Ministers have confirmed those already awaiting trial may lose their right to have their case heard by a jury – in a major escalation in the battle over the future of the justice system.
Weeks after Justice Secretary David Lammy declared the measures would not be retrospective, the courts minister Sarah Sackman has doubled down on the reforms.
She told Sky News that where a trial date has not been set, “what you want is those measures to kick in straight away, so they can bring down the backlog”.
This is likely to inflame the row over the changes, with the Bar Council arguing it could breach a fundamental legal principle and may result in a legal challenge.
Mr Lammy and his team are proposing that if MPs and peers agree, soon almost all crimes with a penalty of up to three years in prison will be tried by only a single judge – with no option to opt for a jury.
In one of the strongest outbursts by a mainstream Labour MP about the party leadership in years, Karl Turner, the lawyer leading the rebellion, said he was “ashamed” of Sir Keir Starmer, called Mr Lammy “lazy”, and told Sky News the government needed to realise he and colleagues may end up quitting the Commons.
“At least 60” Labour colleagues are also willing to rebel over the plans, according to the Hull MP, reaching a tipping point where “it’s not difficult for five more and 10 more and 15 to come on board because you’ve got the security of the numbers”.
“The chief whip can’t start suspending 80 members,” he added.
He warned that if he was threatened, he could end up saying “I’ve had enough, I’m off” – triggering a by-election.
