Lawyers for Greater Anglia and Northern Trains apologised to Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week, saying they acknowledged the errors in the prosecutions.

The court has been hearing six test cases concerning prosecutions brought by the train companies under the ‘single justice procedure’ (SJP) introduced in 2015.

The SJP allows magistrates to make decisions in cases involving certain low-level summary offences without a court hearing taking place.

However, the 2015 legislation does not allow prosecutions for fare evasion under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 to proceed by way of the SJP — rendering tens of thousands of convictions invalid.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring on Friday adjourned the test cases until 15 August 2024, when he will make formal orders.