Campbell Malone represented Stefan Kiszko throughout his 16-year wait for justice after he was wrongly jailed for the murder of Rochdale schoolgirl Lesley Molseed.

The criminal defence lawyer for Stephensons Solicitors in Wigan town centre is concerned people are being denied their right to proper legal advice as the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) and police across
Greater Manchester struggle to get to grips with new legal aid rules.
The Legal Services Commission, which manages legal aid provision, has introduced changes to the way detainees can gain access to free legal advice.

Since January 14, all requests for publicly-funded legal representation are routed through the DSCC which then refers matters to requested solicitors or, in their absence, duty solicitors. But, just days into the changed system, Stephensons is concerned the DSCC is incapable of handling the responsibility and sometimes innocent people could be forced to endure police interviews without proper representation.

The Legal Services Commission, which runs the DSCC, today admitted that there had been "more teething problems than anticipated" but that the problems would be quickly sorted out. Mr Malone, a partner at Stephensons, said: "Following the conviction of Ronald Castree in November 2007 for the murder of Lesley Molseed, I was asked by many whether I felt the dreadful miscarriage of justice that befell my client, Stefan Kiszko, could occur again.

"Mr Kiszko served 16 years in prison, because in the absence of a solicitor, he confessed to a murder that he could never have committed.
"At the time I was happy to say that, following the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, that sort of miscarriage of justice was unlikely to reoccur, as every arrested person is entitled to access to their own solicitor before being interviewed by police. If the named solicitor is unable to attend, a duty solicitor would."

Through the updated scheme, even if a detained person requests a named solicitor, police must now direct all requests through the DSCC.

Problems which have already arisen include:
Stephensons' clients, who have specifically requested representation by the firm, are being told there is no record of the company available, despite the firm's details being given to the DSCC.
Individual solicitors have been contacted at unsocial hours to take on cases miles away, despite the call centre having the contact details of available colleagues closer to the station.

Mr Mallone said: "The chaos we and other solicitors have experienced this week is further evidence of the erosion of human rights.
"Legal aid is there to protect peoples' rights, enable them a fair hearing and access to solicitors when detained in police stations.

"It is vital people are aware they are still entitled to free and independent legal advice and should not succumb to pressure from the police to go into interview without representation.
"We do not want another Stefan Kiszko on our hands."

A Legal Services Commission spokesman said: "We can only apologise for
the situations that have come about. There have been more teething problems than we anticipated but we are looking forward to having a robust and effective system in place in a short space of time."