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A defendant’s pleas to allegations of child rape could not be taken – as there were only two interpreters in the UK able to speak his native tongue and neither were free to attend Oxford Crown Court.
A series of trials were adjourned due to lack of available court space or, in one case, difficulties sourcing a qualified interpreter.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spent £21.3 million on translators in the last year alone.
The interpreters are used for suspected criminals, victims and crime witnesses.
A record £1.2 m was spent on providing bilingual staff on Albanian suspects.
A barrister found herself having to translate for a man who entered the UK in breach of a deportation order.
No Romanian interpreter was available for the hearing on Tuesday. But Judge Michael Gledhill KC said he was happy for barrister Dana Bilan to translate for Paun, who speaks no English.
