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Craig Munro
Published December 2, 2025 2:03pm
Updated December 2, 2025 2:39pm
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Previous Page Next PageThousands of jury trials will be scrapped to give victims the ‘swift justice they deserve’, David Lammy said as he announced controversial reforms to the criminal justice system.
Justice Secretary Mr Lammy confirmed juries will be replaced with single judges for ‘either-way’ offences likely to result in a jail sentence of three years or under, including burglary, theft, fraud, and some sexual crimes.
He told MPs today the government is ‘pulling every possible lever’ to tackle a record-high backlog of crown court cases nearing 80,000 – with some trials being listed as far away as 2030.
Ministers have warned the backlog could hit 100,000 within three years if nothing is done, with a growing number of victims giving up on seeking justice because of the lengthy delays.
Setting out the government’s overhaul of the criminal justice system, Mr Lammy said reform is ‘desperately needed’, with victims facing ‘agonising delays’ while defendants ‘bide their time’ and ‘game the system’.
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He said: ‘We’re all proud of our justice system, rooted in the Magna Carta, but we must never forget that it implores us not to deny or delay justice.
‘When victims are left waiting for years, justice is effectively denied, and this is a betrayal of our legal heritage, and it’s a betrayal of the victims themselves.’
The suggestion to scrap more jury trials has already faced opposition from MPs and legal professionals concerned over fairness, curtailing rights, and a lack of evidence the move will even help bring down the backlog.
David Lammy told MPs reforms are ‘desperately needed’ (Picture: James Manning/PA Wire)
Reacting to the announcement, the Law Society of England and Wales warned the proposals ‘go too far in eroding our fundamental right to be judged by a jury of our own peers’.
Vice-president of the society, Brett Dixon, said: ‘Allowing a single judge, operating in an under resourced system, to decide guilt in a serious and potentially life changing case is a dramatic departure from our shared values.’
Currently, defendants of either-way offences can have their cases heard in the magistrates’ court or crown court, where they can elect a jury trial.
But under plans announced on Tuesday, defendants will no longer be able to choose this option.
Mr Lammy said: ‘Our world-leading judges should hear the most serious cases and I agree that they and the magistrate should decide where a case is heard.
‘This will prevent defendants from gaming the system, choosing whichever court they think gives the best chance of success, and drawing out the process, hoping victims give up.’
Defendants who could receive a likely sentence of three years or less, such as for offences of owning a dangerous dog, threats to kill and house burglary, will instead have their trials heard by a lone judge in a newly created Crown Court Bench Division (CCBD).
Magistrates’ powers will be increased to be able to hand down sentences of up to 18 months’ imprisonment, up from 12 months currently, so they will be able to deal with more either-way cases.
The powers could also be extended to 24 months if necessary.
The courts system ‘will take years to fix’, David Lammy said, as he described the reforms as ‘bold but necessary’ (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)
Modelling by the Ministry of Justice suggests that around 75% of cases that get sent to crown court for trial will still be heard by a jury following the reforms.
Of the 3% of cases that are currently jury trials, now 1% are expected to go to the magistrates’ court, 0.5% to the CCBD and 1.5% will remain as jury trials.
The reforms come as a response to recommendations made in July by Sir Brian Leveson to overhaul the courts system.
In his review, the former senior judge found there is ‘no constitutional or common law’ right, or right within European human rights law, for a defendant to be tried by a jury, and so there was no need to limit reforms because of this.
In his review, Sir Brian said reform of jury trials was ‘merited’ to address problems particularly with lengthy or complex trials.
‘Reform to address these concerns will be likely to have positive impacts in terms of efficiency, by reducing the open caseload, and, in addition, in terms of financial savings,’ he said.
The Government will also introduce judge-only trials for complex fraud cases.
Responding to the Government’s plans, Sir Brian said the evidence is clear more sitting days and greater efficiency will not rescue the system, adding there is ‘no silver bullet’.
‘The recommendations I put forward represented a package of reforms designed to transform our courts into a system that can provide appropriate and fair decision-making in a timely fashion,’ he said.
‘How otherwise can we restore the position so that justice is not delayed for years?’
Sir Brian will publish a second report focusing on measures to improve court efficiency, but he insisted on Tuesday that ‘they would not, on their own, be sufficient to change the overall position.’
Cheryl Thomas KC, professor of judicial studies at University College London, has researched juries for more than 20 years and told Metro there is no evidence that removing a defendant’s right to a jury trial will reduce the backlog in cases.
‘Juries are not the cause of the backlog, and proposals to remove juries for most offences will not solve the backlog,’ she said.
‘Whether the government likes it or not, the cause of the backlog is a shocking lack of funding for over a decade.’
Prof Thomas said ‘there isn’t a solution without addressing three funding issues’ – getting the crown courts back to full operation by ending the limit on judges’ sitting days, repairing dilapidated court buildings and properly funding the Bar to ensure there are enough prosecution and defence barristers to try cases.
