73 of the 532 Crown Courtrooms across England and Wales are not sitting today. That’s 14 per cent.
At the same time, Burnham and Norris are doubling down on Starmer and Lammy’s claim that the most effective way to reduce the Crown Court backlog is to curb our ancient right to trial by jury — a principle enshrined in Magna Carta in 1215.
We all know that jury trials are not the problem. The real cause of the backlog — and the resulting delays and denial of justice for victims — is that courts simply are not sitting.
The Free Speech Union’s own research has shown that people charged with speech-related offences are almost twice as likely to be acquitted in a Crown Court trial by jury than in a magistrates’ court without one.
Put simply, if Lammy’s plans become law, more people will be convicted and sent to prison simply for exercising their right to free speech.
We cannot let that happen.