The scale of the disclosure crisis facing the criminal justice system has been laid bare, after a survey found that half of all lawyers were now running into problems on a daily basis and a third saying they believed it had resulted in wrongful convictions.

Under the current system, police and prosecutors have a duty to hand over any material that might be relevant to the defence case before it comes to court.

But an urgent review into rape and sex assault cases was ordered last year after it emerged that detectives had failed to disclose crucial evidence stored on digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

Police chiefs have since warned that the vast amount of material that now has to be examined means they are struggling to cope with the task.

Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, recently said she did not believe the problems had led to any miscarriages of justice.