Labour rebels plot more chaos for Keir Starmer as shocking new court figures emerge | Politics | News

Labor rebels believe they can defeat Keir Starmer’s plan to abolish jury trials if ministers are told to stop “weaponising” sex attack victims.

Only murder, rape, manslaughter and “public interest” cases will be heard by juries as part of radical proposals to reduce the Crown Court’s backlog.

The plotters believe up to 39 Labor MPs have publicly vowed to block the plans and “many more” are increasingly concerned.

New figures published by the Ministry of Justice have revealed the Crown Court backlog has risen to 79,619. Almost one in four cases was a sexual offence.

Labor is using the crisis as justification for plans to abolish jury trials.

Senior legal sources have warned that the Government “intends to dismantle the rights of ordinary people” and is “undermining” the values ​​of “British fairness and justice”.

Department of Justice modeling suggests the number of cases going to jury trial will be halved.

Hull East MP Karl Turner has written to the Prime Minister, urging him to abandon the plans along with 38 other Labor supporters.

He told the Today Programme: “I don’t think it’s a death wish. The truth is that everyone in that letter wants the Government to succeed.”

“I am a friend of the Prime Minister.

“But I don’t want the Government to make the mistakes it made in the past.

“When people suddenly realized this wasn’t going to get through Parliament, we went up the hills and then came down again.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen. You’re saying the usual suspects are only 40 people. That’s not true. Many, many more people are coming to me and saying, ‘I’m worried about this.'”

“That’s the truth. They need to change their minds.”

Worrying predictions from the Ministry of Justice have revealed that the number of cases awaiting hearing could rise from around 80,000 currently to 130,000 by October 2029.

Under Mr Lammy’s new plans, some sexual assault, burglary, drug dealing and robbery cases will now be heard by a single judge.

The Justice Department will eliminate defendants’ right to “choose” a jury trial for so-called “both crimes.”

Currently, defendants who commit crimes in either direction can have their cases heard in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court, where they can opt for a jury trial.

But magistrates will now consider a case and if the case is “likely” to result in a prison sentence of three years or less, the case will be heard by either a magistrate or the new Crown Court Bench Division.

Magistrates are also given expanded powers to impose prison sentences of up to 24 months.

Riel Karmy-Jones KC, President of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “This Government must stop arming the backlog of victims of serious sexual offenses by claiming that proposals to restrict jury trials will bring them quicker justice. “It will not do that and it is simply not right to say it will, nor is it fair to give them false hope and expectations.

“Because there is nothing fast about these offers.

“But the Ministry of Justice could make a difference today by opening more courtrooms to reduce delays by providing extra funding to key courts to allow judges to deal with local backlogs, as has been done in Snaresbrook and in court centers such as Liverpool, Preston and Wales.

“By expanding this system to where it is needed most across the country, the Department of Justice can save the jury system and restore public confidence in justice.

“Currently existing courtrooms remain closed and the prison population is being pushed to breaking point, not with convicted prisoners but with thousands of defendants still awaiting their trials.

“We don’t need dramatic gestures emerging as solutions. We don’t need shortcuts, gimmicks, or the involvement of judges alone. We need functioning courtrooms with ordinary people serving on juries, performing their civic duties, and administering justice by deciding fairly to acquit or convict.”

“It has taken years for successive governments to deteriorate our justice system through chronic underfunding and neglect. Fixing this will take time, patience and the cooperation of all involved. It can be done. But it starts with investment.”