Death penalty Brit legal bid

The lawyer representing Lindsay Sandiford has said that she will be "devastated" by today's High Court loss against the government's refusal to fund her appeal against her death sentence.

Richard Stein from Leigh Day said:

Supporters of a woman from Redcar who has been to sentenced to death in Indonesia have failed in their bid to get the Government to fund her appeal.

Lindsay Sandiford was found guilty of smuggling cocaine into Bali, but her family have no money for a lawyer to appeal her death sentence.

Bob Constantine reported from the High Court earlier.

You can watch his full report below.

Lindsay Sandiford's lawyers still have the option open to ask the Court of Appeal to intervene in her case.

Aidan O'Neill QC told the court a competent lawyer had been found who was willing to waive fees and act pro bono, but required "operational costs", estimated at £2,500, to be met.

Dismissing Sandiford's case, Mrs Justice Gloster said: "We entirely understand the deep concerns of Mrs Sandiford and her family about Mrs Sandiford's predicament in Indonesia, but we must apply the law as we hold it to be."

British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford has lost a High Court battle over a UK Government refusal to fund her appeal against a death sentence imposed by an Indonesian court after she was found guilty of drug smuggling.

During a hearing at London's High Court, Aidan O'Neill QC said that a competent lawyer has been found in Indonesia for Lindsay Sandiford who has been sentenced to death for drug smuggling,

Mr O'Neill said that the lawyer is willing to waive fees and act pro bono, but requires "operational costs" estimated at £2,500 to be met.

The Government has been accused of breaching the "fundamental rights" of a British woman sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug smuggling by refusing to pay for legal representation.

Two judges at London's High Court are being asked to rule that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's failure to arrange "an adequate lawyer" for Lindsay Sandiford is unlawful.

Aidan O'Neill QC said Sandiford was urgently in need of funding because she is currently without legal assistance and her family have exhausted all of their available resources.

Mr O'Neill said there was "no prospect" that competent counsel would be appointed to represent Sandiford on appeal without the Government providing some funding.

The Government has been accused of breaching the "fundamental rights" of a grandmother, originally from Teesside, sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug smuggling by refusing to pay for legal representation as she battles for her life.

Two judges at the High Court are being asked to rule that the Foreign Office's failure to arrange "an adequate lawyer" for Lindsay Sandiford is unlawful.

The 56-year-old, originally from Redcar, was given the death penalty by a court in Bali last week for taking 10.6lb of cocaine on to the island.

She was accused by the court of damaging the image of Bali and received the sentence despite prosecutors only asking for a 15-year jail term.

Aidan O'Neill QC said she was urgently in need of funding as she is currently without legal assistance and her family have exhausted all available resources.

Capital punishment is a controversial subject in Indonesia where Lindsay Sandiford has been sentenced to death for smuggling cocaine, ABC's Indonesia Correspondent George Roberts told Daybreak.

The silent majority support the sentence, but judging by its record so far the Indonesian government is very reluctant to execute foreigners.

First, Mr Roberts was asked whether Sandiford's case was getting much coverage in the local press:

Urgent court action is being brought against the Government over funding for legal representation for a British grandmother sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug smuggling.

The law firm involved in the case says the High Court challenge is against a decision not to arrange "an adequate lawyer" for Lindsay Sandiford, 56, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Sandiford, originally from Redcar, Teesside, was given the death penalty by a court in Bali last week for taking 10.6lb of cocaine onto the island.

Law firm Leigh Day, which is working with the charity Reprieve, said it would cost around £2,500 to pay for an adequate lawyer to take on her case and is seeking a judicial review of the Government's decision not to pay.

Sandiford had not been properly represented since her arrest at Bali airport in May last year, when customs officers found the drugs sewn into the lining of her suitcase, it said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said that the Government does not fund legal representation for British nationals abroad, but Sandiford's case was being raised through diplomatic channels.