Bolton’s Yasmin Qureshi on why she abstained on jury vote

This comes after the second reading of the government’s controversial Courts and Tribunal Bill, which amongst other measures proposes cutting the number of jury trials.

Bolton South and Walkden MP Yasmin Qureshi, who previously worked as a CPS barrister and designated rape and child abuse specialist, abstained on the vote earlier this week.

She said: “I abstained because I believe this Bill contains genuinely important measures that I want to see enacted. 

“The investment in legal aid matters. The additional sitting days matter. The funding for our courts matters.

Bolton Crown Court has a backlog of 100s of cases waiting to be heard (Image: Anthony Moss)

“Voting it down at second reading would have put all of that at risk, and I was not prepared to do that. 

“But a vote in favour would have been a vote to accept measures I believe are wrong in principle and unproven in practice.

“Restricting the right to jury trial and removing the automatic right of appeal are not minor procedural adjustments.

“They are changes that will fall hardest on defendants who are already the most vulnerable in the system: those from deprived backgrounds, those without legal representation, those who already find the justice system difficult to navigate.”

She added: “My constituency is the 38th most deprived in the country.

“When I consider how these reforms would affect people in Bolton South and Walkden who end up in the criminal justice system, I cannot be comfortable with them.

“The automatic right of appeal exists because magistrates courts get things wrong.

“We know that a significant proportion of those appeals succeed. Removing that right will leave some defendants, the ones who could least afford to challenge an unjust outcome, with nowhere to turn.”

The government has said the Bill is needed to tackle a huge backlog of cases waiting to be heard.

According to the Ministry of Justice as of June last year there was a backlog of 78,329 cases waiting to be heard.

In Bolton alone there was a backlog 938 cases.

But the Courts and Tribunals Bill’s most controversial aspect includes restricting the right of defendants to a jury in triable either way cases.

The Bill also proposes removing the automatic right of appeal from magistrates courts to the Crown Court.

It proposes increases magistrates’ maximum sentencing powers from 12 to 24 months and provides investment in legal aid and additional court sitting days.

Ms Qureshi said: “On jury trials, I have to be honest: I do not accept the government’s case that restricting them will meaningfully reduce the Crown Court backlog.

“When I prosecuted in the 1990s, more cases were heard in the Crown Court because magistrates had sentencing powers of only six months, and yet the backlogs we see today did not exist.

“The delays are the result of years of court closures, cuts to sitting days, reductions in staff and the enormous pressure placed on legal aid. Those are the things that need fixing. 

“I want this government to succeed in clearing the backlog. I want victims of rape and sexual abuse to get their day in court faster.

“I spent years of my career working with those victims and I know what delayed justice costs them.

“That is precisely why I am asking the government to think again.

“Introduce properly funded specialist rape courts. Fix the prisoner transport contracts. Reform case management so that cases progress to an early plea.

“Put those measures in place first and see what they achieve before restricting the right to jury trial. 

“I will engage fully in the committee and report stages of this Bill. There is much here worth fighting for.

“But I am calling on the government to use those stages to listen, to revise, and to ensure that the measures that reach the statute book are both effective and fair.” 

The Bill passed its second reading on March 10 and will go to a committee stage before being brought back to the House of Commons for a third reading.

Justice Secretary David Lammy MP has said previously that the Bill is needed to bring down growing case backlogs which are causing a crisis in the courts.

He said: “Victims are currently worn down, people simply give up, cases collapse and offenders remain free. Free to roam the streets, free to commit more crimes, free to create more victims.

“To restore swift and fair justice, we are pulling every lever available, investment is essential, modernisation is essential, and reform.”