David Lammy’s proposed reforms to the courts system have successfully passed their first parliamentary stage, despite accusations from his own backbench that he is exploiting victims’ experiences as a "cudgel" to push them through.
During the Commons debate on the Courts and Tribunals Bill, Labour MP Charlotte Nichols spoke publicly for the first time about being raped.
She argued that "experiences like mine feel like they’ve been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection" in the push for the changes.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s plans would limit jury trials to cases where a sentence of three years or more is likely, with these instead being heard by a single crown court judge.
Additionally, magistrates’ courts would gain the power to handle cases with a potential sentence of up to two years. Ms Nichols specifically criticised the proposal to restrict jury trials.
A significant number of Labour backbenchers criticised the proposed reforms on Tuesday, including Kingston upon Hull East’s MP Karl Turner who branded the changes “unworkable, unpopular, unjust and unnecessary”.
Mr Lammy, who is also the Justice Secretary, had pleaded with MPs to support the Bill, warning there is an urgent need to address rising court backlogs.
The Commons voted 304 to 203, majority 101, to pass the Bill at second reading.
10 Labour MPs voted against the Bill, while 90 had no vote recorded, according to Parliament’s data.
Opening the debate, Mr Lammy had warned MPs of the “stark” choice as he argued “we cannot continue with this rising backlog”.
He added: “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.”
He told MPs the proposals were “progressive”, and if no action was taken, the backlog could reach 200,000 cases in a decade.
Ms Nichols said “the Government’s framing and narrative has been to pit survivors and defendants against each other in a way I think is deeply damaging”.
In a powerful speech, the MP for Warrington North said: “I waited 1,088 days to go to court.
“Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public, with the event that led to my eventual sectioning for my own safety still being something that I receive regular social media abuse from strangers about to this day.
“But here’s the kicker: in this debate, experiences like mine feel like they’ve been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection, for what this Bill actually is.”
She added: “We have been told that if we have concerns about this Bill, it is because we have not been raped or because we don’t care enough for rape victims. The opposite is true in my case, it is because I have been raped that I am as passionate as I am about what it means for a justice system to be truly victim-focused.
“It is because I have endured every indignity that our broken criminal justice system could mete out that I care what kind of reform will actually deliver justice for survivors and victims of crime more widely.”
She added: “There is so much that we can be doing for rape victims that isn’t the Lord Chancellor using them as a cudgel to drive through reforms that aren’t directly relevant to them.
“As a starting point, Rape Crisis England and Wales have called for five key demands in their Living in Limbo report. Don’t say that this Bill helps deliver justice for rape victims, until it actually, materially does.”
Ms Nichols said the man who raped her was acquitted in a criminal court.
She was given compensation after a civil case found she had been raped, she told MPs.
Natalie Fleet had earlier spoken in support of the Government, arguing it is “stepping up for victims”.
The Labour MP for Bolsover has previously spoken about her own experience of being groomed and raped.
She told the Commons: “I can tell you from personal experience, you know what’s worse than being raped? Facing years of waiting to see if people believe you.
“This is not about denying anybody justice. This is about enabling victims and innocent parties to have a more efficient path to getting that justice,” she added.
Ms Fleet said she would do “everything I can to get as many rapists as I can in those courts”, adding: “Trials by jury are part of our history, but we have to adapt when trials are taking twice as long as they did in the year 2000, we need to keep up too.”
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