Hull East MP Karl Turner has welcomed the Labour government’s decision to abandon plans for a new juryless division of the Crown Court, saying Prime Minister Andy Burnham has honoured his commitment to change course.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris announced on Sunday that ministers would scrap the proposed Crown Court Bench Division. It would have allowed a judge sitting alone to hear certain criminal cases where the expected sentence was three years or less.
Turner: ‘the fundamental safeguard of a jury trial’
Turner, the MP for Kingston upon Hull East, said he had held constructive discussions with Norris and his political advisers in recent weeks.
“I have consistently made the case that people facing serious criminal charges deserve the fundamental safeguard of a jury trial, and I am hugely grateful to Andy Burnham for his support during my campaign against David Lammy’s proposals,” he said.
The proposals were developed under the previous Labour leadership. Turner, elected as a Labour MP, currently sits as an independent following the suspension of the party whip.
Norris said he remained committed to reducing court delays but had listened to opposition to expanding judge-only trials. He said he had “made the decision to change course”.
What remains
The government argues that dropping the new division will allow it to concentrate on other reforms more quickly. Nearly 81,000 Crown Court cases were outstanding at the end of June.
The announcement does not remove every proposed restriction on jury trials. Ministers still intend to allow judge-only hearings for certain technical and lengthy fraud and financial cases, increase magistrates’ sentencing powers and give courts the final decision over where either-way offences are tried.
Those changes remain proposals requiring legislation. The Courts and Tribunals Bill is due back in the Commons on 13 October.
Turner welcomed the decision but stressed that the remaining measures would require scrutiny.
“This is an important step, but the fight to protect access to justice and ensure justice is properly served for both victims and the accused does not end here,” he said.
