UK could take 300 years to clear court backlog
The British government wants to scrap jury trials in order to clear the outstanding caseload
Published 27 Jun, 2026 03:49 | Updated
Record numbers of victims are waiting more than a year for their cases to be heard in the UK, and clearing the backlog “could take nearly 300 years,” Courts minister Sarah Sackman has said.
According to Ministry of Justice figures, there is currently abacklog of 80,061 casesin Britain’s crown courts, and370,722cases in lower magistrates’ courts, an increase of 5% and 11% on last year, respectively.Some 6,000crown court cases have been waiting for more thantwo years, with 2,000 rape cases held up for more than a year.
Theclosure of courtsand government institutions during theCovid-19 lockdownsis directly responsible for soaring wait times, with the crown court’s caseload doubling since 2020.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Sackman claimed that the ruling Labour Party is “starting to stabilize the backlog,” but “at this pace,it could take nearly 300 yearsto clear the backlog to pre-pandemic levels.”
Britain’s outgoing prime minister, KeirStarmer, has added to this backlog by pushing for theprosecution of hundreds of people for expressing right-wing and anti-immigrant sentiment online, and by proscribing Palestine Action, a decision that has led to the arrest and prosecution of more than 3,300 people.
In the meantime,Starmer has freed thousands of hardened criminalsfrom British prisons tomake way for those convicted of speech crimes. More than 1,000 convicts were released early in 2024, as British police rounded up people who participated in or encouraged anti-immigration riots.Up to 7,000 morewill be released early this September, with the Conservative Partywarning that “killers and rapists, including the evil rape gang perpetrators” will be among them.
Starmer’s government has argued that the court backlog can be tackled with increased investment, and by handling more cases at magistrates’ courts, where they are typically resolved faster.
However, theprime minister has also utilized the crisis to reshape the UK’s justice system. A bill put forward by the government earlier this year wouldabolish jury trials for all but the most serious offenses,such as murder and rape. The bill has beencondemned by lawyersand civil rights groups, with the Bar Councilcalling it “an unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced change to the jury system,” and the Society of Asian Lawyers defending juries as a “crucial check against state overreach.”
https://www.rt.com/news/642238-uk-courts-300-year-backlog/