House of Commons — sitting of 15 September 2026: transcript & video

00:18 - 00:24

Speaker 3

Order, order. We start with questions to the Secretary of State for Justice. Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst.

00:24 - 00:25

Question number one, Mr Speaker.

00:25 - 00:26

Welcome.

00:26 - 00:44

Speaker 5

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Last week the Leader announced that the Courts and Tribunals Bill will return to this House on the 13th of October. I've been clear that my priority is to reduce the Crown Court waiting list and enable victims to have their day in court more quickly. I look forward to working with experts in this House and beyond to deliver that.

00:44 - 01:11

Speaker 16

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. There are reports that the Government is considering tabling an amendment to the Courts and Tribunals Bill whereby in either-way offences a judge will decide whether a defendant faces a jury or is heard by a single judge sitting alone. The legal profession has quite properly highlighted that this will lead to satellite litigation with repeated appeals and slow down the legal process. Will the Government start to finally listen to the legal profession or will they carry on and plough on regardless?

01:11 - 01:37

Speaker 5

Well, I would always caution the honourable gentleman around reports. When there are things to be said they'll be said from this despatch box. He will know though that both and I think he would expect that myself as a new Lord Chancellor, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister as a new Prime Minister, of course look at every aspect of Ministry of Justice business to make sure that it's the best for delivering for victims and for the public at large. So he knows the legislation is coming back and I look forward to discussing it in its fullness when it does.

01:37 - 01:40

Speaker 1

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy.

01:40 - 02:05

Speaker 18

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Upon taking office, the Prime Minister promised to find ways of not reducing access to jury trials. That's a quote. He said they're a linchpin of a fair society. Now we know that the Courts and Tribunals Bill will return to the House on the 13th of October immediately after the recess.

Can the Justice Secretary guarantee that the bill will not reduce access to jury trials at all?

02:05 - 02:32

Speaker 5

Well again the honourable gentleman the Shadow Secretary seeks to run ahead of the process that's going on at the moment. It is very important that Parliament has the opportunity to consider this really, really important legislation exactly in the spirit that he talks about. We are now what through the second reading process of that. I've been in this place nine years now and I would say that legislation at the beginning very rarely looks like the same at the end. My offer to him, my indeed my offer to colleagues across the House is to engage in that conversation.