Speeches by Farnsworth.

“I am not sure we are, actually, to be fair.”

“Are we moving on to the magistrates?”

“Last year, 4,283 cases were in that situation, so only went to the Crown court because the defendant elected Crown court trial. Straightaway, the measure means that 4,283 cases fewer would have gone to the Crown court last year.”

“Sticking with modelling, but from a slightly different angle, there has been a lot of focus on the length of time that a jury trial takes and the consequence, or lack of consequence, for the backlog. Has there been any modelling or consideration of other factors of jury trials and the impact on the backlog? One example…”

“No, no, we are talking about different things here, I think—electing from the magistrates. At the moment, in a mode of trial hearing—as I am sure you know, but just in case anyone does not—the magistrates consider representations and decide whether their sentencing powers are sufficient. If they are sufficient and equi…”

“Is there anything that is likely to get—”

“Riel Karmy-Jones, may I ask you the same question, please?”

“To clarify, Kirsty Brimelow, are you saying that you disagree with the Government removing the right to elect?”

“Are we moving on to the magistrates?”

“This is a question for all of you. The Government have proposed to remove the right for defendants to elect a jury trial in either-way cases, which goes beyond what Brian Leveson suggested, albeit I think he made some comments that he did not think it was a bad idea, if it was what the Government wanted to do. Do you a…”

“That would be really useful; thank you.”

“Last year, 4,283 cases were in that situation, so only went to the Crown court because the defendant elected Crown court trial. Straightaway, the measure means that 4,283 cases fewer would have gone to the Crown court last year.”

“Good afternoon. I am Linsey Farnsworth, the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley and a former Crown prosecutor for over two decades, so I am familiar with magistrates and Crown courts. My interests are as per the register, but those of relevance to today are that I am the co-chair of the APPG on legal and constitution…”

“Do you know what proportion of those successful appeals are as a result of the victim or witness not wanting to go through, essentially, a retrial?”

“I am not sure we are, actually, to be fair.”

“On the point of saving time through fewer jury trials, does my hon. and learned Friend agree that this is not just about the amount of time a jury is in the courtroom? It is about all the other factors within the criminal justice system that contribute to the time taken—the time it takes for back office staff to organi…”

“I gently say to the right hon. Member that the current system for appeals from the magistrates court requires a full retrial. When somebody comes to give evidence, we ask a lot of them, particularly the victims. To do that all over again, after a wait of a considerable number of months or even years, is very onerous. Q…”

“I gently point out to the hon. Lady that it is not just about a courtroom being available, but the resources that have to go into that. It is about not just whether we have the space, but whether we have the barristers and the solicitors, and whether we have enough CPS lawyers, court clerks and ushers. There is a bigge…”

“I will ask Rohini Jana the following question regarding the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, or the Hillsborough law, although it is obviously not solely related just to football incidents. We have talked about the new law and the impact on access to justice in terms of equality of arms and the suggestion of a need…”

“Hello. I am Linsey Farnsworth, the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley. My interests are as per the declaration in the register, but of note is the fact that I am a former Crown prosecutor, a member of the APPG on access to justice, and co-chair of the APPG on legal and constitutional affairs.”