I really do admire the ability to get so many cases ready in 110 days, it is quite remarkable

Sir Anthony Campbell

He said there was no evidence that the failure was caused by institutional racism.

Instead, he said the decision to put one of the three accused on trial before the other two was a purely legal error caused by the pressures under which the prosecution service was working.

Mr Boyd told the committee that this was being put right by reforms in the prosecution service, which include a management shake-up, a 25% increase in staff over the next three years and the introduction of new technology.

But sceptical MSPs voiced doubts that this would be enough.

Liberal Democrat MSP George Lyon asked why the service had deteriorated to the point where it was "literally creaking at the seams".

Serious crime

Mr Boyd said: "The service has been almost a Cinderella organisation for many years and I think it's been chronically under-funded for a long time."

He said resources had been concentrated on the "front line" at the expense of administrative support and investment in modern information systems.

He also argued that European human rights laws, an increase in serious crime and greater police efficiency had increased the burden of work.

Colin Boyd: "Chronically under-funded"

However, he refused to give further details about the reforms, which were prompted in part by the official reports into the Chhokar case.

The family of the Sikh waiter were in the committee room to hear the debate about the reforms.

Aamer Anwar, spokesman for the Chhokar family, said the politicians were still ignoring the views of victims of crime.

No-one was convicted of the murder of Mr Chhokar, who died after being confronted by three men in Overtown, Lanarkshire, in November 1998.

All three suspects were acquitted in two separate trials during which each blamed the other for the killing.

'Enormous' workload

Sir Anthony said that time lost at the beginning of the Chhokar case had ultimately affected the prosecutions.

"I thought that the workload was enormous. The pressure was very high on people working in the system," he told the committee.

"I really do admire the ability to get so many cases ready in 110 days, it is quite remarkable.

Surjit Singh Chhokar was killed in 1998

"We don't have a legal limit (in Northern Ireland), but we have targets we try to meet and that's the way we operate. But we wouldn't meet the deadlines that you do."

He suggested that this rule - under which a trial must start within 110 days of an accused person being fully committed for trial and remanded in custody - should be relaxed.

Sir Anthony said the rule was "useful" because it set a target - but added that there should be some exceptions where the case could not be prepared within that limit.

"It is a good guideline but I can see many cases where, despite all the resources, you simply couldn't meet that deadline," he said.

"It is useful to have a guideline, but there must be cases where it is just not possible to prepare them properly in 110 days.

'Extremely challenging'

"I think the interests of justice are served by the case being properly prepared."

Deputy Crown Agent Bill Gilchrist admitted that the deadline "created pressure".

But he stressed that staff often work better in those conditions.

Mr Boyd also acknowledged that the rule was "extremely challenging" - and admitted that the Crown had difficulty in getting many cases ready in time.