Labour’s proposed judicial reforms could see jury trials scrapped in around 95 per cent of crown court cases, new analysis suggests.

A leaked memo from Justice Secretary David Lammy exposed plans to axe jury trials in most cases, with the exception of rape, murder and manslaughter amid a mounting crown court backlog.

Under the proposed changes, a new court tier would be established where judges preside independently over serious criminal matters that currently require juries.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said earlier this week that “no final decisions” had been made but that “it is right that we ask whether there are cases that need not be heard by a jury”.

New analysis by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents lawyers in England and Wales, suggests around 95 per cent of cases could be impacted.

Ministry of Justice figures indicate that of 81,489 prosecutions sent to Crown Court in the year ending June, a combined total of 3,548 involved murder, rape or manslaughter charges, the Daily Mail reports.

This breakdown demonstrates that about 95 of cases would fall under the proposed judge-only system.

In a statement on its website, the CBA said: “The CBA firmly opposes the Government’s proposal to erode the public’s fundamental right to trial by jury.

“The right to trial by jury dates back to Saxon Britain, before the Norman invasion of 1066. It is enshrined in Magna Carta.

“It has been a fundamental feature of the British Constitution, and the British Justice System, for over 800 years.

“Jury trial, in place for hundreds of serious offences, is a right which has been applauded and emulated by other nations.

“It is woven into the fabric of British society and is something of which the public has rightly been proud.”

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The plans have also been criticised by a number of MPs including Shadow Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick.

Mr Jenrick and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wrote to Mr Lammy yesterday urging him not to abolish jury trials.

The two-page letter, signed by 54 other MPs, read: “We do not dispute the seriousness of the Crown Court backlog. Victims are waiting years for justice. Witnesses’ memories fade. Confidence in the system is badly damaged.

“But juries are not the cause of this crisis. The Criminal Bar Association, the Bar Council and the Law Society have all warned that removing juries is a distraction that will not work and that has not been properly piloted or evidenced in any way.

“To take a constitutional axe to jury trial because of an administrative failure to provide enough court sitting days is to attack the symptom and leave the disease untouched.

“This is not a modest procedural reform. It will mean that thefts, serious assaults, robberies, complex frauds and many sexual offences are decided not by twelve men and women drawn at random from the community but by a single official of the state.”

The letter concluded: “800 years of history, and the confidence of millions of our constituents, should not be bartered away for a misleading promise of quick administrative gains.

“Trial by jury is one of Britain’s greatest gifts to the world. It should not be casually discarded here at home.”