Criminal justice system will “grind to a halt” and risks “denial of justice” without radical reform, Sir Brian Leveson warns

NEW PODCAST SERIES: Inside the Case

Sixth episode: "The Cromwell Street Murders"

Systemic delays threaten criminal justice system

The criminal justice system risks grinding to a halt without radical structural reform, Sir Brian Leveson warns.

The former senior judge, whose report on tackling the crisis in the crown court is in jeopardy under Andy Burnham, comes in the latest episode of the video podcast series Inside the Case, produced by The University of Law (ULaw).

Speaking on the podcast, Sir Brian - who will shortly become a peer after his elevation in the recent honours list - warned that listing Crown Court trials into 2029 and 2030 constitutes a direct “denial of justice”.

“We can’t carry on as we are.”  He added: “If they don’t proceed with these reforms... I think the system will get slower and slower and slower, and grind to a halt... there’s no doubt injustice [will result], because one of the issues, presently, is that victims are withdrawing.”

“You can’t just say, we’re not going to do this, that, the other, and then expect the system to be able to cope. Because you can’t sit enough days. There aren’t enough courts, judges, or indeed lawyers to staff the sort of numbers of days that you would have to sit.”

His comments come amid uncertainty as to the fate of the Courts and Tribunals Bill which includes his controversial proposals to scrap jury trial for thousands of middle-ranking offences.

Sir Brian insists that he is a “great believer” in the jury system and that “never for one moment” did he suggest that the present crisis was the fault of juries.

“I’m a great believer in jury trials and have spent 50-odd years arguing in front of and trying cases with juries. …but we can’t carry on as we are.”

Sir Brian highlights how mounting trial backlogs create an environment where victims are increasingly withdrawing from proceedings, while some defendants actively exploit delays to “game the system”.

“In the 1970s... a defendant said to me: ‘I am guilty, and I will plead guilty, but I want to spend Christmas with my kids,’” Sir Brian recalled.

“So, how much more, if you want to manipulate the system? ‘I want to spend Christmas 2028 with my kids’... A victim may withdraw, the witnesses may forget”.

Sir Brian outlined the mounting pressures overwhelming the courts compared with earlier decades:

• Explosion of evidential material: Modern trials are weighed down by vast volumes of mobile phone metadata, CCTV, body-worn video, special measures, interpreters, and intermediaries.
• Shift in offending & complexity: Rapid growth in reported historic sexual abuse, complex rape trials, and digital fraud/cybercrime has significantly lengthened individual trial times. Cybercrime and fraud are the “Daddy that will overwhelm us all,” he predicts.
• Severe staffing shortages: In 2024 alone, 1100 trials were rendered “ineffective” meaning they could not proceed simply because there was no prosecution or defence advocate available.
• Shortage of lawyers: An ageing workforce of defence solicitors and a lack of young entrants entering criminal law require an urgent re-evaluation of legal fees.
• Prison overcrowding: Overcapacity forces remand prisoners to be housed far from local courts, creating severe prisoner escort delays.

On the legal profession’s opposition to his proposed reforms - in particular scrapping jury trial for thousands of middle-ranking offences, he said:

“I understand the Bar don’t like it. But if not this, then what? You can’t just say, ‘We're not going to do this, that, the other,’ and then expect the system to be able to cope”.

Lessons and reflections from prosecuting Rose West

In the wide-ranging interview, Sir Brian also reflects on leading the prosecution in the 1995 trial of serial killer Rosemary West - a case he described as “seared in my memory” as it was “not only difficult legally but factually compelling and very distressing.”

Thirty years later, he remains able to recite the names of all ten young victims.

On prosecuting the Rose West trial, Sir Brian noted:

• A purely circumstantial case: With no direct eyewitnesses or confession from Rose West, the prosecution relied on a carefully constructed circumstantial case surrounding the nine bodies buried at 25 Cromwell Street.
• The cross-examination: Sir Brian explained his highly disciplined cross-examination strategy, which systematically proved she must have known about the atrocities taking place under her roof. By restricting his questions strictly to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, he exposed her defence as like the Three Wise Monkeys: “I saw nothing, I heard nothing, I said nothing.”
• Rose West in the witness box: Sir Brian expressed surprise that Rose West chose to give evidence in her own defence. He recalled her chilling and unnatural response when confronted with witness evidence of beating eight-year-old Charmaine: “We were very poor. We couldn’t even afford a wooden spoon”.
• The trial’s near-collapse: The trial came close to collapsing towards the end when Fred West’s “appropriate adult,” Janet Leach, physically collapsed in court after being cross-examined. During the adjournment, it emerged she had signed a lucrative contract with a national newspaper, contradicting her previous statements.
• The verdict: Sir Brian recalled defence counsel Dick Ferguson KC telling him: “Brian, the difference between us is that you can’t win this case, and I can't lose it... We both know this case is not overwhelming.”

Reflecting on the psychological dynamic between Fred and Rose West, Sir Brian concluded: “I think they potentiated each other... I have never been concerned that she wasn’t fully involved”.

Despite witnessing horrific human wickedness in cases like the West trial, Sir Brian emphasised that his 50-year legal career showed him equal amounts of “unbelievable human kindness,” leaving him with an enduring passion for the law.

The full episode featuring Sir Brian Leveson KC is available now as part of the Inside the Case video podcast series on YouTube.