Labour MP Criticises Starmer And Lammy Over Jury Trial Plan

Keir Starmer and David Lammy “ought to be ashamed” of the government’s plans to scrap most jury trials, a rebel Labour MP has said.

Karl Turner slammed the “ludicrous” policy amid a growing backbench rebellion.

Nearly 40 Labour MPs have so far signed a letter to the prime minister urging the government to think again.

But Turner, the MP for East Hull and also a trained lawyer, said that could rise to more than 80 – enough to potentially block the policy from going ahead.

Under the government plans, jury trials will be scrapped for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years.

Those cases will be heard by a lone judge in a newly-created Crown Court Bench Division.

The most serious offences such as murder and rape will continue to be dealt with by juries.

Lammy has said the changes, which are backed by the PM, would help to clear the huge backlog of cases in the courts and deliver swifter justice for victims.

But Turner told HuffPost UK:“I am determined to stop this ludicrous plan. They both know this isn’t going to touch the backlog. They ought to be ashamed.

“The fact that they are pitching this as if it will be the answer to victims waiting years for justice is crude and untrue. It’s over-promising to ultimately under-deliver. It will let those innocent people down.”

Turner’s comments came as opposition to the policy from the legal profession is also growing.

Kirsty Brimelow KC, the new chair of the Bar in England and Wales, told Radio 4′s Today programme that “juries are not the cause of the backlog”.

She said removing the right to a jury trial in most cases “won’t make any difference to the 80,000 cases that are in the backlog at the moment”.

The Criminal Bar Association, which represents lawyers, has described the government’s plans as “dramatic gestures that pose as solutions”.

Its chair Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: “We don’t need gimmicks. We need courtrooms that function.”