𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

David Lammy is facing a growing Labour revolt over his plan to axe jury trials as it emerged the first judge-only cases could be heard in two years.

The Justice Secretary confirmed he will slash half of jury trials, dramatically increase the number of video court hearings and roll out the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Mr Lammy took the fight to the rebels, claiming critics were using “old-fashioned” and “male” arguments amid a record Crown Courts backlog of almost 80,000.

But Labour’s Karl Turner blasted: “His proposal to curtail the right to trial by jury across swathes of serious criminal cases is not acceptable. There is deep and growing concern across Parliament that the plan to do away with jury trials is unnecessary and there is no evidential link between the juries and the cause of the backlog.

“How much time would actually be saved through the reduction of a right to trial by jury? What are the unintended consequences of such a move for trust in the justice system? Would other measures be more effective?

“I remain firmly committed to voting against any changes that weaken the right to trial by jury, and I know many colleagues stand ready to do the same in defence of this fundamental right.”

Justice chiefs have conceded it could take almost 10 years for the backlog to drop below 50,000. They have also admitted it will be higher in 2029 than it is now.

The backlog will rocket from almost 80,000 to more than 100,000 next year, and could hit 200,000 by 2035, according to modelling by the Ministry of Justice.

Courts Minister Sarah Sackman told reporters: “It will take the best part of a decade for the timeliness of trials to improve. I fully appreciate this isn’t going to be good enough.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “There is no hiding the fact that Lammy is rushing ahead with his plans to abolish jury trials. Labour have no mandate to do this and there is no need for it either.

“At a time when confidence in the criminal justice system is fragile, what we need is a practical plan to tackle the backlog, not Lammy’s ideological drive to scrap juries.”

Justice sources have admitted some victims are being told their trials won’t be heard until 2030. Some sexual assault, burglary, drug dealing and robbery cases will be heard by a single judge. The Ministry of Justice will scrap the right of defendants to “elect” a jury trial for so-called “either way offences”.

Judges will assess a case, and if it is “likely” to result in a three-year prison sentence or less, it will be heard by either a magistrate or the new Crown Court Bench Division. And they will apply to suspects already charged with crimes.

Magistrates will also be able to sentence criminals for up to 18 months, as part of Labour’s plan to reduce pressure on Crown Courts.

Mr Lammy told delegates at a tech conference at the ExCel centre: “This will not diminish the rule of juries. They must remain the cornerstone of our justice system. But justice now takes longer than ever before. Jury trials now take twice as long as they did 25 years ago.”

Justice chiefs believe Mr Lammy’s reforms will save 27,000 court sitting days. Mr Lammy accused opponents of standing in the way of reform to protect victims, saying many of the criticisms were “old-fashioned” and “male”.

He said: “This conversation now enters Parliament, where there will be heated debate about what the Government is proposing.

“And I hope we centre victims in that debate. I have observed that sometimes the debates sound quite old fashioned, quite male, forgetting often that the victims are often vulnerable, often minorities, sadly children and very often women.”

Devastating analysis confirmed tens of thousands of victims will continue to face lengthy waits to have their day in court. Even if Labour were to introduce the first jury trials of 2028, they would still be relying on a range of other scenarios going in their favour.