Children’s charity the NSPCC has warned that government proposals to cut legal aid for vulnerable children and families would ‘risk miscarriages of family justice’.

NSPCC lawyer Barbara Esam said: ‘The proposed, repeated cuts in legal support in family law cases comes at the worst possible time, as the pressure to improve child protection work is rightly higher than ever.

‘These are precisely the specialists society needs if the courts are to be able to make the right decisions about when a child needs protection.

She added: ‘The NSPCC’s work to protect vulnerable children and families relies on the ability to access a pool of specialist advocates at the family bar. The NSPCC urges the Ministry of Justice to reconsider its plans to cut funding in these cases.’