An eloquent King’s Counsel in full, passionate flow is a thing of beauty. Following on from Geoffrey Cox KC’s barnstorming speech, here’s @NECircuitleader telling the Labour minister that reducing jury trials is not the answer to dealing with the backlog of cases.

There is no consideration of the backlog in the magistrates’ courts which is accelerating faster than the crown courts. It’s at a record high and increased by 17% in the last year. The magistrates have nearly 380,00 cases waiting- nearly 5 times larger than the crown court. Smaller cases are before magistrates’ courts. Send another 15% of cases (which include serious cases) to the magistrates’s courts (at a cost) and the delays will increase. Look at the courts where time is reduced - Liverpool crown court, Preston crown court, Woolwich previously, western circuit during pandemic and see how they can do it- even with government reduced sitting days at the moment. He also said that juries do not cause the delays.

Is David Lammy aware there are quotes extolling the ancient rights of Britons to trial by jury *on the windows of his actual office*?

Lammy says his attack on jury trials is needed for efficiency. Today Sir Brian Leveson blew that excuse apart. Labour are attacking this ancient English right for ideological reasons. We will fight them every step of the way.

The pantomime of PMQs: Badenoch should ask questions on a niche topic to expose Starmer's irrelevant drivel OR The Opposition benches should walk out if Starmer refuses to answer the Q @CommonsSpeaker stop the pantomime!! Voters deserve better than this weekly charade!!

Steve Reed has had a bad weekend and Monday morning won’t be any better. Remember he told councils they should not be allowing staff to work a 4 day week for 5 days pay? Oops … it’s reported that 339 civil servants in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that. All funded by tax payers. Brilliant.

This letter from His Honour Simon Tonking (one of the original authors of the Crown Court Compendium) is well worth reading. Experienced legal figures warn these jury reforms are unworkable. A rushed, ill-judged change that risks real harm to justice.