Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated a desire to re-examine proposals that would significantly curtail the use of jury trials in England and Wales, stating his "instincts are that we need to find ways of not reducing access to jury trial."
Burnham announced he wants to "really look in detail" at the plan, which is slated to be incorporated into the Courts and Tribunals Bill in the coming months. He drew a parallel to the early release scheme for prisoners, stating, "I want to get inside these issues before I confirm any of the plans that I inherited and, in fact, probably looking for changes."
This comes shortly after Burnham paused a scheme that would have led to the early release of thousands of inmates across England and Wales. The prime minister also initiated a process to readmit Hull East MP Karl Turner to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Turner had his whip suspended in March for "uncollegiate" behavior, though he stated his suspension was due to his strong opposition to the jury trial reforms.
Turner had previously characterized the proposed reforms as a "stupid idea" and urged the former justice secretary, David Lammy, to halt the process. Lammy's proposal, made under Sir Keir Starmer's government, aimed to replace juries with a single judge in cases where defendants face sentences of up to three years. The rationale behind the plan was to alleviate the substantial backlog in Crown Court cases, which has reached an estimated 80,000 cases, with some defendants facing trials as late as 2030.
However, the proposal has encountered significant opposition from legal professionals and other political figures. Kirsty Brimelow KC, head of the Bar Council, stated in March that there was "very little evidence to support even basic rationality of the government's decision to rush through this legislation which unnecessarily removes jury trials from thousands of people." Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy urged Labour MPs to vote against the changes, emphasizing that juries serve as a crucial "safeguard between the citizen and the state."