Jury Trials

Channels reported that the government has scrapped plans, introduced under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to remove juries from some criminal trials in England and Wales. The proposals were intended to reduce a record Crown Court backlog. BBC NEWS reported that a judge alone could have decided cases carrying a sentence of fewer than three years, while Sky News reported the original plan would have restricted jury trial to offences attracting a sentence of three years or more. Critics, including lawyers, said the changes would undermine the right to jury trial and questioned whether they would reduce delays. The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has changed course. Justice Secretary Alex Norris said he had heard the strength of feeling on judge-alone trials and had decided to change course, adding that this would allow work to start earlier and avoid victims waiting endlessly for justice. Under the revised approach, BBC NEWS reported that only complex fraud and financial offences would be heard by a judge alone, with thousands of medium level crimes remaining with volunteer magistrates. Sky News reported that only technical, lengthy fraud and financial cases would no longer be seen by a jury and would be decided instead by a single Crown Court judge. BBC NEWS reported that criminal lawyers welcomed the decision. The chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, Andrew Thomas, said justice needs juries and that nothing inspires public trust more than 12 ordinary citizens deciding the facts together. He also welcomed changes to protect victims and witnesses, and warned that moving more middle-ranking cases to magistrates could backfire because of a shortage of magistrates. The Conservative Party called the decision a major victory for those defending a fair trial, according to BBC NEWS. Sky News reported that other parties largely welcomed the move as vindication for campaigners against the original plans. It also reported concerns from the Victims' Commissioner that victims were being told to put faith in a plan the previous government said would not be enough. Sky News said the Crown Court backlog was nearly 81,000 cases and had roughly doubled since 2020, and that the bill would return to Parliament on 13 October. It reported that the new approach would include investment in court technology and judicial resources, longer sentencing powers for magistrates, and an end to the right of defendants in less serious either-way cases to choose between Crown Court and magistrates, with courts deciding the trial route.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels
The government scrapped plans to allow some criminal trials in England and Wales to be heard without a jury.			Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The proposals were intended to tackle a record backlog of Crown Court cases.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Reported by Sky News
Reported by a few · 2 channels
The earlier proposal, introduced under Sir Keir Starmer, would have allowed a judge alone to decide cases with sentences of less than three years.		Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said he changed course after hearing the strength of feeling from people.		Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Critics and lawyers opposed the proposals, arguing they eroded the right to trial by jury and would not solve court delays.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Under the revised approach, only complex or lengthy fraud and financial cases would be heard by a judge alone without a jury.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
The revised approach would keep thousands of medium-level cases with volunteer magistrates and end defendants' right to choose a Crown Court trial in less serious either-way cases.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Political opponents, including the Conservative Party, welcomed the decision as a victory for campaigners against the original plans.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
Criminal lawyers and the Criminal Bar Association welcomed the decision, with Andrew Thomas saying juries were essential to justice and public trust.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Andrew Thomas welcomed proposed protections for victims and witnesses, including restrictions on unfair questioning about a complainant's behaviour and support for witnesses.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Andrew Thomas warned that ending defendants' right to elect a Crown Court trial and doubling magistrates' sentencing powers to two years could backfire and shift around 25,000 cases, including about 5,500 jury trials, out of the Crown Court.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The Victims' Commissioner said victims were being asked to put faith in a plan the previous government had said was not enough.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The Crown Court backlog was nearly 81,000 cases and had roughly doubled since 2020.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
The bill was due to return to Parliament on 13 October.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The revised approach included millions of pounds for new court technology and more resources for judges.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Magistrates would be given powers to impose longer sentences.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
Andy Burnham had raised concerns about the original plans over the summer, and Alex Norris had invited discussion of changes shortly beforehand.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Approximately 700 prisoners were released early in England and Wales because prisons are full.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Criminal lawyers welcomed the decision and the Conservatives called it a victory for fair trial campaigners.		Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The jury system has been central to criminal courts in England and Wales for over 800 years.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The government said it can reduce the court backlog without the judge-only trial changes.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by Sky News
The Law Society said the change would increase pressure on magistrates courts and called for more investment.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.