Sir Keir Starmer is facing another backbench rebellion over his plans to restrict jury trials after 39 Labour MPs signed a letter opposing the plans.
Earlier this month, the justice secretary announced plans to scrap jury trials in England and Wales for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years.
David Lammy also announced that magistrates, who deal with most criminal cases, will take on more work and new “swift courts” will be set up following recommendations in a review by retired judge Sir Brian Leveson.
However, some of Sir Keir’s own MPs have signed a letter describing the plans as “madness” and warned they are not prepared to support the proposals.
The letter has been organised by Kingston upon Hull MP Karl Turner, who warned that the letter was signed by MPs from different factions and “not just the usual suspects”.
“The drastic restriction of the right to trial by jury is not a silver bullet. To limit a fundamental right for what will make a marginal difference to the backlog, if any, is madness and will cause more problems than it solves,” the letter added, warning that the public “will not stand for the erosion of a fundamental right”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Turner said the planned changes were “unjust” and the “right to be heard before a tribunal of their own people” had “existed for something like 800 years”.
“It won’t work, and I’m afraid the government are going to have to realise that and change their tune,” he said.
He pointed out that he has never rebelled against the Labour whip himself previously, but is prepared now to do it for the first time.
The Labour MP has previously challenged Sir Keir about the issue in PMQs, warning that jury trials are not the cause of the backlog.
He has also suggested that the restrictions should only be introduced with a sunset clause once the backlog has been cleared.
Meanwhile, Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden, chair of the influential Blue Labour group, told The Independent: “I did serve on a jury this year, and I was incredibly impressed with the whole process. Jury trials are the cornerstone of civic participation and the long history of British justice. Neither of which I wish to see diminished.”
Chair of the justice select committee, Andy Slaughter, also warned against the changes.
He told the Commons on Thursday: “Restricting jury trial may help to reduce the crown court backlog, but there is no evidence that the use of juries caused the current delay.”
Signatories of the letter include senior figures such as Diane Abbott, the former shadow home secretary who is currently suspended from Labour, Vicky Foxcroft from the Tribune group on the left, and Dan Carden, who leads the Blue Labour group on the right.
Meanwhile, the latest data published on Thursday showed the crown court backlog in England and Wales has risen to nearly 80,000 cases, in a new record high.
It is also up 9 per cent from the same point a year earlier, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
The number of cases open for a year or more passed 20,000 for the first time at 20,155 at the end of September, which is up 25 per cent year on year and up 6 per cent from the end of June.
Open caseload refers to the number of outstanding cases.
It comes as Ministry of Justice projections published earlier this month suggested the crown court backlog could reach a high estimate of 125,000 by the end of this parliament under current conditions.
The changes seek to curb victims facing “agonising delay” in the system as some trials are being listed as far as 2030.
Responding to the record high, Mr Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, said: “This government inherited a system on the brink of collapse.
“Victims’ lives are being put on hold as cases are kicked several years into the future.
“The scale of this crisis means tinkering at the edges is not enough. We simply cannot spend our way out of this mess – only fundamental reform can give the brave survivors of crime fairer and faster justice.”
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