David Lammy’s plans to strip thousands of defendants of the right to a jury trial in favour of judge-only hearings could threaten judges’ security, the head of the judiciary has warned.
Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, said on Tuesday that she had “grave security concerns” about the controversial reforms, which would see juries in England and Wales replaced with a single judge in cases where a convicted defendant would be jailed for up to three years.
The reforms are being brought in to tackle the record case backlog in the criminal courts, which has led to some cases not being scheduled to start until 2030.
Baroness Carr told journalists: “My responsibility is to make it as plain as I can that I have grave security concerns if there are going to be judge-alone trials.
“It’s a very different environment to be working in, and judges usually sit in one main centre, so they are going in and out of one centre on a daily basis, rather than High Court judges who are sitting all around the country.”
Baroness Carr said she had “made the case very, very strongly” that judicial security needs to be considered by the government.
She added: “I have been assured that that has all been heard and understood, and the resources will be made available”.
When asked to clarify how judges might be put at risk, she said she was not too worried about intimidation of judges, adding: “I don’t want to go into too much detail about where my concerns lie. I think in the broadest of senses, I would say that they would centre at the moment on judges going to the same building every day.”
Baroness Carr pointed to Canada, which has a “gold-standard” judicial security unit. She said that “individual measures are being taken for individual judges where appropriate”, concluding: “It is a huge issue, and if you were to go and ask me the low lights of the last year, security events and occasions would be one of them.”
She also highlighted the threat to judges online, saying: "The social media abuse has taken a nasty turn when it comes to judges now. (It) is increasingly racist and misogynistic social media abuse that is so difficult to control."
Baroness Carr opened her annual press conference at the Royal Courts of Justice in London by paying tribute to Jeff Blair, a court bailiff, who was seriously injured at work in County Durham.
A man accused of murdering Mr Blair, who had previously worked as a police officer for 22 years, made his first appearance in court on Monday.
Justice secretary David Lammy’s reforms passed their first hurdle in Parliament last week after MPs voted to allow the Courts and Tribunal Bill. The bill passed with a majority of 101, and with 10 Labour MPs rebelling against the government.
Under the changes, magistrates’ powers will be increased so they can hand down sentences of up to 18 months’ imprisonment, up from 12 months currently, so they will be able to deal with more cases.
The plans for judge-only trials would see judges reaching verdicts along on cases involving grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and organised crime.
In 2024, a man was jailed for three years after throwing a radiator at family court judge Patrick Perusko before pinning him down and punching him.
A year ago, the Lady Chief Justice publicly rebuked the prime minister and the leader of the opposition for their critical remarks in Parliament about a immigration judge's ruling, and said judicial security was at an "all-time high".
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Lady Chief Justice is absolutely right to highlight how important it is to ensure judges are safe to carry out their duties. Our reforms mean serious cases will continue to be heard in front of a jury and we have robust measures in place - backed by increased investment - to protect judges and all court users.
“Victims are facing unacceptably long waits for justice after years of delays in our courts. That is why we are pressing ahead with our plans - alongside modernising it for the 21st century with record investment.”
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