Growing risk of miscarriages of justice as House of Lords condemn forensic science system

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s report, Rebuilding Forensic Science for Criminal Justice: An Urgent Need, published on 17 February 2026, paints a stark picture of a forensic science system in serious decline—one the Committee warns is placing the integrity of the criminal justice system at risk. The report follows evidence that I gave when I appeared before the Committee to highlight the urgent need for reform and to warn that structural and funding failures are driving a growing inequality of arms between prosecution and defence. 

Giving evidence to the Committee, I drew attention to the widening imbalance in access to forensic expertise, explaining that the system no longer operates on an equal footing. I warned that defence solicitors are increasingly reluctant to take on cases requiring expert evidence because such cases have become so difficult to manage. As reported by The Telegraph, I told the Committee: “Many of the prosecution experts will not do defence work anymore because they do not see it as lucrative enough.” and added: “Is it an equal system, as it should be? Is there equality of arms? I would say absolutely not.”

I also highlighted a further structural barrier facing defence teams: the fact that prosecution experts frequently act as the custodians and gatekeepers of forensic exhibits. I explained that defence experts are often forced to overcome delays and logistical obstacles simply to access the material needed for independent analysis. This additional burden increases workload, cost and complexity for defence experts, making them harder to instruct and further entrenching the inequality of arms between prosecution and defence. 

The Committee’s report reflects these concerns, raising alarm about a forensic science market it describes as dysfunctional. It highlights the lack of independence in in‑house police forensic services, fragmented evidence storage, the decline of specialist forensic skills, the risks associated with Streamlined Forensic Reporting, and the growing backlog in digital forensics. The Committee warns that, taken together, these failures pose a serious threat to the fairness of criminal trials and public confidence in the justice system. 

Lord Mair, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, described the situation in stark terms, warning that continued neglect is beginning to resemble “a shocking abdication of responsibility by the Government” and that, if the current decline is allowed to continue, further miscarriages of justice are inevitable. 

For me, the report represents long‑overdue recognition of problems consistently raised by defence practitioners: a forensic science system in which unequal funding, restricted access to evidence, and structural barriers to expert instruction threaten the fairness of criminal trials and the proper administration of justice.

Read the full report here.