Speeches by Paul.

“I want to speak briefly about women, specifically because it is easy for the Government to speak as though anyone opposing clause 3 is somehow indifferent to women’s experience of delay. That is not true, and the evidence does not support it. Section 28 is unavailable in the magistrates courts, and pushing more cases d…”

“That is before we even get to the cost of written reasoned verdicts. In clause 3 cases, the Bill requires judges to set out written reasons for conviction or acquittal. I have seen that particular innovation praised on the grounds of transparency, but surely if the Government’s argument is about saving court time, they…”

“For all those reasons, I oppose clause 3 standing part of the Bill. It rests on an arbitrary and unstable three-year threshold and asks courts to make constitutionally significant decisions at exactly the stage when the evidence is often incomplete, but then tries to patch over that unreliability through reallocation, …”

“JUSTICE and the Bar Council build on that point. JUSTICE notes that the Government’s model assumes cases within scope average 6.25 sitting days, while the Criminal Bar Association says that they are typically closer to three sitting days, meaning that the savings are likely overstated by around double. JUSTICE also say…”

“Cassia Rowland’s analysis suggests the total impact of the Government’s proposals on court demand is likely to be around a 7% to 10% reduction in total courtroom time, with just 1.5% to 2.5% of that coming from the introduction of judge-only trials in the Crown court bench division. The IFG’s later report goes further,…”

“and the one part of the criminal justice system where minorities were treated without racial bias. He is also repeatedly quoted as having said:”

“The Government’s consistent position has been that the reforms are justified, proportionate and fair. If that is truly their view, they should have no objection to being required to come back to Parliament and show their working in the light of experience. Resistance to the new clause would therefore be highly revealin…”

“My hon. Friend is making some powerful points. Hearing him read out what the law says brings home to me just how terrible this Bill is. Surely everyone can see that there is no clarity how it would work. Rather than there being any clear guidance, it essentially feels as though any judge can have their own view on comp…”

“It gives concrete examples, such as:”

“If juries are removed from their space, more of those contested, context-dependent cases will be determined by a single professional judge, often on material that the digital evidence reform community says is already too weakly authenticated in lower courts. That is not a reassuring direction of travel. The threshold f…”

“Some of the written evidence and survivor correspondence we have seen is plainly sympathetic to structural reform, including limited judge-only trials. Supplementary evidence from the Victims’ Commissioner broadly supports action on clauses 1 to 7, and says that many victims, if offered”

“For our justice system to have legitimacy, it often depends on the public seeing that the law has been tested against ordinary moral judgment. There will be occasions when not everyone likes the verdict. I am afraid I am not a fan of the decision taken in the Colston four case, but I accept and respect it. It is that a…”

“Thank you for that guidance, Ms Jardine. I would suggest that the legal aid changes are a really important outcome of clause 6. In fact, I think I would come under huge criticism if I made this speech without mentioning legal aid, because I have not raised it at all—well, I did in an earlier speech. I have not raised i…”

“Thank you for that guidance, Ms Jardine, but that seems to suggest that we are not allowed ever again in this Bill Committee to bring up the fact that the right to elect for jury trial and rights to legal aid are being removed. Surely we need to be able to talk about that as we go through the Bill.”

““a binary choice, would prefer a judge-only trial over waiting years”.”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. Frankly, I am shocked that a Labour Government would do that. It is the last thing I expected of a Labour Government.”

““Criminal trials without juries are a bad idea”,”

“It is a pleasure to start the day with you and end the day with you, Ms Jardine. I am sure you are very much enjoying starting your day with me and ending your day with me, too. [Laughter.] I have just realised how that can be interpreted. My apologies, Ms Jardine; I cannot account for the minds of other Members. To ge…”

“Charlotte Schreurs and others argue from lived experience that delay is intolerable, and limited reform may be preferable to a justice system that does not function at all. I do not shy away from that view. Victims are absolutely right to be angry about delay, and they are right to say that the current position is into…”

“This Committee has seen written warnings that restricting jury trials could particularly damage confidence among women and minoritised groups, and that women survivors are frequently criminalised. It is therefore entirely possible for a measure to be sold in the name of helping women victims while, in fact, making part…”