Criminals could go free thanks to a nationwide meltdown of the IT system that has delayed trials at hundreds of courts, including at the Old Bailey.
The Ministry of Justice said the network had faced 'major issues' in the past week, with the computer system down at hundreds of courts and the email system used by barristers and judges also impacted.
The Criminal Bar Association has estimated that approximately 30 trials have already been halted by the IT meltdown.
Trials all over the country have been impacted by the IT meltdown, including at the Old Bailey (pictured)
A number of courts, such as the Old Bailey, have reported not being able to access WiFi.
While others struggled to send emails, had difficulty enrolling jurors or were left unsure when defendants were due to appear in court.
Chris Henley, QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents 4,000 barristers in England and Wales, told The Times, that trials could collapse.
He said: 'Trials are being adjourned, the IT infrastructure is inaccessible in many places, electronic recording systems aren't working and barristers can't access vital documents because court WiFi and secure emails aren't working.'
'The system is on its knees.'
Chris Henley, QC, has warned trials could potentially collapse if barristers are not able to access vital documents
Other lawyers have warned defendants could even be released early so they were not detained beyond the legal time limit.
It comes at an awkward time for the Ministry of Justice who are in the midst of a £1 billion modernisation of the court system.
But the MoJ has denied the IT woes are related to the improvements, but that the problems are to do with the existing network.
Twitter user @BarristerSecret, a regular blogger on legal issues, said the system had been 'broken for days.'
The anonymous legal expert said: 'The entire digital infrastructure of the courts has been broken for days.
'Phones aren't working, court computers are offline, email is down.
'Imagine the headlines if it were the NHS.
Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said the job of probation officers is being made 'impossible' by the IT problems
'But it's only justice, so no one cares.'
Problems in the system for the probation system started approximately eight weeks ago and have been impacting the work of officers in the court system.
Ian Lawrence, general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said: 'The bottom line for our members is that it is making their job next to impossible in terms of being able to provide relevant information for the courts, including reports which help inform sentence decisions.'
A Ministry of Justice spokesman told the BBC: 'We apologise to those who have been affected by the network issues that we have been experiencing over recent days.
'The urgent work we have been carrying out with our suppliers has led to significant improvements today, but this work is ongoing and we have contingency plans in place.
'While services have continued to operate and alternative network access is now in place for most, we know how frustrating this is for anyone affected and we are disappointed that our suppliers haven't yet been able to resolve the network problems in full.
We continue to work with them to return services to normal.'
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News Photo Criminals could go free thanks to nationwide meltdown of legal IT system
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