I felt I had to write to concur with the reported chaos experienced by law firms across the country following the expansion of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) (see [2008] Gazette, 17 January, 3).


The police and the DSCC seem incapable of handling the responsibility of the new system, which requires all requests for legal representation to go through the call centre. Stephensons' clients, who have specifically requested us, are being told that there is no record of the firm, while duty solicitors are being woken up at unsocial hours to take on cases outside their jurisdiction, when other colleagues closer to the station are available.



Even more alarmingly, the police had initially been asking detained persons who want their own solicitors if they were willing to pay. As a result, I am worried innocent people could be forced to undergo police interviews without representation.



I recall the plight of my client, Stefan Kiszko, who served 16 years in prison because, in the absence of a solicitor, he confessed to a murder that he could never have committed.



It is vital people are made aware that they are still entitled to free and independent legal advice. They should not succumb to pressure from the police to go into interview without representation. We do not want another Stefan Kiszko on our hands.



Campbell Malone, Stephensons, Wigan