THE campaigner who stood to derail hopes of the massive rebuild of the Royal Liverpool Hospital has been stripped of the legal aid he intended to use to fight his case in the High Court.

Sam Semoff, of the Keep Our NHS public pressure group which is opposed to taxpayers money being used to fund the £451m private finance deal, has been told he will no longer be entitled to public funds to mount his case. The decision is understood to have been made by the Legal Services Commission after complaints from pro-rebuild campaigners who questioned why his fight should be publicly funded.

American-born Mr Semoff has previously admitted that his name had been used to launch the bid because an individual qualifies for Legal Aid where an organisation doesn’t

The group is opposed to the rebuild on the basis it will leave the taxpayer with crippling debts, and would have to honour them before spending on patient care.

But the protest generated a wave of anger among residents and politicians who said the delays Mr Semoff stood to cause threatened chances of improving facilities at the hospital.

Mr Semoff will now have the opportunity to appeal the withdrawal of legal aid. It is not known how much the challenge is now likely to set Mr Semoff back.

When asked to confirm the funding had been halted, Mr Semoff refused to be drawn but insisted the hearing would go ahead next month.

But a Legal Services Commission spokesman said: “Legal aid funding has been withdrawn and Mr Semoff is appealing that decision.”

Last night Central ward Cllr Nick Small welcomed the Commission’s move, and said he would be probing them further as to why they agreed to fund the challenge in the first place.

He had written to the regulatory body to complain before the decision to withdraw funding was made.

Cllr Small said: “I believe this should not have been funded through legal aid in the first place.

“It was a slap in the face to ordinary taxpayers living in Kensington Fields and across the city.

“I will now be writing to the LSC to ask them to investigate why legal aid was granted.”