Government to scrap right to trial by jury in controversial bid to slash Britain's courts backlog

The controversial move marks one of the most radical overhauls of the justice system in England and Wales for decades.

Ministers say the changes will be able to make a significant dent in the court backlog by 2029 - which has hit a record high of nearly 80,000 cases this year.

Under the new proposed system, a judge-only division of the crown court will be set up to hear some cases.

It means a significant number of cases will be heard by judges and magistrates instead of juries, following recommendations made in a review by Sir Brian Leveson.

Courts minister Sarah Sackman said the radical changes will stop offenders from “gaming the system” by opting for trial by jury to boost chances of their cases collapsing.

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She vowed to enact the overhaul by the next election as she warned that failure to do so would worsen the crisis.

Speaking at Wood Green crown court, she said sexual assault victims were repeatedly told it could take up to four years for their cases to be heard in court.

The move has sparked backlash from lawyers, with the Criminal Bar Association warning that ending the right to trial by jury undermines the fundamental principle for British justice. 

But Ms Sackman told the Guardian: “Behind these 80,000 odd cases that are waiting in the backlog, there are individual stories and individual lives being put on hold behind each and every one of those cases.”

Data published in September showed the crown court open caseload was 78,329 at the end of June, up 2% from 76,957 at the end of March, when the backlog passed 75,000 for the first time.

Responding to the figures, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said: "Today's statistics show the crown court backlog has hit a new record high and it lays bare the unacceptable wait victims face.

"That's why since we came to power we have invested a record amount into our courts so we can deliver swifter justice for victims.

"However, money alone cannot turn the tide on the rising backlog which is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious reform, to put our justice system back on sustainable ground."

Sir Brian Leveson unveiled plans to shake up the structure of courts and reclassify offences in his review of the courts system back in July.

Sir Brian’s recommendations were modelled to save approximately 9,000 sitting days in the crown court each year from some of the main changes, such as by diverting cases to magistrates’ courts or to the proposed Crown Court Bench Division for trials to be heard by judges.

He said juries would be reserved to hear the most serious cases, and defendants would receive a 40% discount on their sentence if they plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.