'Blitz courts' to be introduced by ministers in biggest shake-up to justice system in 50 years

A bill is expected to be published on Wednesday which will aim to lift the cap on court sitting days, introduce AI to help summarise witness statements, and introduce judge-only trials for more serious offences.

The blitz courts will list cases together, and will be introduced in London and the southeast to begin with, where the backlog of cases is most severe.

However, ministers gave accepted that the crown court delays will continue to rise and could reach the same level at the next general election despite a new package of reforms.

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Justice Secretary David Lammy announced the first blitz courts will be opened in April in the capital and will prioritise cases involving assaults on emergency workers.

Mr Lammy said in a speech that the blitz courts would involve similar cases being "listed together over short periods to concentrate court resources," adding that they would "support timely decision-making by all parties."

It is expected that the deputy Prime Minister's plans will centre around a system already in place at Liverpool Crown Court, which involves early listings of groups of trials to force the prosecution and defence legal teams to deal early with any potentially difficult issues.

The reforms are also believed to see AI introduced to the courts after a report by Sir Brian Leveson suggested courts could rely on the technology to summarise witness statements when taking case management decisions.

Sir Brian, a retired Court of Appeal judge, is the architect of controversial proposals to scale back the right to jury trials which the Government has adopted despite opposition from Labour backbenchers and legal groups.

The Government is also aiming to halve the current number of jury trials by removing defendants' rights to have a say in how they should be tried in a range of still relatively serious alleged crimes.

Instead, their cases would be heard either by the existing magistrates’ courts, which will be given expanded sentencing powers, or in a new Crown Court “bench division” in which a judge sitting alone would hear evidence and reach verdicts, according to The Times.

However, the proposals have been met with scepticism from Labour backbenchers, with around 60 said to be opposing them.

Karl Turner, a lawyer and Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, said: "I suspect there is some nervousness that the ludicrous plans are fully hatched before a potential leadership challenge."

However, Courts Minister Sarah Sackman KC told reporters: "One of the things that we have seen from our constituents and our voters is that people have sort of given up on the idea that the Government is willing to grasp what can seem like intractable challenges."

Ms Sackman added that the blitz courts would work in conjunction with a recently developed AI "listing tool" that has been designed to give senior judges a more comprehensive view of courtroom availability.