Burnham plans to scrap judge-only trials
The proposal to abandon jury trials for most cases except the most serious was announced by Sir Keir Starmer last December
Andy Burnham is poised to scrap plans unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer for judge-only trials.
Listen to this article
The proposal to abandon jury trials for cases carrying sentences of less than three years was announced by the prime minister's predecessor last December.
Burnham is considering abandoning the changes, which were proposed by David Lammy under Sir Keir Starmer's government to cut the backlog of court cases.
However ministers are believed to favour pushing ahead with proposals to remove the ability of defendants to choose a jury trial in a crown court, the Telegraph reports.
They believe that abandoning the historic right would help clear a mounting backlog of 80,000 cases awaiting trial.
Read more: 'Lynchpin of a fair society' Andy Burnham to scrap plans to curb jury trials
Read more: Magistrates courts 'won't cope' with Lammy axing jury trials, MPs fear
Magistrates would instead be handed responsibility to decide where cases are tried.
The reform would apply to what are known as "either-way" offences, which can be tried in magistrates or crown courts.
Ministers believe this change would stop less serious cases, such as drug possession and dangerous driving, from going to jury trial, while stopping suspects from delaying their case for potentially years by opting to be tried by a crown court.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told LBC: “We inherited a court system in crisis and victims waiting too long for justice. The Lord Chancellor has made it a priority to reduce the backlog and ensure cases are heard sooner.
“The Courts and Tribunals Bill will return to the House in October. As the Prime Minister has said, the Lord Chancellor is considering a wide range of views on this legislation.”
It comes as more than 15,000 prisoners are on remand in jail across England and Wales awaiting trial or sentencing.
That figure represents one in five of all inmates amid growing pressure on prison spaces.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill will return to the House of Commons for its third reading on 13 October.
The plans, unveiled by David Lammy and Sir Keir back in December, would have deprived defendants of the option to opt for a jury trial, and instead would have faced a judge-only trial if they were likely to be sentenced to less than three years behind bars.
They were met with opposition by most barristers and several Labour MPs amid fears they risked undermining the justice system.
It led to 38 MPs signing a letter criticising Lammy's plans.
In the letter, they claimed the proposal amounted to the unacceptable "erosion of a fundamental right, particularly given that there are numerous other things the government can do to more effectively reduce the backlog".
Thirty leading organisations from across the VAWG sector also jointly wrote to David Lammy, urging him to drop plans to nearly halve the number of jury trials in England and Wales.
The organisations, including Solace Women's Aid, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Rights of Women, and Respect, warned it will deepen mistrust in the justice system among victims, distract from measures to reduce violence, and fail to address the court backlogs that impact survivors.