Crown court backlog in England and Wales: Key numbers and trends
The backlog of cases waiting to be completed in crown courts in England and Wales is at a record high, with sexual offences accounting for a growing proportion of cases with the longest delays.
Here are the key numbers and trends behind the backlog, using the latest available figures from the Ministry of Justice.
– How large is the overall backlog?
There were 78,329 outstanding cases in the crown court system in England and Wales as of June 30 2025.
This is a record high and is up 10% from 70,893 a year earlier.
The backlog has more than doubled in the past six years, having stood at 34,184 in June 2019.
– How long have cases been in the backlog?
There were 19,164 cases in June 2025 that had been open for at least a year, up 17% from 16,378 a year earlier.
It is the highest number of cases open for at least 12 months since current data began.
Some 5,913 cases had been open for at least two years.
This number peaked at 6,298 in April-June 2023, since when it has fallen slightly.
– How long are defendants waiting for cases to be completed?
The median average time from charge to completion for defendants dealt with at crown courts stood at 179 days in April-June 2025.
This is up slightly from 176 a year earlier, but is below the peak of 222 days in October-December 2021.
Before the pandemic, this figure stood at around 140 days.
In cases sent to trial where a not guilty plea was entered by the defendant, the median duration from charge to completion in April-June was 392 days.
This is down year on year from 414 and is below the peak of 448 days in April-June 2023.
But it is well above the pre-pandemic level of around 250 days.
– How does the backlog of cases break down by type of offence?
Nearly a third of the crown court backlog at the end of June were cases involving violence against the person (31%), with around one in six being sexual offences (17%) and around one in seven drug offences (14%).
These three categories of offence together accounted for nearly two-thirds (62%) of the full backlog.
Among the smaller categories, theft offences made up 7% of all cases, possession of weapons 4%, public order offences 4% and robbery 3%.
– What offences make up the cases with the longest delays?
Sexual offences account for a growing proportion of cases with the longest delays in crown courts in England and Wales.
Nearly one in five (18%) backlog cases that had been open for at least two years as of the end of June 2025 were for this category of offence.
This is up from 13% in June 2024 and 11% in June 2023.
A total of 1,070 cases involving sexual offences had been open for two years or more at the end of June, up sharply from 776 cases in June 2024 and 689 in 2023.
Rape cases accounted for 7% of the two-year backlog in June, up from 5% in 2024 and 4% in 2023.
Some 431 rape cases had been open for at least two years as of June, compared with 273 12 months earlier and 261 in 2023.
The category of offence that makes up the single largest proportion of cases open for at least two years is that of violence against the person, accounting for 25% of the total in June, up slightly from 23% in both 2024 and 2023.
Drug offences made up 15% of the total in June, down from 18% in 2024 and 21% in 2023.
Which cases face the longest delays?
Sexual offences account for a growing proportion of cases with the longest delays in crown courts in England and Wales.
Incoming Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman OBE warned ahead of Mr Lammy’s announcement that the criminal justice system is failing victims on an ‘unsustainable and unacceptable’ scale
‘No amount of efficiencies, funding, or extra sitting days alone can fix a system this broken. We are past the point of sticking plaster solutions,’ Ms Waxman said.
‘This crisis demands bold decisions and radical reforms. Above all, we need action now. The longer we delay, the harder the road to recovery becomes. Every day the backlog grows, victims’ access to justice diminishes further.’
Rear view of an unrecognizable abused woman sitting on her bed looking out the window. Concept of gender violence, domestic violence and depression. (Credits: Getty Images)
Ellie Butt, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Refuge, welcomed the government’s plans to tackle court delays, which are ‘profoundly distressing for survivors of domestic abuse’.
But she said: ‘While we support the intention behind the proposed court reforms, the reality is that the justice system has repeatedly fallen short in treating domestic abuse with the seriousness it demands.
‘Many members of the judiciary still lack a thorough understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse, including coercive control. This can make the court process highly traumatic for survivors, while simultaneously allowing perpetrators to evade accountability.
‘To ensure the government’s court reforms improve outcomes for survivors in the long term, investment in specialist support services must be accompanied by significant improvements in judicial training.
‘If more perpetrators are to be held accountable, judges must be equipped to understand the complexities of domestic abuse. Only then will survivors begin to regain confidence in a justice system that has too often failed them.’
Reforms are ‘beginning of the end for jury trials’
Reacting to the announcement, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the proposals will be the ‘beginning of the end of jury trials’.
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Meanwhile Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association, said the increased powers for magistrates was a ‘big vote of confidence’ but more resources are needed for the courts including enough trained, well-paid legal advisers, and repairing crumbling court buildings.
The independent body also pressed the case for the new swift courts to include two magistrates passing sentences with a judge, as originally proposed by Sir Brian, so that ‘ordinary people’ are involved in both verdict and sentencing.
It is understood ministers decided to divert from Sir Brian’s proposal for the CCBD to be made up of a judge and two magistrates because of practical reasons given the new rise in cases in magistrates courts from the reforms.
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