Britain has scrapped plans to restrict the right to trial by jury in less serious criminal cases following sustained opposition from lawyers and politicians.
The Ministry of Justice announced on Sunday that proposals to limit jury trials in cases where a prison sentence of less than three years was likely would be abandoned.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the government had listened to concerns over plans to increase the number of judge-only trials in the Crown Court.
“I have heard the strength of feeling on the proposals for increasing the number of judge-alone trials in the Crown Court and have made the decision to change course,” Norris said.
The decision was welcomed by the Criminal Bar Association and other legal groups, although concerns remain over plans to increase the sentencing powers of magistrates, who hear less serious cases without juries.
Criminal Bar Association Chair Andrew Thomas thanked the government for “listening to the evidence and reaching the right verdict”, but warned that the right to trial by jury remained under threat.
Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow also welcomed the decision, but cautioned that giving magistrates greater sentencing powers could be counterproductive amid a growing backlog in magistrates’ courts.
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The move reverses a policy introduced under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was succeeded by Andy Burnham in July.
The decision comes amid a wider crisis in Britain’s criminal justice system, with hundreds of prisoners released early to ease overcrowding.
The backlog of cases awaiting jury trials in Crown Courts in England and Wales stood at nearly 81,000 at the end of June, almost double the figure recorded in 2020. Victims, defendants and witnesses often wait years for cases to reach court.
Former Justice Minister David Lammy had argued that reducing jury trials would help speed up the justice system. However, lawyers strongly opposed the proposal, saying it would undermine the fundamental right of defendants to be tried by a jury of their peers.
Critics have blamed years of underinvestment and neglect, rather than jury trials, for delays in the justice system.
The Ministry of Justice said it would retain plans to have complex fraud cases heard by a judge alone, despite a government-commissioned review earlier this year rejecting the proposal.
