A BRADFORD MP has joined a number of Labour colleagues in urging the Prime Minister to ditch proposals to scrap some jury trials.
The controversial plans would reserve jury trials only for when defendants faced serious charges such as rape and murder, and those with a likely sentence of more than three years in prison, in a bid to ease the backlog in the crown courts.
But in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, nearly 40 Labour MPs - including Bradford East's Imran Hussain - described the proposals as "madness".
In the letter, the MPs - whose number is largely made up of the left of the party - said: "We urge you to think again and come back to the House with a more credible proposal.
"This problem was not caused by jurors, nor will it be fixed by their eradication from public duty."
They suggested a series of alternatives to tackling the backlog, including increasing the number of sitting days for courts.
Mr Hussain - who has voiced concerns about a number of Labour policies since the party came to power - said: "Scrapping jury trials is wrong in principle and wrong in practice.
"Jury trials are a cornerstone of our democracy.
"Undermining fundamental rights will not fix a backlog created by years of Tory underinvestment."
He also pointed to research by the Institute for Government claiming that the plans would save less than ten per cent of court time in England and Wales.
The latest data on the crown court backlog in England and Wales has shown it has risen to nearly 80,000 cases, a new record high.
Data published on Thursday showed the open caseload was 79,619 at the end of September, up two per cent from 78,096 at the end of June.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister's official spokesman told reporters: "You will have seen today's criminal court figures.
"The scale of the crisis we inherited shows that merely tinkering at the edges is simply not enough.
"What is required is reform to speed up the delivery of justice.
"Justice delayed is justice denied.
"Our focus is doing the right thing for victims, and we believe this is a proportionate and sensible way of making sure that victims are not left years waiting for their day in court."
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