A van arrives to Southwark Crown Court in London earlier
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)More offenders should be persuaded to plead guilty early to help clear the huge backlog of cases in the crown courts, the Lord Chief Justice has said.
Lord Burnett of Maldon said it was “in nobody’s interest” that large numbers of suspects were currently waiting until late in the court process to admit their crimes.
He said the trend was contributing to the crown court backlog of around 60,000 cases — which was leading to lengthy delays for victims of rape and other serious crimes in their fight for justice — and that a working group involving judges, police and prosecutors had been set up to try to tackle the problem.
He said the principal aim was to ensure the early exchange of information about cases so that more of the offenders who were currently pleading guilty did so much sooner to remove their cases from the backlog.
“It is in nobody’s interest that there are long delays in resolving cases,” the Lord Chief Justice told reporters at his annual press conference in the Royal Courts of Justice today.
Lord Burnett's remarks came as he also disclosed that he had used a recent meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to raise his concerns about potential threats to the rule of law in the UK.
He said Mr Sunak had made clear his support for the principle — which Lord Burnett said was fundamental to Britain’s success — and that the pair had agreed that “the rule of law is non-negotiable”.
“That is extremely reassuring,” the Lord Chief Justice said, adding that he had “read about hypothetical threats to the rule of law” which had prompted his concern and contributed to his desire to raise the matter with the Prime Minister.
Lord Burnett did not give examples, saying he was unwilling to say more about the detail of his conversation with Mr Sunak, but his remarks follow reports that the Government is considering removing the right of appeal from migrants crossing the Channel in small boats and is also contemplating withdrawing from the European Court of Human Rights.
