THE court system is close to collapse due to police failures to disclose key evidence, defence lawyers warned yesterday.

In the year up to June, 1,648 cases collapsed over disclosure failures — more than double the number in 2015/16, according to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) figures.

Police and CPS lawyers are required to share evidence with the defence, but experts say that officers and prosecutors lack the required resources to sift through masses of information on electronic devices such as mobile phones.

Defence lawyer Stuart Nolan said: “It can’t be done on the cheap and it has become increasingly difficult.”

The University of the West of England’s senior law lecturer Ed Johnston said that chronic underfunding of the criminal justice system has exacerbated the problem by leading to “understaffed and overworked police and prosecutors.”

Experts also argue that the issue is likely to be under-reported as disclosure failures are not always properly recorded. 

A CPS spokesperson rejected any suggestion that the data is inaccurate and claimed its method of recording incidents has “improved.” 

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said that it is working to “implement the change needed to improve outcomes for victims.”