A legal aid row threatening the start of the Rhys Jones murder trial has been settled, it has been reported.
The 17-year-old defendant accused of shooting dead the schoolboy as he walked home from football training in Croxteth, Liverpool, last August was left without a QC a month before the trial was due to start - and his solicitor was working for free.
The problem occurred because the Government's Legal Services Commission deemed the court case a "very high costs case" and insisted the defendant be represented by lawyers agreeing to work for a fixed fee.
But Channel 4 News has reported the LSC had made an exception.
A statement to the broadcaster said it would revert to the old pay structure for the boy's QC.
It read: "The LSC has made an exceptional decision to allow the non-panel firm to represent the seventh defendant and to instruct appropriate counsel."
Only three QCs in England and Wales are on the LSC list, even though there are on average about 120 very high cost cases each year.
The alleged killer's solicitor - James Benson and Co - was due to go to the High Court next week to fight for payment over the case.
The date of the solicitor's judicial review being so close to the October 2 trial ran the risk of it being delayed.
The defendant will stand trial with six others accused of assisting him.
