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sir keir starmer facing the other backbench Rebellion On his plan to ban jury trials after 39 Labor MP Signed a letter in opposition to the plans.
Earlier this month, Justice Secretary Plans announced to cancel jury trials in England and Wales For offenses punishable with imprisonment for less than three years.
David Lammy It was also announced that magistrates, who deal with most criminal cases, would be overworked and new “accelerations” “Courts” Will be established after the recommendations in the review of the retired judge Sir Brian Leveson.
However, some of Sir Keir’s own MPs have signed a letter branding the plans “madness” and warning they are not prepared to support the proposals.
The letter is organized by Kingston upon Hull MP carl turner, Who warned that the letter was signed by MPs from different factions and “not just the usual suspects”.
“Draconian restrictions on the right to trial by jury are no silver bullet. Limiting a fundamental right that will make little difference to the backlog is madness and will create more problems than it solves,” the letter said, warning that the public “will not stand for the erosion of a fundamental right”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Today At the programme, Mr Turner said the planned changes were “unjust” and that the “right to be heard before a tribunal of one’s own people” had existed for almost 800 years.
“It won’t work, and I’m afraid the government is going to have to realize that and change its tune,” he said.
He explained that he had never rebelled against the Labor whip before, but was now prepared to do so for the first time.
The Labor MP had earlier challenged Sir Keir about the issue in PMQs, warning that jury trials were not the cause of the backlog.
He also suggested that the restrictions should be implemented with a sunset clause only after the backlog has been completed.
Meanwhile, Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden, chairman of the influential Blue Labor group, told Independent: “I served on a jury this year, and I was incredibly impressed by the whole process. Jury trials are a cornerstone of the long history of citizen participation and British justice. I don’t want to see any of this diminished.”
Andy Slaughter, chair of the justice select committee, also warned against the changes.
He told the Commons on Thursday: “Restricting jury trials could help reduce the crown court backlog, but there is no evidence that it should be used.” jury board Caused the current delay.”
Signatories to the letter include senior figures such as Diane Abbott, the former shadow home secretary who is currently suspended from Labour, Vicky Foxcroft from the Tribune group on the left and Dan Carden, who leads the Blue Labor group on the right.
Meanwhile, the latest figures published on Thursday showed that the crown court backlog in England and Wales has risen by almost 80,000 cases, a new record high.
That’s 9 percent more than the same point a year ago, according to Justice Ministry data.
The number of cases open for a year or longer exceeded 20,000 for the first time at the end of September, to 20,155, up 25 percent year-on-year and 6 percent from the end of June.
Open caseload refers to the number of outstanding cases.
It comes as Ministry of Justice estimates published earlier this month showed that under current circumstances the Crown Court backlog could reach a high estimate of 125,000 by the end of this Parliament.
These changes are aimed at curbing victims facing “hardship delays” in the system as some trials are being listed until 2030.
Responding to the record high, Mr Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, said: “This government has inherited a system on the brink of collapse.
“The lives of the victims are being put at risk as the cases have been pushed many years into the future.
“The scale of this crisis means tinkering at the edges is not enough. We can’t get out of this mess – only fundamental reform can deliver fair and swift justice to brave survivors of crime.”