The security of the virtual court system has been called into question once again, after a video technician appeared on a virtual court monitor during a confidential police station consultation between a solicitor and his client and began talking to the pair, the Gazette has learned.

Mark Jones, solicitor-advocate at London, Surrey and Cardiff firm Blackfords, said that he was speaking privately to a client at Croydon police station when a nearby virtual court monitor was activated. He said he heard a ringing tone before a message appeared on the screen, asking him to accept or reject the call, which he and his client ignored.

However, Jones said that the screen was activated by an engineer from Cable & Wireless, the telecoms company that in 2009 signed a multi-million-pound agreement with the Office for Criminal Justice Reform to provide video conferencing technology for the virtual courts system. Jones said that the engineer introduced himself and said he was testing the system, upon which Jones protested, informing the engineer that he was in a privileged consultation with his client that should not be overheard by a third party.

It is understood that the matter has been referred by Croydon police to the Ministry of Justice.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘The video-link technology for virtual courts, which links police stations to the court, operates on an approved government secure network. As a result of a minor technical fault being logged by the court, a remote engineer was briefly connected to the link room where an interview between a solicitor and client was taking place. No confidential information was disclosed.

‘This incident is completely isolated and steps are being taken to ensure this does not happen again, including fresh guidance to police stations on the use of video-linked rooms. Solicitor-client confidentiality is of the utmost importance and will not be put at risk.’

Cable & Wireless declined to comment separately from the MoJ.

In a virtual court, a defendant’s case is heard by magistrates through a secure video link between the police station and courtroom.

The MoJ launched a yearlong virtual courts pilot in May 2009, claiming that it could save £2.2m, and that a rollout across England and Wales could save more than £10m a year. However, a recent MoJ report on the pilot revealed that any savings made were exceeded by the overall costs of the scheme, and the technology used. Despite this, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said after the report’s publication that virtual courts would be developed further.

Lawyers had previously warned that interview rooms used in the pilot were not soundproof.