The Crown Prosecution Service cannot handle anymore cuts, the attorney general has warned.

Geoffrey Cox told MPs on Wednesday he had to “negotiate” the CPS budget with Chancellor Philip Hammond. 

The service has seen its budget cut by 30% since 2010 and has lost a third of its staff.

Speaking to the Commons justice committee on Wednesday, Cox said: “If you ask me is it possible for them to sustain further cuts of the same kind, I’ll be frank with you, I don’t believe it is.

“I think we have reached a point where, and I think the government recognises this, that it has distributed its resources superbly well, but that we will not be able to see public expenditure reductions in connection with CPS of the same type.”

Cox said despite the cuts, there were “exaggerated” claims made that the CPS was a “failing” organisation.

Max Hill, the director of public prosecutions, told the committee last year the CPS “can’t contemplate any further cuts to resources”.

He warned the increased use of technology in society is placing huge strains on the service, as lawyers have to check data held on mobile phones and other devices.

Hill’s predecessor, Alison Saunders, warned the criminal justice system was “creaking” as she stepped down.