Defending the right to trial by jury

Responding to proposals from the Justice Secretary that jury trials should be scrapped except in the most serious cases, Green MP Sian Berry said:

“This is yet another assault on our rights from an increasingly authoritarian government. This proposal would scrap a fundamental cornerstone of our justice system which has been in the place for 800 years.

“For David Lammy to describe the right to trial by jury as ‘not a right’ is a disgrace. The Government must fund our justice system properly – not make people pay for Labour and Conservative austerity with their fundamental rights. The Green Party will fight these proposals all the way.”

ENDS