THERE is “no backlog” of cases at either Edinburgh Sheriff Court or Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court, despite the closure of courts in East Lothian, it has been claimed.

Haddington Sheriff Court and Haddington Justice of the Peace Court, the county’s only courts, shut their doors for the final time at the end of January last year despite a lengthy campaign calling for them to remain open.

Since then, all court business has been transferred to Edinburgh Sheriff Court, with witnesses, accused and solicitors having to travel into the Capital.

Local politicians have repeatedly called on the decision to be reversed or an acknowledgement that there are delays at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Rachael Hamilton, South of Scotland MSP, is among those questioning if the decision to close the court, which had been in East Lothian since medieval times, was the right move.

The future of the building, which could become home to the town’s police station under moves revealed earlier this year, was again raised at Holyrood earlier this month.

Stephen Mannifield, from the Edinburgh Bar Association (EBA), said the closure had had “a massive effect”.

Mrs Hamilton again raised the issue in Edinburgh but was told the minister disagreed with expert opinion and denied there was a backlog problem in the Scottish courts.

Mrs Hamilton said: “The latest statement from the Scottish minister that everything is fine is frankly concerning.

“We have heard from experts the closure of Haddington Sheriff Court has had a massive effect and has increased pressure on the courts, resulting in backlogs. The Scottish Government should be listening to experts who tell them not all is well and acting on their behalf to improve the current backlog.

“There is no benefit to stand in Parliament and claim everything is fine when the reality on the ground is that it is not.

“The Scottish Government need to stop the spin and admit to issues that need to be urgently resolved.”

However, at the meeting, Annabelle Ewing MSP, minister for community safety and legal affairs and herself a lawyer, said the evidence did not “bear out” what Mrs Hamilton had said.

She said: “The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that the closure of Haddington Sheriff Court has not had a negative impact on the timescale for completing cases in Edinburgh sheriff and justice of the peace courts.

“Indeed, analysis published by the SCTS earlier this year confirmed that the timescales for both summary criminal cases and civil proofs in Edinburgh Sheriff Court and the JP Court are progressing within the SCTS’s target timescales – that is, 16 weeks for summary criminal cases and 12 weeks for civil proofs.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for SCTS said there was “no backlog” of cases at Edinburgh Sheriff Court or Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court.

He said: “The transfer of court business from Haddington to Edinburgh was achieved successfully with none of the suggested delays or witness problems materialising.

“SCTS are able to offer trial diets at Edinburgh within the optimum timescales of 16 weeks for summary criminal cases and 12 weeks for civil proofs.

“In domestic abuse cases, we are able to offer trials within eight weeks.

“The population of East Lothian is well served by Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, which provides excellent access to justice and high quality facilities.”