsSalaried Service: 'possibility of conflicts of interest'The suggested model for the Salaried Defence Service (SDS) could lead to a lack of independence which will be exacerbated if the service is underfunded, a leading think-tank has concluded.

Responding to a consultation on establishing the SDS, the Lord Chancellor's Legal Services Consultative Panel said the 'critical' issue of the SDS's independence from its own paymaster, the Legal Services Commission (LSC), could be problematic if the service were required to report to the LSC on both professional and managerial matters.

'The direct employment and management of salaried lawyers by their sole funder, the LSC, carries with it a greater possibility of conflicts of interest and the funding priorities of the Commission being translated directly into the working practices of the SDS,' the report found.

The 'workloads, salary levels and structures, as well as high professional standards' would also require attention if the 'systemic problems' of the Crown Prosecution Service are to be avoided, the panel said.Malcolm Fowler, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law committee, said any 'tokenism' in the way the SDS was set up would be challenged both under the Human Rights Act 1998.

Sue Allen