Issue 454  15th June 2026

An influential group of MPs has delivered a damning verdict on the Courts and Tribunals Bill – telling the government that the magistrates’ court will not be able to cope with the volume of cases generated by curbs on jury trials, sounding the alarm over doubling magistrates' sentencing powers and questioning the time that judge-only trials will save. In a 109-page report published today, the House of Commons justice select committee said the government should have published a formal response to Sir Brian Leveson’s criminal courts review before the draft legislation was published to enable proper parliamentary scrutiny.

‘Given the constitutional significance of the bill, it would have been proportionate for the government to have facilitated more meaningful parliamentary scrutiny, in particular, by allowing the justice committee to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny. The impact assessment states that the provisions in the bill will not be implemented until March 2028 at the earliest. It is therefore difficult to understand why the government has not sought to achieve a broader consensus on these proposals, both within parliament and outside, before pushing ahead with them,' the report states. The committee said the government’s plan to double magistrates’ sentencing powers to 24 months was ‘diametrically opposed’ to what Leveson recommended. Enabling magistrates to jail people for two years ‘represents a significant shift in criminal justice policy and we are not convinced that this has been sufficiently justified’...

The committee is unconvinced the magistrates’ court will grow quickly enough to deal with the potential increase in workload. In 2005 there were 28,000 magistrates. In 2025, there were 15,000. The idea that the government can recruit 7,000 more magistrates by 2029 is ‘unrealistic’, the committee said. The predicted 20% time that judge-only trials will save ‘lacks a concrete evidential basis’. The committee also voiced concern about the impact of the reforms on black and ethnic minority defendants...

Judges will be supplied with AI assistants to help them to prepare criminal cases in the Crown Court for the first time. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will pilot the use of artificial intelligence to research and analyse cases for judges and lawyers and identify those that are ready for trial. Officials said they would act like “digital” paralegals whose duties typically involve preparing legal documents, summarising large files of documents, conducting research on legal precedents and administering cases. They believe it could save thousands of hours in the time taken to prepare for trials and speed up cases as ministers seek to reduce record backlogs and cut delays for victims. The MoJ insisted that the AI assistants will be tested in “highly controlled” environments before they are more widely deployed in the country’s Crown Courts – and would have no role in making judgments on cases...

Andrew Thomas, vice chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), said: “As all lawyers know, the devil is always in the details, and AI tools should not be used without checks and balances. “There are plenty of examples of lawyers and judges from civil and even criminal work who have come unstuck from relying on AI-drafted documents without checking the veracity of the content. No one is suggesting that justice can be dispensed by a computer. What the criminal justice system requires is clear guidance on the safe use of new technologies as an aid to the work of judges and properly qualified and experienced lawyers, not as a substitute for it.” The launch of criminal law AI assistants will be unveiled at London Tech Week on Tuesday by David Lammy, the Justice Secretary. It comes after the MoJ provided every probation officer with Justice Transcribe, an AI tool that automatically records and transcribes conversations with offenders...

Dodgy shops will be forced to close their doors as police work to put criminal bosses behind bars under new legislation to be introduced later this year. Police and local authorities will be equipped with stronger powers to close rogue businesses for longer as they pursue prosecutions to put criminal bosses in jail. While existing powers allow premises to be closed for up to 6 months, businesses can often reopen before investigations have concluded, allowing criminal activity to resume and creating additional burdens for local authorities, police forces and the courts. 

Under plans, the government will double the maximum duration of closure orders in order to give investigators more time to gather evidence, pursue prosecutions and identify the criminal bosses directing activity from behind the scenes, while also preventing rogue operators from simply reopening and resuming illegal activity. The government will introduce secondary legislation this year. The Home Secretary has also instructed officials to urgently review the presence of vape shops, barbers, and car washes on the skilled worker sponsorship list, following concerns about potential misuse of the system. Any businesses seeking to abuse the system will have their licences revoked. This follows the launch of a new national crackdown on organised crime operating across high streets at barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts, and sweet shops. £30 million of new funding will boost police and trading standards’ response to organised crime, with thousands of businesses expected to be raided, hundreds of arrests made and millions in cash seized...

Under the new plans, Big Tech companies like Apple and Google must activate built-in features or implement technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children, the Prime Minister announced in a speech at London Tech Week today (Monday 8 June). This will prevent predators from being able to exploit and abuse victims through their devices, as well as stopping children from being able to access pornography. Adults will still be able to take, share or view nude content through an age verification process. Now is the time for tech companies to step up and work with government to solve this horrific issue. If companies do not act within 3 months, the government will bring forward legislation to force them to activate the technology. This will include fines for companies. Nothing is off the table, and as a last resort we are exploring criminal liability for tech bosses who fail to comply...

The changes will apply to UK devices, including both existing and newly sold smartphones and tablets. Legislation could cover operating system providers and others in the supply chain, such as retailers, and will not affect the use of devices owned and used by adults who verify their age...

The King has appointed 23 Recorders on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, The Right Honourable David Lammy MP, and the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill. The appointments will take effect on 8 June 2026...

The independent monitoring board’s annual report of conditions across the prison estate of England and Wales is stark and unflinching. Men and women are held for long periods in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, often living alongside vermin. Inmates are not fed properly and have trouble accessing medical assistance. Many have no opportunity to learn a skill or participate in education. Gangs appear to control entire wings, and roam around cells collecting drug debts with threats of violence. Toilets remain broken for weeks. Men, women and children spend most of their days locked up with no activities. And if they leave their cell, there is a risk they will be attacked, often with weapons. “Failures once regarded as serious are at risk of becoming normalised,” the report concludes.

Cases highlighted by the report include a man in HMP Garth, Lancashire, who died in a cell fire after the alarm apparently failed to sound; a man who was warned that he may lose his leg when he was among several bitten during an infestation of spiders at HMP Bullingdon, Oxfordshire; and a spike in self-harm during hot weather after managers at HMP Foston Hall in Derbyshire did not have the funds to buy fans...