Speeches by Paul.

“The Lammy review found that many individuals from ethnic minorities opted for trial in the Crown court whenever possible, because they had more confidence in juries than in magistrates. It also found that juries, unlike other parts of the system, convicted BAME and white defendants at very similar rates, including with…”

““will do whatever it takes to protect the fundamental right to a fair trial.”—[Official Report, 27 November 2025; Vol. 776, c. 517.]”

“That is a striking omission and is enough to justify a review clause. If the Government say they cannot currently draw firm conclusions about how judge-only trials may affect different groups, we are entitled to insist that those conclusions be developed and published once the policy is in operation. It would be consti…”

“if accused of a criminal offence and that those opinions should be taken into account in discussions about restricting the right to a jury trial. That is an important finding because it suggests that, for some groups, the jury is experienced as a form of protection against discrimination “elsewhere in the system”. Prof…”

“The Victims’ Commissioner’s written evidence is useful because it makes clear that concerns about disproportionality are not confined to ethnicity. She says the potential impact of these reforms on women, particularly women from black and minoritised backgrounds, must be properly considered. She also notes that juries …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, as I normally do. Finally, there is the obvious practical point that there are better answers available. The Law Society says that reform and investment must be strategic, not piecemeal, and warns against stand-alone measures such as changing from jury trials to judge-only trials without co…”

“I completely agree with the hon. Lady. She has set out a good example of the type of things that happen in reality. Life is not tidy, and unexpected things happen. As we look at the Bill and whether a sentence is over or under three years, it is easy to think in simple terms but, in reality, people who work in the just…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I speak in support of amendments 23, 39 and 24 which, taken together, would do something simple but important: they would build a measure of flexibility back into the clause, so that jury trial is still available where the cause of justice requires it. The Minis…”

“I will speak in support of amendment 40, tabled in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle, amendment 18, tabled in the name of the hon. Member for Chichester, and amendment 28, tabled in the name of the hon. Member for Bolton South and Walkden. Before I get into my speech, I think that the hon. Me…”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful point about the existing backlog starting to go down, and why it is important that we look at that and understand the impact that other measures are having. Does he agree that the recent change to suspensions for three-year sentences, which went live only a few weeks ago on 22 March,…”

“The hon. Lady is absolutely right that magistrates are doing that now, frequently and—as far as I am aware—fairly well, but we have to remember that they are doing it for low-level cases. In fact, their sentencing powers have increased only recently. The key point is that we will have an additional process. The magistr…”

“It is really helpful to hear the hon. Member’s perspective from her in-depth knowledge and experience, but I would challenge one aspect of her point: I might argue for a longer sentence if it meant I was more likely to get a jury trial and be found not guilty. Allow me to give an example. If I had created an offensive …”

“Why not?”

“That is not the case. The hon. Lady has just set out that it is about setting out the worst possible cases with respect to the sentence—so they absolutely could do that. It is exactly what will happen. They will always be looking to achieve the best for their client—particularly if their client is not guilty. Let us re…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for making that important point. Returning to this debate, we are going to see real problems from this approach to allocation. I am glad that the hon. Member for Amber Valley thinks that it is not an issue—it sounds as if she thinks that all the issues I am raising are not issues. However, she wi…”

“I apologise if the Minister is about to come to this, but is she saying that she does not expect this process to take very long?”

“Is the Minister saying that judges will not be required to review CCTV footage or understand the impact on the victim? Is she saying that that is not required in this process?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I am pleased to speak in support of amendments 25 and 12, and particularly in support of amendment 43, tabled in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle. The amendments all engage with a simple point of fairness. Whatever one’s view of …”

“It is clear that the Minister honestly believes this change will address the backlog. I do not doubt her sincerity—we believe differently, but I understand that that is what she believes. What concerns me is this: how many miscarriages of justice is she happy to accept in order to bring down the backlog? Why on earth, …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of contactless roll out at railway stations on ticket prices. It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I appreciate the Minister’s attendance, and I am grateful for the opportunity to raise an issue that is important to my constituents who…”