Angry male politicians are intimidating us in our fight for rape victims, say female MPs

Women MPs trying to speed up court delays of up to three years face 'threats' and 'shouting' over jury reforms

- Rachel Sylvester Political Editor

Natalie Fleet, below left, is 'nervous' about speaking up. Sarah Champion, right, says scrapping jury trials may not speed up justice.

(Sketch by Aloysius Patrimonio/Alamy)

Female MPs fighting to speed up justice for rape victims are being subjected to “threats and intimidation” from male politicians who oppose plans to reduce jury trials.

Natalie Fleet, the Labour MP for Bolsover, who was herself a victim of grooming by an older man when she was 15, said “women were being shouted over” in the recent House of Commons debate on the government proposals to reform the court system.

“It was intimidating,” she said. “It’s never OK for threats and intimidation to be used to control our behaviour.”

She said proposed changes to the judicial system — among them scrapping jury trials for defendants in England and Wales who are likely to receive a sentence of three years or less - were needed to ensure “victims get justice” in a timely fashion.

There are almost 80,000 cases in the crown court backlog. More than 4,000 of these are adult rape cases, a 70% increase on the number waiting two years ago. Some rape victims are being told their case will not be heard until 2029. “If there's one thing worse than being raped, it is going through the hell of waiting for that trial and feeling like you are on trial,” Fleet said.