Labour votes to scrap jury trials – but MPs rebel against David Lammy | Politics | News
Jury trials are a step closer to being canceled in many cases after Labor MPs voted to reduce access to the 800-year-old legal system. Angry Labor MPs rose up against the government, with 304 people voting against the bill to 203.
The Conservative Party’s shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, accused the government of “rushing” the proposals with “excessive speed”. Speaking in the House of Commons, he described the government’s plans as “desperately confusing”, claiming Whitehall officials “have been dying to do this for years”.
Welcoming the changes, justice secretary David Lammy said: “The status quo of a broken system creates injustice and the burden of this delay is not shared equally.” He pointed to statistics showing ethnic minority Britons are 43% more likely to be victims of crime adding: “There is nothing progressive about a young, working-class black or white man sitting in a cell for months on end – no judge, no jury, no end in sight.”
The controversial move has faced opposition from lawyers, with more than 3,000 people demanding the government abandon the plans. In a letter to the Prime Minister, they said there was no evidence the plan would address criminal court delays.
It came under criticism, with Labor MP Karl Turner describing it as “useless, unfair, unpopular and unnecessary”. Another Labor MP, Charlotte Nichols, speaking about her own experience of rape, accused Mr Lammy of using victims as “sticks” to push for reforms to the court system.
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He said he felt experiences like his were being “weaponized” and “rhetorically used for misdirection” by supporters of the bill. Opponents of the amendment said they would try to change the bill later after it passes parliament.
Mr Lammy said he was trying to create a system “fit for the 21st century”.
The bill will now move on to the next stage of becoming law, with critics like Mr Turner saying they are “now more confident than ever that the worst parts of this bill will be defeated at the amendment stage”.
