A general image of laboratory drug testing
(Picture: PA)More than 800 prosecutions of motorists suspected of driving while high on drugs are at risk of collapse due to faulty laboratory testing, it has been revealed.
Thousands of forensic tests completed by Synlab Laboratory Services Limited and relied on by police forces and prosecutors around the country had to be reviewed after a problem was found with the way samples had been assessed.
The National Police Chiefs Council said 588 defendants have been convicted of drug driving on the back of a faulty test result which “can no longer be relied on”, while a further 243 live prosecutions are in the same position.
The Crown Prosecution Service is informing defence lawyers in the 831 affected cases. It is likely to result in the collapse of many cases or see convictions overturned. “Any case where an individual has been convicted on evidence that is no longer reliable is a huge regret”, said NPCC lead for forensics James Vaughan.
“My thoughts go out to those who have been affected by this and we are contacting the relevant lawyers and teams to ensure they are made aware of the findings.
“While the majority of cases are unaffected and results can be relied upon, we acknowledge that this issue will have a knock-on effect for some people. It’s absolutely vital that we maintain a robust forensic testing system that provides reliable evidence to the courts.”
The issue with Synlab was first identified in December 2020, when the firm spotted inconsistencies in quality control and voluntarily suspended its accreditation for drug testing in criminal cases.
A total of 4,255 samples were reviewed, with 709 positive results that had been deployed in court found to be accurate. More than half of the reviewed samples either remained negative or related to cases which had ended in an acquittal or being discontinued.
The NPCC said prosecutions based on faulty test results would not necessarily collapse as there could have been other evidence to support the case.
