𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

More than 2,500 trials won’t be heard for at least two years, shocking new analysis has revealed. The Crown Court backlog now stands at 80,203, up 8% from 74,106. This is more than double the level seen in 2019 (38,108), before the coronavirus pandemic, data published on Thursday shows.

And figures obtained by the Press Association under freedom of information laws show 2,600 crown court trials in England and Wales are not listed until at least 2028, with 29 not due to be heard until 2030. Shadow Justice Minister Kieran Mullan said: “This government dithered and delayed for months and months when they should have been ramping up the sitting days.”

Justice Secretary David Lammy has annoucned controversial plans to limit jury trials, saying this is the way to cut the cort backlog. But Mr Mullan said the Justice Secretary was trying to hide the truth – which is that many courts simply stand empty and aren’t being used, leading to massive waits for justice.

He said: “Even now every day dozens of courts sit empty.

“Trials get delayed and called off for avoidable reasons.

“Instead of rolling up their sleeves and bearing down on this, they are busy with their plans to erode our rights to jury trials which are a huge distraction for everyone working in the system.”

Cases in the backlog include more than 200 rape trials, according to the MoJ court listings records as of January 29.

Sexual offences make up a growing proportion of cases with the longest delays in crown courts in England and Wales, according to PA analysis.

One in five (20%) backlog cases that had been open for at least two years at the end of December 2025 were for this category of offence.

This is up from 16% in December 2024 and 11% in December 2023.

A total of 1,252 cases involving sexual offences had been open for two years or more at the end of December, up sharply from 864 cases in 2024 and 666 in 2023.

Rape cases accounted for 9% of the two-year backlog in December, up from 6% in 2024 and 4% in 2023.

Some 562 rape cases had been open for at least two years as of December, compared with 336 12 months earlier and 263 in 2023.

The category of offence that makes up the single largest proportion of cases open for at least two years remains violence against the person, accounting for 27% of the total in December, up from 25% in 2024 and 22% in 2023.

Drug offences made up 14% of the two-year backlog in December, down from 16% in 2024 and 20% in 2023.

The backlog in magistrates’ courts also peaked at 379,437 cases last year, up 17% on the previous 12 months (324,846).

It comes after the Government announced plans to scale back jury trials in a bid to overhaul the justice system and cut the rising backlog of cases.

Ministers repeated warnings that crown courts were “on the brink of collapse” in the wake of the news and insisted sweeping reforms would grip the problem.

Meanwhile the body which represents magistrates said reforms could “fail” unless there was investment in community sentences as it called on ministers to make a series of improvements.

The number of crown court cases open for at least a year stood at a record 21,002 in December, up 27% from 16,584 at the end of 2024, the MoJ said.

Courts minister Sarah Sackman said: “With a record-breaking backlog of over 80,000 cases, the crown court is on the brink of collapse.

“The scale of this crisis has left victims bearing the brunt of years of neglect, facing devastating delays.

“Through pragmatic reform, historic investment and increased efficiency, we are pulling every lever at our disposal to drive down the backlog.

“Victims have waited long enough – and we will deliver the swift, fair justice they deserve.”