Sir Edward Leigh

Will the Minister give way?

I am not suggesting that jury trials have been abolished. If the hon. Member listens to my speech, she will hear me talk later about jury trials for people who are accused of, for…

Quite unusually, I have served as a practising barrister in courts and have also served on juries. I never fail to be impressed by the extraordinary care that juries take in decid…

I may give way in a moment. Others, not necessarily in our country, have commented on this. Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 19th century that the jury “places the real direc…

Of course that is an important point—we are not debating that. Of course the backlog is wrong, but this is not the right way to correct it. The backlog is caused by administrative…

I do not expect an answer now, but will the Minister take away one point that I and others made, which is that people of good character should have an absolute right to a jury tri…

That is a very fair point. I ask Members to look to their conscience. If they, a Member of Parliament—a person of good character—were accused of shoplifting, what would they choos…

I hope my hon. Friend will forgive me, but Madam Deputy Speaker wants me to proceed. The backlog did not arise because juries exist; it arose because the system itself has been pl…