Courts across England and Wales suffered disruption today as the public sector endured the biggest walkout for a generation.

The Ministry of Justice said key services such as family courts and custody proceedings were prioritised following action by the PCS union. Picket lines appeared at many court buildings across the country.

At the Old Bailey, the Stephen Lawrence trial went ahead with the support of the PCS. The Lawrence family solicitor, Imran Khan, wore a ‘hands off our pensions’ badge in solidarity with striking workers.

Officials at the Royal Courts of Justice insisted it was business as usual, but there were reports some judges had refused to sit because there were no clerks. In Liverpool, the family court was closed, while the city’s Crown court was only open for remand hearings.

Hearings at St Helens and Nottingham magistrates’ courts were cancelled, with severe disruption also reported at Northampton and Stoke combined courts. In London, six out of 10 courtrooms closed at the recently opened Westminster Magistrates’ Court and bail cases were put back by a day.

The HM Courts and Tribunals Service said a further 11 court buildings - mainly in the north and Midlands - were also affected by industrial action. Picketing the Royal Courts of Justice, local PCS representative Julian Wilson claimed the strike had the support of court users, including solicitors and judges.

He said: ‘The legal profession has been brilliant. They understand what is happening and the pressure court workers are finding themselves under. The government likes to plug the line of this not being supported; that’s not what it feels like today or what it felt like in the run-up to the strike.’

Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, commented: ‘Responsibility for any disruption which people may experience today lies squarely with union leaders.’