Islington Council will lobby the government to scrap an “unfair” administration fee for domestic violence victims.

In order to qualify for legal aid, women now need to provide a prescribed piece of evidence to prove they have been subjected to abuse.

One of the accepted forms of evidence is a GP letter. However, some GPs charge up to £75 for this.

At Thursday’s meeting of the council, deputy leader Cllr Janet Burgess’s motion to support the “scrap the fee” campaign was passed.

Data recorded by Holloway domestic violence charity Solace Women’s Aid showed that over the past year in Islington, there were 2,000 domestic crimes against women - up 11 per cent.