Jess Phillips Highlights Court Backlog Impact on Victims
A man accused of breaching a restraining order related to stalking will not have his case heard in the crown court until 2028, according to Labour safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. She urged MPs to support the courts and tribunals bill, which proposes limiting some jury trials to address the backlog.
Phillips expressed full support for the bill, citing her own experience with the "broken" court system being used to delay trials and control victims of violence against women.
"I am a victim of the backlog, and I know what it feels like to be a victim of crime," Phillips told . "I see the court system used to control victims all the time; it is a tactic that is well known among those who study stalking, and it has to change."
She stated that the alleged breach should have been handled in the magistrates court and was unsure why it was escalated to the crown court.
"It’s OK for me. I’ve got extra security, I’ve got other safeguards," she said. "But imagine that was a breach of an order against a violent ex-husband, and it’s going to be heard in more than two years’ time. Are you joking? That’s absolutely mental."
Phillips emphasized that without the proposed measures limiting jury trials, the bill would unlikely reduce the crown court backlog, which currently stands at a record 80,000 cases, causing some defendants charged today to potentially wait until 2030 for trial.
"Attrition means baddies get away with it. It leaves rapists on the street," she said. "It’s awful for a victim of rape who has had the bravery to come forward to be left waiting for years, but if they drop out of the system it also means that person might go on to rape somebody else."
Government Faces Backbench Opposition Over Jury Trial Limits
The government faces a significant backbench revolt as MPs prepare to vote on the courts and tribunals bill's second reading. The bill includes plans to restrict jury trials in England and Wales.
Thousands of lawyers recently described these plans as "unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced" in a letter to the prime minister. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab's efforts to persuade Labour MP Karl Turner, a prominent opponent, were unsuccessful following a meeting on Monday night.
Raab has also been pressured by Jo Hamilton, a former post office operator wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal, who warned that the plans would "further erode trust in the establishment." Despite this, Raab and justice minister Sarah Sackman intend to proceed with the bill as currently drafted.
The proposals include establishing a new criminal court where judges hear cases alone, magistrates-only hearings for offences with maximum sentences of two years or less, and judge-only trials for complex fraud cases.
The bill would also remove certain cases from magistrates courts, which Phillips described as a "weapon" used against her and other survivors of gender-related crimes.
Phillips Shares Personal Experience of Court Control Tactics
Phillips recounted a previous case where a man found guilty of harassment and death threats against her appealed the decision in the crown court, allowing him to exert control over her movements.
"This is a man who has wished me dead who gets to say, you can’t go to work today. You can’t pick your children up from school. Today you are going go where I say you go. That felt like a horrible power over me," she said. "It was horrible, and I hated it and I was really upset by it. And that is me – what if this is happening to women who have been abused by their controlling ex-partners?"
Labour MPs Urge Support for Reforms Amid Court Delays
A group of 40 female Labour MPs, including former women and equalities minister Anneliese Dodds, wrote to Raab on Monday urging him to "remain steadfast" with the reforms.
"The agonising and rising waiting lists in our courts, which mean that a woman reporting domestic abuse or coercive control today may be told her trial won’t come to court until 2030", they wrote. "That is intolerable."
Natalie Fleet, Labour MP for Bolsover and a victim of grooming and rape, emphasized the need to disrupt the current court system.
"This is a difficult bill, but its going to pass and the difference it will make to women and girls is massive," she said.
