David Lammy has defended plans to limit jury trials to the most serious offences such as rape and murder.

The Justice Secretary will lay out reforms later today to overhaul the system in order to tackle what he dubbed the “courts emergency.”

Under the new plans, leaked last week, Mr Lammy proposed a new tier of judge-only courts to hear cases likely to attract sentences of up to five years, similar to the Canadian system.

Only defendants accused of crimes likely to receive sentences of more than five years would be entitled to have their case heard before a jury.

This includes crimes such as murder, rape, other serious sexual offences, terrorism, manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and possession of firearms.

Anyone charged with so-called “either way” offences, where the accused can pick either a magistrates or jury trial, would be stripped of their right to elect trial by jury and the decision would instead be taken by judges.

This includes burglary, affray, fraud, some sexual crimes and criminal damage up to £10,000.

The move to give victims the “swift justice they deserve” comes amid a record-high backlog of crown court cases totalling more than 78,000, and trials listed as far as 2030.

Ministers have warned the backlog could rise to 100,000 by 2028 if nothing is done, with a growing number of victims giving up on seeking justice because of the lengthy delays.

Mr Lammy wrote in The Telegraph: “Today I am calling time on the courts emergency that has left victims of the most serious crimes waiting years for justice and pushed the justice system to the brink of collapse. For many victims, justice delayed is often justice denied.

“Some give up on the process, while others have no confidence justice will be served if they report a crime, and perpetrators never held to account.

“This simply cannot go on, we must be bold. I will set out a fast and fair justice plan that gives victims and survivors the swift justice they deserve.”

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Keir Starmer admits China is a ‘national security threat’ to Britain

Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged that China represents a “national security threat” to Britain, despite the Government’s efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing.

At the Lady Mayor’s Banquet in Guildhall on Monday, the Prime Minister said it would be “a dereliction of duty” not to engage with China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Sir Keir said that establishing a cautious relationship with the East Asian country would give Britain a boost on the world stage.

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