Key facts
- Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly planning to scrap controversial proposals to limit jury trials.
- Justice Secretary David Lammy's plans would allow single judges to hear cases with likely sentences of three years or less.
- The proposals are intended to address the backlog of crown court cases.
- The plans have faced considerable opposition from within Parliament and the legal profession.
- Burnham has previously expressed caution about removing jury trials, calling them a 'lynchpin of a fair society'.
Andy Burnham, who is set to become the UK's next Prime Minister on July 20, is reportedly considering scrapping controversial government plans to limit jury trials. The proposals, championed by current Justice Secretary David Lammy, aim to tackle the significant backlog of cases in the crown courts.
Under Lammy's proposals within the Courts and Tribunals Bill, jury trials would be restricted to cases where the likely sentence is three years or more. For cases with a lesser expected sentence, a single crown court judge would preside without a jury. However, these plans have encountered substantial opposition from Labour backbenchers, other political parties, and senior barristers.
Burnham has previously voiced concerns about removing jury trials, describing them as a 'lynchpin of a fair society' and urging the government to proceed with caution and broad consent. He is now reportedly poised to remove the contentious sections of the Bill, allowing the rest of the legislation to progress through Parliament without the risk of being voted down. A source close to Burnham, however, indicated that no final decision has been made.
Karl Turner, a Member of Parliament and a vocal critic of the proposed reforms, has stated that Burnham is supportive of his campaign against the changes. Turner has criticized the policy as one devised by officials and accepted by "useless, ill-informed, lazy ministers."