Courts system in a 'calamitous' state, warns ex-judge who recommended jury cuts

Sir Brian Leveson, who conducted the autarkic reappraisal of the courts strategy that guided the government's determination to trim connected assemblage trials, has suggested determination is nary alternative.

Speaking to Sky's Politics Hub programme, the retired justice argued that by restricting assemblage trials, Justice Secretary David Lammy is "aiming to effort to lick the systemic problems" successful courts.

He told Sky presenter Ali Fortescue: "I americium a large believer successful proceedings by jury, but trials with a assemblage instrumentality precise overmuch longer than trials conducted different than with 12 radical who are utterly unused to transgression process and transgression evidence.

"So my interest is that we request to get done cases quicker."

He said that it was apt a "20% clip redeeming would result" from the move, though helium thinks that "a large woody more" would beryllium saved.

Asked astir the disapproval contiguous of the decision, Sir Brian said: "I'm gaining nary pleasance from it, but what I accidental to each of them is 'If not this, past what?' How bash we trim the backlog truthful the victims and witnesses get their time successful tribunal wrong a tenable time?"

He argued that "we should usage our resources proportionately to the gravity of the offending", and "there are immoderate cases which, to my mind, bash not merit oregon necessitate a proceedings by jury".

Sir Brian said that immoderate jurors helium had spoken to said it was "worthwhile". But helium added: "They've fixed up 2 weeks of their life, sometimes without immoderate wage but the tiny remuneration that they person from the authorities doing assemblage service, and they've been trying cases which shouldn't merit their attention".

Asked if helium would privation a proceedings by assemblage if helium had been wrongly accused of theft, Sir Brian said: "If I'd been wrongly accused of theft, I'd beryllium perfectly blessed for a justice to determine I'd been wrongly accused of theft."

More broadly, helium said: "I don't spot however you're going to bring down the backlog without much money, much sitting days, greater efficiency, and speedier trials...

"There aren't the judges, determination aren't the tribunal staff, much importantly determination aren't the advocates."

He said that the justness strategy had ne'er been successful specified a "calamitous" state.

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily connected your podcast app 👈

'The reforms are astir fairness'

Courts curate Sarah Sackman besides defended the determination connected Tuesday's Politics Hub. She acknowledged that assemblage trials were "a occurrence story", and "a cornerstone of British justness and volition stay truthful aft today's plans".

But she added: "What's not specified a occurrence communicative is the information that we inherited grounds and rising backlogs successful our courts.

"Today the fig starts astatine 80,000 cases, and it's connected the emergence - owed to deed 100,000 by 2028."

That leaves victims "waiting for their lawsuit to beryllium heard". She argued that the measures announced connected Tuesday were "a acceptable of reforms that volition reconstruct assurance successful our justness system, get those delays down, and so sphere assemblage trials for the astir superior cases".

Ms Sackman added that "right present successful our system, 90% of cases [are] being heard without a assemblage successful our magistrates", which is "fair, robust justice".

"Part of fairness is astir the swiftness we request to present swifter justness for victims," she said.

"What's not just is simply a unfortunate of transgression being told contiguous that she needs to hold until 2029, 2030 for her time successful court."

The curate gave an illustration of what volition change, saying: "Supposing a suspect is accused of stealing a vessel of whisky.

"Is it close that we let the suspect to importune connected a slower, much costly assemblage proceedings successful the aforesaid queue arsenic the unfortunate of rape, making her hold and successful immoderate cases, justness not being served?

"That's the prime that we've made today."

But the curate refused to accidental however overmuch this would trim the backlog by.