David Lammy accused of ‘scaremongering’ as top lawyers vent fury | Politics | News
Lawyers have accused Justice Secretary David Lammy of “scaremongering” to justify limiting jury trials after the latest figures showed a small drop in the Crown Court backlog. While the number of cases waiting to be heard remains high, the number of open cases at the end of March was 80,061; This figure is 37 fewer than in the previous quarter.
Mr Lammy justified plans to restrict jury trials by claiming in a statement to MPs in March that “the backlog is expected to reach 200,000 over the next decade”. However, the Criminal Bar Association said that the figures have stabilized. Chairman Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: “It is high time the government abandoned its ill-conceived attack on the right to trial by jury. The justification for these plans has never been available – these figures show MPs were misled by the assumptions presented in evidence.”
Andrew Thomas KC, Deputy Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “The government’s forecast that the backlog will continue to rise by up to 16.5% year on year is starting to look like an exercise in fearmongering.”
He warned that one effect of restricting the right to trial by jury would be an increase in cases heard in already overcrowded magistrates’ courts.
Brett Dixon, vice-president of the Law Society, said: “It is time to scrap headline-making plans to reduce jury trials and focus on investments and reforms that will really make a difference.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have claimed that chaos in the immigration system has led to the courts being overwhelmed.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “Our courts are inundated with immigration claims funded by taxpayers through legal aid. Immigrants are still making these claims despite Conservative reforms due to human rights laws, so we must leave the ECHR and return immigration decisions to ministers.”
Andy Burnham, the candidate to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, has previously called on the Government to “pause” planned changes to jury trials and “step back and take stock”.
But ministers defended the plans. Justice Minister Sarah Sackman said it could take “almost 300 years” for the case backlog to return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic unless major reforms are made to reduce jury trials.
Mr Lammy, the Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, has drawn up plans to introduce judge-only trials, known as “fast-track courts”, for around a quarter of crown court trials that are currently jury-ridden, and to remove the right of moderately serious or “both-case” defendants to choose between a trial by jury or magistrates.
