Story perspectives

Burnham Drops Jury-Trial Cut Plan After Lawyer Outcry

7/31/2026

Summary

Story summary

Andy Burnham announced he will scrap the jury-trial reduction plan, citing his Hillsborough experience.
The proposal would have limited juries to cases with sentences over three years, aimed to clear an 80,000-case Crown Court backlog and promised 20% savings.
The Institute for Government estimated the reform would save only about 2% of time.
Bar Council head Kirsty Brimelow KC and 3,200 lawyers, including 300 senior barristers, opposed the reforms.

History

Historical Context

The 1998 Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act, pushed by Home Secretary Jack Straw after the Omagh bombing, created non-jury Diplock courts and saw 2,300 terrorism cases tried without juries—a 15 % rise that alarmed the Bar Council. Andy Burnham’s 2024 proposal to restrict juries to offences carrying sentences over three years revives that same debate, though the 1998 reforms saved 1 % of processing time.

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Story summary

Andy Burnham announced he will scrap the jury-trial reduction plan, citing his Hillsborough experience.
The proposal would have limited juries to cases with sentences over three years, aimed to clear an 80,000-case Crown Court backlog and promised 20% savings.
The Institute for Government estimated the reform would save only about 2% of time.
Bar Council head Kirsty Brimelow KC and 3,200 lawyers, including 300 senior barristers, opposed the reforms.

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