Burnham listens
But what will he do?
At six o’clock last Friday morning, when my most recent newsletter was published, we were still waiting to hear what Andy Burnham was planning to do about his predecessor’s plan to curtail the right to trial by jury in England and Wales. By Friday afternoon, we had an answer — of sorts. As with early releases for prisoners, the prime minister would think again.
“I have my concerns about the plan to restrict a jury trial, partly from my personal experience, particularly in Hillsborough,” Burnham said while visiting a community centre in Sheffield. “So I want to really look in detail at that proposal and my instincts are that we need to find ways of not reducing access to jury trial.”
He added: “It’s similar to the early release scheme. I want to get inside these issues before I confirm any of the plans that I inherited and, in fact, probably looking for changes.”
That comes as no surprise. As I wrote in mid-May, “anyone who aspires to replace Keir Starmer is bound to promise a review, at the very least, of the planned jury reforms.” At that time, barristers’ leaders were naturally cautious. On Friday, though, the Bar Council tried to nail Burnham’s instincts to the wall.
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