It's official. If you are innocent, the government requires you to pay for the cost of proving it, or take standard grade legal aid. Read the Government’s response: “While the Government accepts that individuals who are acquitted in the magistrates’ court should continue to have access to Central Funds, it is essential that we also target our resources effectively, secure value for money for the taxpayer and control areas of overspend in our budget. The Government does not believe that defendants will be more likely to
plead guilty to offences they would otherwise deny. Defendants who pay for representation privately do so without certainty that they will be acquitted. If acquitted, there is no guarantee that any particular sum would be assessed as reasonable. We believe that the rates we pay for criminal cases under legal aid are both fair and sustainable and should be available on the open market. We believe that lawyers are able to provide a reasonable service at legal aid rates, but if a defendant wants to have, for example, a senior partner’s undivided attention, he may be prepared to pay more for a “premium service”, but would have to understand that he would not recover all of these costs. Information relating to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on Award of Costs from Central Funds is available on the MoJ website.”