Lawyers have given a qualified welcome to a statutory instrument that gives the power to remove legal aid financial eligibility requirements for bereaved families in inquests where a death has been caused by the state.

The statutory instrument, which came into force this month, follows the Court of Appeal decision in Khan v Secretary of State for Health, which held that there should be public funding in such a case.

Mr Khan's solicitor, Paul Balen - a partner at Nottingham firm Freethcartwright who was highly praised by the appeal court for his efforts in this case - welcomed the move but said there is still work to be done.

He said that because the Legal Services Commission would only waive the statutory charge if the issue of liability had been decided before the inquest, some relatives might be in the 'iniquitous position' of still having to pay for representation unless such costs could be claimed from the tortfeasor.

He warned that this could lead to defendants refusing to admit liability before the inquest.

The answer would be to order them to pay representation costs, Mr Balen said.

Helen Shaw, co-director of pressure group Inquest, welcomed the move as a 'big step forward'.