Jury trials

Is the government right to restrict jury trials?

23 min listen

The government’s plan to restrict jury trials passed its first parliamentary hurdle this week. It is one measure, amongst many, in a Bill designed to reduce the huge backlog currently facing the Courts. Labour MP Karl Turner and Danny Shaw, a former adviser, join Isabel Hardman to discuss why they have each come to their own, different conclusion about the merits of the Bill. For Danny, it is a pragmatic yet principled measure that will help mitigate an extreme situation. Karl, for his part, is – as you will hear – ferocious in his opposition, and argues that the evidence simply doesn’t back it up. Amongst the debate though, there

Is the government right to restrict jury trials?

David Lammy’s depraved new world

Beamish, the living history museum in County Durham, invites visitors to ‘step into the past’. It shows how people lived in the early 20th century and attracts plenty who want to see what life was like in a simpler and – in some ways – better time. On Tuesday evening, we had a Beamish moment in the House of Commons. Sir Geoffrey Cox rose to speak on the subject of the government’s abolition of jury trials. The Tory grandee brought real expertise that is rare these days in the Commons. Unlike the numerous MPs who claim the title despite having actually just sat on HR tribunals for the Cats Protection