New fury as Shropshire man is held for 24 hours

Lawyers and politicians across Shropshire have been highly critical of the changes made earlier this year, which have seen all of the county's remand hearings moved to Kidderminster Magistrates Court, from Telford.

The region's police and crime commissioner and one of the county's magistrates have also called for them to be reversed.

Shakeel Ahmed, a solicitor with Clarkes in Telford, said he was concerned at the "injustice" still facing clients, as he detailed a recent case where one was held for more than 24 hours because a bus was not available to take him from Telford to Kidderminster.

He told how he had travelled to Kidderminster, along with his client's disabled mother, only for the hearing to be adjourned until the next day because the defendant had not been produced.

He said: "My client, who has mental health issues was charged at 9am after several hours in police custody, and refused bail, I was informed, as was his disabled mother, that he would be produced at Kidderminster Magistrates Court the same day.

"I enquired with Kidderminster Magistrates Court who confirmed this prisoner had been accepted. My client’s mother attended Kidderminster Magistrates Court to support a bail application. At about 3pm following enquiries I was told that the prisoner was still at Telford Police Station and had not been picked up. The court then made the decision to refuse to accept the prisoner on the day as he was unlikely to get there before 4.30pm."

Mr Ahmed said that situation highlighted the waste of time, the strain put on the families of defendants and the potential waste of police resources.

He said: "The result was I spent several hours waiting at court, his mother had a wasted journey and more importantly the client spent in excess of 24 hours beyond charge in custody. He was eventually produced the next day when his mother attended again and he was dealt with about 11am and bailed.

"This case highlights the unjustified deprivation of liberty faced by defendants as a direct result of centralised remand and further the hardship and inconvenience families are put through having to make a two hour round trip from Telford. Then there is of course the added cost to the police of keeping the prisoner when we are constantly being reminded of limited police resources."

Last month the Ministry of Justice said it was continuing to monitor how the changes are working.

A spokesman said: "“Following a public consultation, remand cases were moved from Hereford to Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court to improve listings and trial management at Hereford.

“We have given key agencies and professional court users the opportunity to share their views about how these changes are working in practice.

“We are investing over £1 billion to reform and modernise the justice system – to deliver swifter justice and provide better value for the taxpayer.”