THOUSANDS of women will ''suffer in silence'' as a result of the Government's plans to cut legal aid to the victims of domestic violence, a North-East MP claimed tonight.

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman said some 20,000 victims of domestic violence will no longer be able to claim legal aid as ministers cut spending at the Ministry of Justice.

Under the Government's plans, victims will only qualify for legal aid if they have reported the abuse to police.

Tonight, as the Government's Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was debated in the Commons, Labour demanded that a GP's assessment qualify an abuse victim for legal aid.

MPs are also angry the current definition of domestic violence by the Ministry of Justice is too ''narrow and restrictive'' as it does not meet the broader criteria set out by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACP0).

Labour's Ms Goodman told MPs: ''The reality is that most women experience 20 episodes of domestic violence before they report it to the police.

"By insisting that only a report to the police, followed by various court actions, are required for legal aid, I am afraid the (Government) is condemning more women to suffer domestic violence in silence.''

Ms Goodman also claimed children in abuse cases could be cross-examined in court by the alleged perpetrator because of cuts to legal aid in private family law cases.

And shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter said many women were already put off pursuing court action because of the trauma of reliving their abuse. Cuts to the legal aid would only make it less likely they seek help, he said.

Mr Slaughter added: ''As such, the Government's plans to remove family legal aid, except where a narrow, onerous range of objective proofs is present, will place thousands of very vulnerable women at considerable risk.

''That is why women's groups, practitioners and the Opposition, continue to harbour deep concerns.''

But Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly said the Government took the ''question of domestic violence extremely seriously''.

He said: ''The starting point for the Government is we are removing legal aid for private family law. What we are keeping it for is domestic violence.

''It is the domestic violence aspects that are of utmost concern to us. What I am saying though is that we need to have objective evidence of domestic violence to target taxpayers' money on genuine cases where the victim needs assistance because of being intimidated or otherwise disadvantaged by the fact of facing the abuser in proceedings.''

He added: ''I am not questioning the integrity of genuine victims. However, many people during the legal aid consultation were concerned about providing an incentive for unfounded allegations and the Government shares this concern.''