Legal aid cuts were rushed through without understanding the implications for access to justice, MPs warned today.

Budget changes intended to cut £300 million from the £940m civil legal aid budget were made with “no evidence in many areas and without making good use of the evidence that [the government] did have in other areas.”.

The Commons public accounts committee said that the result had been to “inhibit” access to mediation in family law cases, while the number of ­litigants representing themselves in court had risen — increasing the time taken to deal with cases and adding to the strain on courts.

Despite assurances given to Parliament, the committee said that the Ministry of Justice did not know whether people previously eligible for legal aid were still able to get it.

“Perhaps most worryingly of all it does not understand, and has shown little interest in, the knock-on costs of its reforms across the public sector,” the committee said.

“It therefore does not know whether the projected £300m spending reduction in its own budget is outweighed by additional costs elsewhere.”

Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said it was clear that the government’s objective was to “cut costs as quickly as possible,” denying legal aid that would ensure “the poorest and most vulnerable people enjoy that basic right.”

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told Parliament: “Legal aid is a fundamental part of our justice system, but resources are not limitless.”