Three judges quashed a ruling made after the prime minister’s brother, Alex Cameron QC (pictured), argued the defendants would not get a fair trial due to cuts.

The regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of the seven fraudsters.

The land banking case was halted in May at Southwark Crown Court by Judge Anthony Leonard after hearing that no senior barristers would take on the case but the Court of Appeal overruled that decision arguing the case should have been postponed.

The investigation, which began in 2011, led by the FCA alleges the defendants were involved in a land banking scheme using, variously, three limited companies.

Those companies acquired, or purported to acquire, sites which were then divided into a number of sub-plots. It is alleged that those sub-plots were then aggressively marketed to often vulnerable members of the public – who were persuaded to buy based on false representations by employees.

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Some purchasers were given good title, some were not, and some subplots were sold more than once, according to the case summary.

Various interventions by the FSA (as it was) to stop the practices were derailed by transferring the fraudulent scheme to a new company.