The Reform UK police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland has called Labour's justice secretary a 'disgrace' over jury reform ideas.

Asked about speculation that Justice secretary David Lammy was going to reduce jury trials in order to tackle the huge courts backlog, Rupert Matthews, said he sent a letter to the cabinet member giving his thoughts.

He told the police and crime panel meeting at Glenfield, yesterday (December 1): "I think Mr Lammy is a disgrace. Personally, the proposals to restrict jury trials so severely are absolutely appalling. If there is a backlog in the courts, which clearly there is, some fact is still a hangover from the lockdowns we had during the covid years. But there are other reasons as well.

"The answer is to clear that backlog longer term. And I know this is something that I've been banging on about since I first got elected.

"The long term answer is crime prevention. Because if there are fewer crimes, then there are fewer people being arrested, fewer people being charged, fewer people going through the system. So I think long term, we need to be putting more effort, more resource and more expertise into crime prevention, trying to sort things out that way, in the longer term, but in the short term. 

"I think David Lammy's idea of restricting jury trial is absolutely the wrong answer. I think it's very dangerous. It's absolutely appalling. 

"And I've written him a letter with which, in hindsight, I think I may have dashed off when I was in a bad temper, but nevertheless, it did get across the strength of my feeling on this subject."

He said the right to a jury trial pre-dated the 1215 Magna Carta and the reason it was included in the Magna Carta was because King John had been trying to get rid of it.

A leaked government report had suggested last week that the secretary of state was considering changing the system so that only the most serious crimes, such as rape and murder would have a jury decide whether the accused is innocent or guilty. Other less serious crimes would be decided by a judge.

The Justice secretary had taken his lead from suggestions in the Leveson report which was published earlier this year, but following 'cabinet feedback' his plans are now expected to be watered down.

A statement on the government website today says that there is a 'court emergency' and there is a backlog of 80,000 criminal cases in the court. It says it will make huge sums available to increase the court capacity, with judges able to sit extra days and also money spent on repairing court buildings, many of which are crumbling.

The justice secretary will make a statement in the House of Commons outlining his plans later this afternoon.