Jury trials: Labour backbenchers "simply sat by"

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Commenting on the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which includes controversial plans to slash jury trials, passing through the Commons for the first time this evening, Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller MP said:

“If more Labour backbenchers had taken a stand today, alongside the Liberal Democrats, we could have stopped the Government in its tracks from pushing through its disastrous and unpopular plan to slash jury trials. Instead they simply sat by.

“The Justice Secretary has put his fingers in his ears despite the entire legal sector sounding the alarm that scrapping jury trials will do absolutely nothing to bring down the spiralling backlog and threatens a cornerstone of our justice system.

“The Government should have listened to the Liberal Democrats' plans to double sitting time in courtrooms across the country. That's how to get the backlog under control and give victims justice quickly."

ENDS