Charities, faith leaders and human rights experts are calling on new justice secretary Kenneth Clarke (pictured) to save the UK’s largest immigration advice provider, which is facing closure because of delays in receiving legal aid payments.

In an open letter to Clarke and home secretary Theresa May, they warn that thousands of vulnerable people will be left without legal help unless Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) is paid promptly what it is owed. The charity’s closure would leave 10,000 people without a lawyer and delay asylum decisions, they claim.

The 17 signatories to the letter include chief executive of the Law Centres Federation Julie Bishop; Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti; director of Justice Roger Smith; Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams; and director of Amnesty International’s UK refugee programme Jan Shaw.

‘Many asylum seekers will be unable to access good quality legal support, or any support at all,’ the letter states. 'Lives will be put at risk and there are likely to be many more miscarriages of justice – which are already common in our asylum system. No charity can be expected to wait six months or more for the money it is owed, and no private sector organisation will be able to replace RMJ’s longstanding commitment to those with the greatest needs.’

RMJ, which employs 336 staff in 13 locations, says it needs to be paid £1.8m over the next six months to keep going. Since it opened as the Refugee Legal Centre in 1992, the organisation has helped 110,000 people seeking asylum or human rights protection. The organisation was formerly part of the UK Immigration Advisory Service and was set up by the Conservative government in 1992 as a charity to help asylum seekers and migrants.

The funding crisis has been caused by a policy introduced by the previous government in April 2009 to pay for most legal aid work upon final completion of cases, after decisions have been made by the Home Office or tribunals. This can result in a delay of up to two years before costs are reimbursed.

RMJ chief executive Caroline Slocock said: ‘Transitional provisions under which many cases continued to be paid as we did the work delayed the impact of the new payment system. Gradually throughout the last 12 months, the proportion of cases in which we are only paid upon completion has built up and it’s now becoming a significant problem.

‘RMJ is not asking for new money, simply prompt payment of legal aid by the Legal Services Commission, or failing that, interest-free loans by the government to cover the gap. We know times are hard but it doesn’t make sense to drive charities out of business.'

Roland Schilling, the UK representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said: ‘The UN Refugee Agency has raised its deep concern to the government if legal aid to the persons in need of protection is not anymore provided by specialised and highly professional organisations like RMJ.

‘A discontinuation of these services would severely damage the effectiveness and fairness of the asylum system in the country.'

Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: ‘It is already very hard for asylum seekers to find a good legal representative because of poor legal aid funding. We are terrified about what will happen if RMJ is forced to close.

‘We fear that RMJ’s former clients may fall prey to poor quality legal representatives or be left without representation at all.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the government was concerned to ensure appropriate support is available for asylum seekers, but legal aid resources were finite and it was important to make best use of them.

‘The Legal Services Commission has worked closely with RMJ for the last few years and as a result they have received substantial support to help them transfer to the current payment system,’ he said. 'Other organisations have successfully made this transition and it is only reasonable to expect RMJ to do the same.'

He said the LSC would shortly announce the outcome of a tender exercise and it would be inappropriate to take any action that could be viewed as favouring one potential bidder over others.

‘The government will explore new ways to improve the current asylum system to speed up the processing of applications so that it is efficient and fair to those who seek asylum here,’ the spokesman added.