As a former member of the national duty solicitor committee, I am very concerned at the direction currently being taken by the Criminal Defence Service.

The committee was made up of experienced practitioners, members of the judiciary, police and lay representation, and was able successfully to administer a duty solicitor scheme up and down the country for more than 20 years by concentrating on the need of defendants for a proper service.

Since its abolition, there has been no similar body able to act as a restraint on the excesses of the Legal Services Commission, whose main priority clearly is now demonstrated to be cost, with quality of service coming a poor second.

Until a similar representative body is reinstated (and the Law Society and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association should be pressing for this), I can only see continued confrontation and loss of confidence in the service.

Ian Godfrey, Shepherd Harris & Co, Enfield