Judge queries intermediary company 5 months after World Cup blast

On Wednesday, Judge Ian Pringle KC was told that Communicourt had been hired to complete an assessment on a defendant accused of a serious assault.

The Birmingham-based firm provides trained intermediaries to be on hand during court hearings to explain proceedings to defendants or witnesses with understanding difficulties.

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Derek Barry, defending, told the judge that there had been ‘complications’. “Apparently, [my client] was fatigued and the assessor didn’t complete his report. From their point of view [my client] withdrew his consent. From his point of view he was having a lunch break. So, there is no assessment.”

He said he had ‘finally’ got through to a member of Communicourt staff on Wednesday morning. He was told that the defendant’s solicitors would have to re-apply to the Legal Aid Agency for ‘prior authority’ – essentially permission to spend the agency’s money – for Communicourt to reassess the accused.

Judge Pringle, who last year compared asking firms like Communicourt to write reports about whether a defendant required an intermediary to ‘asking footballers to vote for the World Cup’, summarised on Wednesday: “Prior authority having been obtained, they will get paid for the incomplete assessment and they now want another assessment for which they want a full fee.”

He told Mr Barry that an intermediary for his client was ‘absolutely necessary’. He added: “Prior authority must be in place as a matter of urgency to allow a full assessment to take place.”

Judge Ian Pringle KC, the honorary Recorder of Oxford

Last November, Judge Pringle raised concerns about Communicourt after he was told that the firm had charged for two aborted appointments with an alleged sex offender.

Those appointments had to be stopped when the defendant, who it is suggested may suffer from dementia, became ‘exhausted’.

Following the hearing, Communicourt’s managing director William Scrimshire said: “We carried out an assessment and provided a report to the solicitor.

“During this assessment, the defendant withdrew consent after one hour and a report was written to detail these circumstances to the court.

“We had already arranged an assessment to be carried out tomorrow in this case and have done all we can to ensure this case is not delayed. A report will be provided as soon as is possible to the court.”

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He added: “An intermediary assessment is important to determine the communication strategies and measures that can best support the specific communication needs of a defendant.

“In circumstances where an individual is unable to complete an assessment, due to an issue such as exhaustion, it is normal practice to end the session and arrange a follow-up assessment.

“It is reassuring to us that Judge Ian Pringle KC recognises how ‘absolutely necessary’ an assessment is in ensuring that the trial can be accessible to someone with a communication difficulty.”