04 February 2026
Barristers met with 19 of their local MPs at ten Crown Courts in all six circuits last week, as part of a Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association initiative to defend juries and explain the factors behind the backlog of nearly 80,000 cases
They told MPs delays are often caused by defendants being brought to court late, with one barrister describing how a whole week was lost this way in one trial.
They showed MPs court rooms sitting empty due to the cap on the number of days courts can hear cases—on the day of the visit, 59 out of the 516 Crown Courts were empty.
