Record courts backlog threatens right to jury trial for thousands

Minister says overloaded system in England and Wales needs to change as case delays lengthen. Rachel Sylvester reports

- Rachel Sylvester reports

Thousands of defendants in England and Wales will lose the right to a jury trial under government plans to tackle the spiralling courts backlog.

Sarah Sackman, the courts minister, told The Observer the proposal for a new intermediate court, involving a judge and two magistrates rather than 12 members of the public, was "an idea whose time has come".

She said it was "absolutely shocking" that some rape victims are being told their case will not be heard until 2029 because of delays in the system and she would do "whatever it takes" to speed up delivery of justice.

There are now a record 78,000 cases in the crown court backlog, leading to long delays for defendants and complainants. More than 4,000 of these are adult rape cases, a 70% increase on the number waiting two years ago.

The crisis in the courts is also contributing to overcrowding in prisons because around a fifth of those in jail are on remand awaiting trial.

"The state's obligation is to deliver a fair trial," Sackman said. "Timeliness is an inherent essential ingredient of fairness and when those delays reach the level that they have reached today, that is detrimental to the quality of justice that we are delivering to the public."