A pilot scheme that could see defendants sentenced via video-link within hours of being arrested could be derailed as three leading practitioner groups consider withdrawing their support over pay, the Gazette has learned.

The Ministry of Justice proposes to pilot this year a virtual court project, that will see defendants in appropriate cases appear before magistrates’ courts via video-link from police stations.

The pilot, designed to save costs and speed up first hearings, will run at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court, which tested a prototype in 2007.

It is proposed that the virtual court will operate longer hours than normal courts and could run as late as 10pm. However, defence solicitors face a pay cut when they take on these cases.

The London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA), the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) and the Legal Aid Practitioners Group have written to the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to say the funding issue needs to be resolved before any further work can be undertaken.

Raymond Shaw, vice president of the LCCSA, said: ‘If the quality of justice is no different in a virtual court than in a real court, why should there be any pay differential, except where we should be paid more for doing out-of-hours work?’

Joy Merriam, chairwoman of the CLSA, said: ‘Practitioners have been helping the government make workable plans, but we shall consider withdrawing that support if we aren’t going to be paid properly.’

An LSC spokesman said discussions on pay were continuing with the representative bodies to ensure a balance between securing value for money for the taxpayer and fair remuneration for practitioners.