I cannot agree with Franklin Sinclair who wrote: ‘I can’t leave a young lad with mental health problems unrepresented, so I have to do it for free.’

You have already done your bit by arranging for him to have over seven hours’ advice at the police station at a cost to the Criminal Defence Service of about £25 an hour. Now you can - indeed you must - leave him unrepresented at court, because if you do not insist that Kenneth Clarke pays you for your work, then pretty soon Mr Clarke will be insisting that you pay him. In the hard world of commerce, it is called a referral fee.

Geyve Walker, Arnison & Company Solicitors, Penrith