Issue 418  4th October 2025

Victims will get faster justice thanks to the courts sitting for a record number of days, the Deputy Prime Minister will announce in a speech today at the opening of the legal year (Wednesday 1 October)... The Crown Court will be able to sit for a total of 111,250 days this year – up by 5,000 compared to last year and reaching the highest levels on record. This follows an announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister later today that the government will fund an extra 1,250 days. This will mean more trials can be heard – tackling the backlog of cases, making sure victims see their day in court more quickly and holding more criminals to account...

Statistics released last week showed that there are now 78,329 Crown Court cases waiting to be heard. This means that victims are often waiting three or four years for their case to come to trial. Sir Brian Leveson is conducting an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to identify ways to reform the courts system. The first phase of his review has already been completed - the Deputy Prime Minister is carefully considering its proposals and the Government will respond in due course. The review forms part of the government’s commitment to safer streets by reducing the court backlog, speeding up hearings for victims and defendants, and rebuilding public confidence in the criminal justice system.

The Ministry of Justice has announced an increase in Crown Court sitting days which will allow judges to sit for a total of 111,250 days next year. The Bar Council has welcomed the increase but warns that more sitting days and long-term investment are needed to reduce the criminal court backlog. Chair of the Bar Council Barbara Mills KC said: "This increase in sitting days for the Crown Courts is a positive step to tackle the criminal court backlog, which stands at a record-high with some trial dates being set as far ahead as 2029. However, continuing to limit the number of sitting days will mean the backlog is only being chipped away. To have an immediate and significant impact on the delays, there should be no limit to the number of days that courts can sit"...

Today (Monday 29 September), Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has set out plans to put stronger legal requirements on tech companies to actively prevent unsolicited nude images from being shared on their platforms – not just react to it after the fact. The changes mean ‘cyberflashing’ is set to become classified as one of the most serious types of online offences under the Online Safety Act. Companies could tackle these images for example by using automated systems that pre-emptively detect and hide the image, implementing moderation tools or stricter content policies. Under the laws, failing to proactively implement measures to protect users could lead to fines of up to 10% of the companies’ qualifying worldwide revenue and potentially blocking their services in the UK...

Cyberflashing became a criminal offence in England and Wales in January 2024, under the Online Safety Act 2023. The law made it illegal to send unsolicited sexual images with intent to cause alarm, distress, or for sexual gratification. Perpetrators can face up to 2 years in prison...

Serving Metropolitan Police officers called for immigrants to be shot, revelled in the use of force and were dismissive of rape claims in footage captured by a Panorama undercover reporter. The evidence of misogyny and racism challenges the Met's promise to have tackled what it calls "toxic behaviours" after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

Panorama's secret filming shows officers making sexualised comments to colleagues and sharing racist views about immigrants and Muslims. This evidence reveals that, far from being driven out of the Met, racist and misogynistic attitudes have been driven underground. "Someone new joins, boom, mask on. You've got to figure them out," one officer said. After the BBC sent a detailed list of allegations to the Met, it suspended eight officers and one staff member, and took two more officers off front-line duties. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the behaviour outlined by Panorama was, "disgraceful, totally unacceptable and contrary to the values and standards" of the force...

Bikes thefts outside London railway stations will not be investigated if they have been locked for more than two hours. The British Transport Police confirmed that CCTV footage will not be assessed in cases beyond this timeframe. The force also said that robberies on trains should only be reported if the victim knows the specific carriage they were on...

Figures from the Metropolitan Police show that nearly 70,000 bikes were reported stolen in London between March 2021 and February 2025.

The deputy prime minister David Lammy made history today as he was sworn in as the first black lord chancellor in court 4 of the Royal Courts of Justice. Lammy MP swore his oaths on the Bible as the lady chief justice welcomed him as well as solicitor general Ellie Reeves to their roles. In her speech, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill noted the ‘tradition on these occasions for appointments to your great office to mark a constitutional first’. She said: ‘Your swearing-in marks the first appointment, not before time, of a black lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice. And deputy prime minister. Your dual role confirms that justice remains at the heart of the government’s agenda’...