DAVID Lammy’s plan to scrap jury trials has led to accusations he does not trust ordinary people.
The Justice Secretary is said to be proposing a huge shake-up of the courts system which top legal figures have called “a coordinated campaign against public justice”.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick used an urgent question in Parliament to accuse him of thinking members of the public on juries are not “up to it”.
He called them “fundamental” to justice.
A memo leaked this week revealed Lammy’s idea to get rid of the ancient right to trial by jury for everyone except rapists and killers.
Courts minister Sarah Sackman said the 77,000-strong court backlog required “bold actions” and “meaningful reform”.
Two Labour MPs – Kim Johnson for Liverpool Riverside and Brian Leishman for Alloa and Grangemouth raised concerns that scrapping juries will lead to more discrimination.
Conservative MP and Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh said jury trials are the “greatest defence against totalitarianism” and the Government “must never throw that away”.
Top barrister Chris Daw KC called it “a slippery slope towards oblivion when it comes to justice and democracy”.
The Ministry of Justice insisted that no decision has been made.
