Prison lawyers warn more will quit if legal aid fees not raised in England and Wales

Exclusive: 74% of prison lawyers surveyed do not anticipate doing the work in three years' time

Lawyers who do vital prison work, often helping vulnerable inmates, will continue to desert the speciality if legal aid fees in England and Wales are not increased, their professional association has warned.

A survey by the Association of Prison Lawyers (APL) found that 74% of respondents did not anticipate being prison law legal aid lawyers in three years' time, coming on the back of an 85% fall in providers since 2008.