Edward Fenner

@Joanna__Hardy He’s too scared

GOOD MORNING DAVID LAMMY Guess who’s back? Back again? It’s me. But. More pressingly. It’s 21% of courtrooms empty as 80,000 wait for trial & while you try to restrict jury trial for thousands. I’ve had enough of this. Shall we debate it? Name a broadcaster & format. I’m game.

Lovely touch to the robing room!

I’ve got a brilliant idea for @DavidLammy. Open courts. Then no need to do away with jury trials in serious criminal cases that those accused’s could get up to 3 years imprisonment for. It’s not rocket science, Dave.

Today’s @thetimes “Riel Karmy-Jones KC, the chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, said she did “not understand why this core data, which shows that the crown court case backlog in large parts of the country is coming down, was not shared with us, or the parliamentary select committee scrutinising the Courts and Tribunals Bill last week”. She added: “The debate about jury trials is of such generational importance, not only to the criminal justice system, but society as a whole. Yet for no explicable reason, this data, which may undermine government’s own projections, and was available on the date it was due for publication, appears to have been sat on for many weeks if not many months.” Karmy-Jones said that “at this crucial stage in negotiations relating to the bill, it is essential that everyone has absolute trust that they are being dealt a fair hand”, adding: “We rely on our government and our MPs to apply a transparent democratic process.” The association criticised ministers in their promotion of the bill for allegedly relying on an impact assessment that provided “no proper evidential foundation” and which included “assumptions — rather than data”.

Trial by jury is not procedure. It is the people reminding the state who it serves. 👇🏻

Evening all. As we sail ever closer to the abyss of losing jury trials for thousands of citizens - I’d like us to examine something difficult. Sexual assault. 🪡 🧵

Woking Football Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of Jermain Defoe as the club’s new Manager. ♦️

No side in the National League has picked up more points (13) in their last 5 games than Woking♦️

Footage from Mexico 🇲🇽; a ‘holy’ cat named Coco 🐱⛪ stands at the entrance of a church, seemingly blessing everyone who walks in to worship 🤲🤣 Locals say this about him: ‘Coco thinks he’s the pope of the church 🤣❤️

A reminder of the latest Monday Message, regarding the Courts and Tribunal Bill The Government is Hijacking Vulnerable Victims The Government is doing some excellent work on tackling violence against women and girls. But they demean that when they hijack the cause of those victims to justify measures which are unjust and unworkable.

“How many windows did you wash today?” “One” 😂

I have looked back at what I predicted in Stories of The Law and How It’s Broken in 2018, about how governments will try to remove serious trials from juries and choke off the right to appeal. All of this is now in the Bill before Parliament. Only the govt is going even further.

52 Crown courtrooms not sitting today won’t shift the backlog in criminal cases.

The CBA supports retention of the automatic right of appeal against conviction from the Magistrates’ Court. •The overwhelming majority of our members were against the removal of this automatic right. •The right of appeal is an essential safeguard. Approximately 42% of appeals are successful. •The proposed new scheme is more burdensome and complex, with multiple stages and multiple hearings. The existing scheme is fairer, swifter and works well.

They fall asleep like this every night. That warmth hits you instantly

"A jury trial is a constitutional principle, not a procedural convenience." Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC sets out why we continue to oppose the government's proposal to curtail the right to jury trial and argue that #JusticeNeedsJuries in her Counsel column this month. Kirsty continues: "There is no doubt that the criminal justice system is in crisis. However, juries are not the cause and their reduction will not reduce delays to rape cases." Read Kirsty's column to hear more about our campaign, civil legal aid and more⤵️

📈Today, 18 February 2026, 73 out of the 516 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting. That's 14% of them. #courtstats #CS18022026 courtstats.co.uk

The two types of cat personalities