Labour lawyers ‘blocked’ from briefing MPs on jury trials overhaul before vote

Leader of rebel group says there is deep concern within Society of Labour Lawyers about courts and tribunals bill Lawyers affiliated to Labour were “blocked” from briefing party MPs to share concerns about plans to cut the number of jury trials in England and Wales, it has been claimed. The allegation was made by Karl Turner, the leader of a backbench rebellion against a flagship government bill that would remove the right to a jury trial in thousands of cases, before the first chance by MPs to vote on the legislation. As many as 65 Labour MPs are understood to have been considering voting against the courts and tribunals bill before Monday’s second reading. David Lammy, the justice secretary, announced the plans last December that will take thousands of trials away from the jury system, to be heard instead by judges and magistrates. But the government has been facing discontent from its own ranks, including from 38 MPs who signed a letter urging the prime minister to reverse the plans. Lammy used his own experience of growing up in Tottenham, north London, and appealed to his colleagues’ sense of social justice to make the case for the plans as he addressed a meeting of th