Legal aid

A legal advisor says in some cases people are waiting seven years for their asylum interview.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance is using existing ministerial powers to remove means-testing for legal aid in such cases.

Naomi Long said delays in cases meant there was a "greater risk of harm to the public".

Barristers in NI will scale back industrial action from 1 March, but will continue to refuse some new cases.

A woman who was assaulted by her husband was unable to find a legal aid lawyer in Scotland to handle her case.

The action will now continue into February and will probably disrupt some high-profile murder trials.

The industrial action will see criminal barristers withdrawing their services in Crown Court cases.

The Criminal Bar Association has instructed members to refuse legal aid cases for four weeks starting in January.