An MP has spoken out against the PM and the Justice Secretary in one of the clearest signs yet of severe cracks emerging in the Labour Party.
David Lammy and Keir Starmer have been blasted by one of their own MPs (Image: PA )
A Labour MP of more than 15 years has said he is “ashamed” of the Prime Minister and described the justice minister David Lammy as “lazy” in a furious outburst over controversial Government plans to scrap the ancient right of trial by jury. Former barrister Karl Turner, 54, has served as an MP for Hull East since 2010 and he said this was the first time he had lost “his temper” over a government policy.
The case backlog in the crown courts of England and Wales has now reached about 80,000 and is expected to continue to rise without significant action. Justice Secretary David Lammy said he believes restricting the right to jury trial is necessary to “save the criminal justice system”. Labour hopes removing the ancient right will mean the backlog will have started to come down by the time of the next General Election and could be cleared within the next 10 years.
Keir Starmer has come under increasing pressure over his decision making (Image: Getty )
However, some 39 members signed a letter before Christmas suggesting they might rebel on the legislation, and Mr Turner was the only MP to vote against the Government and with the Conservatives on an opposition day motion opposing the controversial plans earlier this week. MPs who vote against their party can lose the whip, meaning they are essentially expelled from the party and sit as an independent.
Mr Turner told Sky News he was not going to be “bullied by threats of losing whips”, adding “it’s taken me 16 years to lose my temper at a government policy”.
He told the news channel: “I’m only sorry that it’s my own government, led by Keir Starmer, King’s Council, who has built his professional career on a brilliant reputation of being an incredibly impressive eminent lawyer and, sadly, a human rights lawyer.
“So, when I say I’m ashamed of Keir Starmer, I mean it.”
Former lawyer Mr Turner added that he thought Justice Secretary David Lammy was “lazy”. Mr Turner won his seat in the 2024 election with 43.8% of the vote, closely followed by Reform UK, which took 30.6%. He has a majority of just under 4,000.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, the new chairwoman of the Bar Council, also came out against Labour’s plans, which she said would “erode” public trust in the criminal justice system.
The experienced barrister, a former Chambers colleague of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, urged the Government to focus on measures that would speed up court proceedings rather than gunning for a reform which is controversial and risks “draining” energy and resources that are needed to tackle the problems.
She said: “There is much to do to recover our criminal justice system.
“The latest Government proposals restricting jury trials will not reduce the backlog of cases, built up over years of financial slash and burn of the criminal justice system, but may further erode trust which hangs by the thread of citizen participation in the criminal courts.
Karl Turner MP told Sky News he was (Image: Sky News )
“The pragmatic points are that the reduction of juries would have no impact on the existing backlog, as it would take effect towards the end of this Parliament. Impact even then is highly uncertain.”
The Government has said it will drop jury trials for offences with a likely prison sentence of three years or less. The ability to appeal a magistrates’ court verdict to a crown court will also be limited.
The measures follow a review into the justice system conducted by retired senior judge Sir Brian Leveson. The Government has yet to bring legislation forward.
Justice minister Sarah Sackman said no other Government had “the guts” to carry out the reforms that Labour is proposing to undertake. She said the Government believes the changes are necessary, even if there was no backlog.
Ms Sackman confirmed modelling on the policy’s impact would be published, along with an impact and equality assessment.
