Lammy urges Labour MPs to back jury trial cuts

David Lammy has appealed to Labour MPs to support his plans to scale back jury trials, as some backbenchers threaten to rebel over the proposals.

The justice secretary said the limits, along with other changes, were required to stem a growing backlog of cases in crown courts.

He warned that without further action, the current backlog could jump from just under 80,000 cases currently to 200,000 by 2035.

But some Labour MPs have voiced unhappiness with the plans, with three pledging to vote against the proposals ahead of an initial vote on Tuesday.

The measures, announced in December after a review by a retired judge Sir Brian Leveson, would scrap jury trials in England and Wales for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years.

Volunteer community magistrates, who deal with the majority of all criminal cases, will take on more work.

The changes will also give magistrates the power to hear cases that have a maximum sentencing range of up to 18 months. A back-up power to allow them to sentence a criminal up to two years will be created, but held in reserve.

Speaking in the Commons as he introduced legalisation to deliver the changes, Lammy, also the deputy prime minister, said they would free up "thousands of hearing days" in the crown courts for more serious cases to be heard.

He added that Labour had inherited a court system system "close to breaking point" after previous cuts to the justice department under the Conservatives, and lengthy waiting times for cases to be heard were a source of "injustice".

However, Labour MPs Jon Trickett, Nadia Whittome, and John McDonnell have said they plan to vote against the plans when they are put to a first vote later.

More could abstain, with more than 40 of the party's MPs having previously said they are not prepared to support the plans.

Whittome said the government's law was a "short-termist cost-cutting measure, which will further entrench discrimination and inequality".

"The courts backlog was caused by chronic underfunding of our criminal justice system, not jury trials," she added.