Right to legal advice

If you are arrested and held at a police station or other premises you have a statutory right to consult a solicitor in private and free of charge at any time. A duty solicitor scheme is in operation at every police station in England and Wales, so that free telephone advice or a free visit from a solicitor is available. On arrest the custody officer should inform you, orally and in writing, of this right, as well as the right to have someone informed of the arrest. You should also be informed of your right to consult the Codes of Practice, and that these are continuing rights - if you do not take advantage of them when offered you can do so at any time you are in the police station. The police must remind you of your right to see a solicitor at many points during your detention: for instance, before the beginning or recommencement of any interview or before a review.

Access to legal advice may be delayed by the police for up to 36 hours from the relevant time if you are detained for a serious arrestable offence, a drug-trafficking offence or certain other specified offences where the police are attempting to recover property and you have not yet been charged with an offence. Delay may be authorised only by an officer of at least the rank of superintendent if he or she has reasonable grounds, which must be recorded in writing, for believing that the exercise of the right to legal advice would lead to any of the following:

Interference with evidence of a serious arrestable offence.
Harm to others.
The alerting of accomplices.
Hindering the recovery of property.

Once the reason for authorising the delay ceases to exist, there may be no further delay in permitting access. Delays are rare and even then they often will not be justified.

Code C provides that if you ask for legal advice you should not be interviewed until you have received it, unless:

Delay is authorised; or
An officer of at least the rank of superintendent reasonably believes that delay caused by waiting for a solicitor involves risk or harm to persons or property; or
This would unreasonably delay the investigation; or
The solicitor cannot or will not attend and you do not want to use the duty solicitor scheme or the duty solicitor is not available; or
You consent in writing or on tape to the interview going ahead.

Y ou may consult your solicitor in person, on the telephone or in writing. If you are not allowed to see a solicitor, you should think very carefully indeed before answering any questions or making a statement. If you are denied access to legal advice, as opposed to choosing not to take advantage of it, no adverse inferences may be drawn from you exercising your right to silence while that situation persists.

It should be noted that the right to have a solicitor present when being interviewed and also to communicate privately with a solicitor is viewed extremely seriously by the courts and any unnecessary deprivation may be viewed as a violation of Article 6 of the Convention (the right to a fair trial). Evidence obtained as a result may be excluded from any subsequent trial.

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