The criminal justice system in England and Wales is failing victims and witnesses and is close to "breaking point", MPs have warned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the system was "bedevilled by long-standing poor performance, including delays and inefficiencies".

The committee's report also warned that cutbacks were affecting the ability of courts to deliver justice.

The Ministry of Justice said it would "reflect on the recommendations".

'Damning statistics'

The PAC found that about two-thirds of trials in crown courts were delayed or did not go ahead at all.

There was a backlog of 51,830 cases awaiting a hearing as of September last year, it said, with an average 134-day wait between cases leaving magistrates' courts and the start of crown court proceedings.

This was up from a 99-day average wait two years ago.

Some 55% of witnesses have said they would not be willing to be witnesses again, with one in five being made to wait four hours or more to give evidence in court.

PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said: "These are damning statistics.

"An effective criminal justice system is a cornerstone of civil society but ours is at risk.

"Too little thought has been given to the consequences of cutbacks with the result that the system's ability to deliver justice, together with its credibility in the eyes of the public, is under threat."

The committee also warned that people faced a postcode lottery in accessing justice.

Victims of crime had a seven-in-10 chance of a crown court trial going ahead in North Wales but only a two-in-10 chance in Greater Manchester, official data showed.

The length of time victims were made to wait between an offence being committed and the conclusion of their case ranged from 243 days in Durham to 418 days in Sussex.

Figures also showed that government spending on the criminal justice system had fallen by 26%, while the number of Crown Prosecution Service lawyers had dropped by 27%, since 2010.

The committee warned that the Ministry of Justice had "exhausted the scope to cut costs without pushing the system beyond breaking point".

It recommended "rapid and significant" improvements in service to victims and witnesses.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The justice secretary has been clear that our criminal justice system needs urgent reform.

"That is why we have embarked on comprehensive measures to improve our prisons and courts, backed by over £2bn of investment, to build a swifter, more certain justice system."