A PUBLICLY funded system providing access to legal representation for people with mental health difficulties is “nearing breaking point,” a High Court judge warned yesterday.

Mr Justice Baker, who sits in the family division of the High Court and in the Court of Protection, expressed concerns over the demands being placed on the “inadequate resources” of the Official Solicitor, whose office offers legal services to those who lack the capacity to make decisions.

The judge said he had drawn his concerns to the attention of family division president Sir James Munby — the most senior family judge in England and Wales.

Mr Baker made his comments in a ruling on a case in which a couple with learning difficulties are trying to prevent their two-year-old son being taken into care.

He said he was also troubled because the couple involved did not automatically have a right to legal aid.