Ministers drop plans to cut jury trials in England and Wales after outcry

Critics say scrapping of plans, which aimed to increase judge-alone trials to deliver swifter justice, leaves court system and victims vulnerable Ministers have scrapped plans that would have slashed the number of jury trials in England and Wales and replaced them with a judge sitting alone. The proposals had sparked a fierce backlash from lawyers, who have welcomed the U-turn. But the victims’ commissioner expressed concern about the abandonment of measures drawn up by the then justice secretary, David Lammy, under Keir Starmer’s government, to tackle the record backlog in the courts. Continue reading...