Issue 432  10th January 2026

The government would still curb jury trials even if the criminal courts were not in crisis, the courts minister revealed yesterday - as MPs demanded yet again to see the impact assessment for the proposal. When the plan to axe a quarter of jury trials was announced last month, justice secretary David Lammy said the reforms were necessary ‘to tackle the emergency in our courts’. Defending the proposals in a Commons debate yesterday, courts minister Sarah Sackman said: ‘People ask me, “Sarah, would you be doing this if there was not a crisis in our courts?” I say yes, because we need a better system. One in which courts, not criminals, triage cases...

The minister’s comment was picked up by MPs, with the Conservative’s Steve Barclay questioning why the reform did not feature in Labour's manifesto. The matter was put to justice minister Jake Richards later in the debate, who replied: 'We absolutely have to drag the criminal justice system into the 21st century by modernising its structures, but the context in which we operate clearly has an effect on that programme. The fact that we have inherited an unprecedented backlog in our criminal court system affects the urgency and radicalism of that reform.' Yesterday’s debate once again suggested Lammy will face an uphill battle to get the reforms through parliament. Labour’s Karl Turner, who served as shadow legal aid minister when Sir Keir Starmer became party leader, said the ‘ludicrous proposal’ would not work. He also noted its absence in his party's manifesto. The government faced renewed calls to publish its impact assessment. Sackman said the impact assessment needed to assess the legislation that is brought forward.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has successfully recovered more than £400,000 to be returned to nine fraud victims almost twenty-four years after they were defrauded. Investigators used civil recovery action to reclaim funds for victims of a fraud committed in 2002. As there has been no conviction, these funds would normally go to HM Treasury. The recovery relates to money stolen by Abdullah Ali Jammal, a former director of a retail-depositor bank, who operated an email fraud scheme from the UK between 2001 and 2002, securing over £4.4 million...

In 2021, having determined that Mr Jammal – who fled the country before being charged – could not realistically be convicted, the SFO decided that the case’s unique circumstances merited an alternative approach to recovering money for victims. Mr Jammal’s accounts were frozen, including over £150,000 bound for the family-controlled Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon, which remains sanctioned by the US for facilitating banking for a terrorist organisation. Investigators then spoke directly to victims around the world, working with the Australian Federal Police, Belgian Police, French Liaison Magistrate, US’s Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to locate them and secure their consent for this action. This demonstrates a new approach to civil recovery proceedings, with funds being returned directly to victims rather than the Treasury – a significant development in how proceeds of crime can be recovered. The SFO will now seek to use this technique across other relevant cases...

People using dating apps and social media platforms will be better protected from receiving unsolicited nude images, as a new law compelling tech firms to stop this type of content before it reaches users comes into force today (Thursday 8 January). Platforms will be required to take proactive steps to prevent this vile content from appearing in the first place, not just react after the harm is done. Tech firms will now face some of the strongest requirements under the Online Safety Act as ‘cyberflashing’ becomes a Priority Offence.

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. Those that fail to comply could face fines of up to 10% of their qualifying worldwide revenue, or have their services blocked in the UK...

A “catastrophic” decision by the Ministry of Justice to sign a 10-year lease on a prison where high levels of a poisonous gas had been detected is expected to cost the UK taxpayer more than £100m, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded. The public accounts committee said the 2022 deal to rent HMP Dartmoor from the Duchy of Cornwall was signed “in a blind panic” by senior civil servants looking to guarantee prison places.

The category C prison, which held many sex offenders, was closed in 2024 after levels of radon up to 10 times higher than the recommended limit were recorded in some areas. The government has since admitted that it was aware that “elevated readings” of the gas were found in 2020. Radon, a colourless and odourless radioactive gas, causes about 1,100 lung cancer deaths in the UK every year, according to the Health Security Agency. A report released by the committee said officials from HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) failed to negotiate “a good deal” and signed it in 2022 before carrying out further radon tests...

New powers allowing mobile phones to be seized from illegal migrants without arresting them have come into force. The government said it will help gather intelligence on smuggling gangs organising small boat crossings to the UK. The Home Office said seizures will begin on Monday at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, with technology on site ready to download intelligence from devices. Officers will be able to demand that migrants remove their coats to search for phones and also check their mouths for SIM cards. The National Crime Agency said the information collected could speed up investigations into smuggling gangs...