Margie Butler, chief executive of the Holborn-based Mary Ward Legal Centre, warned the Legal Aid Bill – currently working its way through Parliament – would leave thousands of people without access to advice.

The centre, which moved into new premises off High Holborn earlier this year, helps around 5,000 people each year.

It is part of the Mary Ward Settlement, an organisation founded in the late 1800s by the eponymous novelist with the aim of helping the less well-off.

The centre currently employs nine full-time solicitors and offers advice on areas including debt, welfare benefits and housing. Ms Butler said government cuts would pull the rug from under its feet.

“It may lead to us closing altogether, that’s what we are trying to lobby against,” she said.

“The government decided that too many people were getting legal aid and that they therefore had to cut it.

“It’s going to leave an awful lot of people without legal advice.”

The centre’s new building is owned by the settlement, but Ms Butler said having the security of an up-to-date, permanent base may not save it if its government funding is cut.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Our proposals aim to radically reform the system and encourage people to take advantage of the most appropriate sources of help, advice or routes to resolution, which will not always involve the expense of lawyers or courts”

• For more information or to contact the centre call 020 7831 7079 or visit www.marywardlegal.org.uk