No 10 resolute about jury trial reforms despite threat of Labour rebellion

Downing Street has suggested it is willing to stand firm against the prospect of a Labour backbench rebellion over its plans to limit jury trials to only the most serious offences.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman suggested the Government was not willing to make changes over the plans, which would reserve jury trials only for when defendants faced serious charges such as rape and murder, and those with a likely sentence of more than three years in prison, in a bid to ease the backlog in the crown courts.

It comes after 39 Labour MPs broke cover to urge the Prime Minister to U-turn on the plan, branding it “an ineffective way of dealing with the crippling backlog in cases in our criminal justice system”.

Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Hull East and a former barrister, warned Sir Keir Starmer “many more” MPs beyond those who signed the letter he organised were willing to rebel over the changes.

The latest data on the crown court backlog in England and Wales has shown it has risen to nearly 80,000 cases, a new record high.

Data published on Thursday showed the open caseload was 79,619 at the end of September, up 2% from 78,096 at the end of June.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “You will have seen today’s criminal court figures.

“The scale of the crisis we inherited shows that merely tinkering at the edges is simply not enough.

“What is required is reform to speed up the delivery of justice.

“Justice delayed is justice denied.

“Our focus is doing the right thing for victims, and we believe this is a proportionate and sensible way of making sure that victims are not left years waiting for their day in court.”

Asked why the Government had not considered introducing a so-called “sunset clause” to the plans, so that jury trials are restored to their previous range once the courts backlog is cleared, the spokesman said: “The Bill will obviously be debated as it goes through Parliament, but we’re clear that the scale of this challenge means these reforms must be permanent to provide long-term, stable foundations and ensure that victims are no longer made to put their lives on hold and wait years for justice.”

In their letter to the Prime Minister, the MPs – whose number is largely made up of the left of the party – warned there is a “growing number of our colleagues who are not prepared to support these proposals” when it comes to the Commons.

“The drastic restriction of the right to trial by jury is not a silver bullet. To limit a fundamental right for what will make a marginal difference to the backlog, if any, is madness and will cause more problems than it solves,” the letter added.

The MPs suggested a series of alternatives to tackling the backlog, including increasing the number of sitting days for courts.

They said: “Around 130,000 sitting days are available to the courts, yet, despite a capacity crisis, sitting days are restricted by 20,000 a year.”

Government plans to increase the number of sitting days by 5,000 are “still a substantial shortfall”, the letter said.

The MPs concluded: “It is our belief that the public will not stand for the erosion of a fundamental right, particularly given that there are numerous other things the Government can do to more effectively reduce the backlog.

“We urge you to think again and come back to the House with a more credible proposal. This problem was not caused by jurors, nor will it be fixed by their eradication from public duty. Every day during the Second World War juries continued to sit reverting from 12 to 7 jurors, we are not at war!

“We Labour Members of Parliament are asking you to pause this proposal until proven evidence can be provided that this proposal will substantially reduce the backlog in the Crown Courts.”