Labour bows to pressure over plans to scrap jury trials

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Justice Secretary Alex Norris said legislating for judge-only trials would have been “complicated to implement,” slowing down the “whole package” of reforms under the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

The decision is a U-turn on proposals introduced under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, championed by former justice secretary David Lammy, who had argued the reforms were “desperately needed” to tackle court backlogs.

Mr Norris insisted the backlog would still fall without cutting jury trials, but would not say by how much.

The Criminal Bar Association chairman Andrew Thomas KC said he was delighted by the announcement, saying: “Justice needs juries.

“Nothing inspires more public trust than 12 ordinary citizens from all walks of life deciding the facts of a case together.

“Trial by jury is the gold standard of fairness, and we thank the Lord Chancellor and justice ministers for listening to the evidence and reaching the right verdict.”

But he warned that a “severe threat” to jury trials remained in the Bill through proposals to strip defendants of their right to elect a crown court trial while doubling magistrates’ sentencing powers.

Mr Thomas said these changes would shift 25,000 cases, including 5,500 jury trials, out of the crown court each year.

Campaign group Defend Our Juries posted on X: “We’ve stood against David Lammy’s attack on trial by jury since it was first proposed.

“We believe it to have been a direct attempt to block acquittals of people of conscience in protest trials.

“This is a step in the right direction.”

Green MP Sian Berry called the U-turn a “victory for justice and fairness,” but said the government must clarify which cases judges could still remove from jury trial.

“If the reference to ‘relatively minor cases’ means all either-way offences, this still potentially removes the right to trial by jury from all protest cases and all cases of alleged theft,” she said.

“This would remain a major erosion of the right to jury trial through the back door.”

Barrister and East Hull MP Karl Turner, who had the whip suspended after criticising the plan, welcomed the decision and thanked the Prime Minister “for his support during my campaign.”

Ministry of Justice figures showed 80,829 cases outstanding at the end of June, with the backlog having almost doubled since 2020.

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