Courts will sit for extra days to tackle growing backlog

Courts will sit for extra days to help tackle backlogs, the Deputy Prime Minister is set to announce, as judges are forced to apologise for justice delays.

David Lammy will announce plans for victims to get faster justice in a speech on Wednesday, with the Government funding an extra 1,250 sitting days.

The speech, which coincides with the opening of the legal year, comes as several judges have apologised to defendants and victims for delays in the court system, with some trials pushed back multiple years.

The Government has said the plans will ensure more trials can be heard to help tackle the growing backlog of cases.

Peer and reality television star Lord Charles Brocket, who appeared before Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday facing allegations of sexual assault and rape, was told his trial would not be heard until November 2027.

During the hearing, the Recorder of the Royal Borough of Kensington, Judge Martin Edmunds KC, issued an apology “to all concerned” for the delay. No pleas were entered in the hearing.

Also on Tuesday, seven defendants allegedly involved in an attack in a park in Peterlee were told they faced a two-and-a-half-year delay before their trial, which is set for March 2028.

Judge Richard Clews told the group, who all pleaded not guilty, that there is a “substantial backlog” in the court.

Mr Lammy said: “The crown court backlog we inherited stands at over 78,000 and behind each case is a real person, waiting years for justice.

“That is why we are acting with the biggest investment on record as part of our plan for change.

“An additional 1,250 sitting days will be allocated to the crown court this financial year, allowing it to hear many extra cases.

“We know there is more to do, and generational reform that cannot wait, but this investment will help ease the torment and bring swifter justice to many more victims.”

The Law Society welcomed the move as a “welcome step forward” but stressed investment is needed across the whole system.

Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “Further action remains crucial to tackle the crown court backlogs in the longer-term, as well as to address the record backlogs in the magistrates court.

“The Government needs to ensure improvements in one part of the system can be matched throughout the pipeline.

“Investment is needed across the entire criminal justice system to get this vital public service back on its feet.”