Victims’ commissioner for England and Wales warns against U-turn on limiting jury trials

Claire Waxman said changing the sentencing bill risked undermining a key Labour promise to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

A potential government U-turn on changes to jury trials risks breaking a justice system on the brink of collapse, the new victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.

Claire Waxman said the justice secretary, David Lammy, must face down MPs and the legal profession over proposals to reduce the number of jury trials or “we will not have victims coming into the system”.