Theo Lester

Barrister at The 36 Group. Public law, human rights - particularly immigration & asylum law.
Musician on the side. Organist of St John's Eltham.

[Brian Cox @ProfBrianCox]

This is indeed a superb letter from The Astronomer Royal of Scotland. “Someone, somewhere, has taken the decision to defund astrophysics research in the UK, but no-one seems quite sure who that was, or why.” I agree - my colleagues in particle physics have also tried, without success, to discover who owns the decision to damage physics research in the UK, perhaps irreparably, at a time when our economy desperately needs the skills and knowledge we develop and teach. @UKRI_News need to get a grip urgently and fix the problem someone, somewhere, has created.

[Kenan Malik @kenanmalik]

“The independence of juries and their liberty to pass a verdict according to their conscience, whatever the law or the authorities may demand… is important not only for justice but for democracy, too.” My @ObserverUK column: https://t.co/CFZqse8Ffe

[Ben Zaranko @BenZaranko]

On the role of the Bank of England, I think these comments from Louise Haigh earlier in the week are indicative of where Labour party thinking might go. Discussions about monetary-fiscal coordination feel likely. Leaves all of the crucial details to be filled in, of course.

[The Bar Council @thebarcouncil]

Got a minute?

Listen to barrister and Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC on why reducing jury trials will not reduce delays in the criminal justice system (and what the government should focus on instead).

#JusticeNeedsJuries

[Joanna Hardy-Susskind @Joanna__Hardy]

Crikey. This is a read and a half. 👀

‘I was a judge. We must not be silenced over the vandalism of juries’

https://t.co/ECHgCAJuno

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

I was a judge. We must not be silenced over the vandalism of juries

Sir Stephen Mitchell was senior treasury counsel at the Old Bailey and then a High Court judge

A must read in the Sunday Times

#JusticeNeedsJuries https://t.co/wXaPeSagid

[Theo Lester @theolester42]

@J_Elliott94 Does this not just allow landlords with LHA tenants to increase rents year on year with a guarantee of the LHA being increased to meet their new rates? Which then lifts the bottom of the market steadily, inflating all rents (due to our only rent controls being relative ones)?

[stellacreasy @stellacreasy]

We can cut the backlog and improve the experience of victims in our courts without compromising due process - proud to stand with Charlotte Nichols in advocating for labours manifesto pledge for specialist courts for sexual abuse cases.

[Ollie Burton @ollieburtonmed]

'When I took office I was struck by the mismatch between the numbers of resident Drs & available training places. My commitment to you remains that this is too important to treat as a transactional matter.’
-Wes Streeting MP, before making it a transactional matter

[Karl Turner MP @KarlTurnerMP]

Write to your MP. Ask them to stop @Keir_Starmer destroying our long lived right to elect to be judged by ordinary men and women from our own communities if we are accused and prosecuted for serious criminal offences that could mean losing our liberty for 3 years.

[Karl Turner MP @KarlTurnerMP]

Thanks, Matt. You warned me that they’d come at me. They already had come at me. I will not be cowed. They have picked on the wrong person. I will not be bullied. My dad was a very proud @RMTunion assistant general secretary. He would say “do right, fear nobody”. I will.

[Karl Turner MP @KarlTurnerMP]

.@ElectCalculus surveyed 2,000 plus Nat Rep respondents in January on the issue of curtailment of jury trials. It shows a public support rate of just 16.4%. Unpopular, unworkable, unjust, undemocratic and unnecessary. Thanks to Jacob Wheeler Political Analyst, Electoral Calculus.

[Rebecca Paul MP @Rebecca_SPaul]

My favourite moment from yesterday.

@NECircuitleader giving the Minister a reality check on Labour’s nonsensical plans to limit jury trials to address the backlog.

[Theo Lester @theolester42]

@Joanna__Hardy @VeraBaird How is it possible that the head of the Criminal Cases Review Commission is suggesting that any case with a sentence of up to 3 years' imprisonment is a 'small case'? This seems a fairly alarming thing for the person in that particular position to say...?

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

‘Paige accused @DavidLammy and @sarahsackman Sackman, the courts minister, of “hijacking the suffering of victims” by arguing that the reforms were necessary to deliver justice for those affected by crime’
@matt_dathan @thetimes exclusive
“Page told Lammy the backlog was being used as “a cynical cover” to push through the reforms and claimed this was “something that the officials have worked on intentionally to give you and Ms Sackman the ammunition you feel you need to take aim at jury trial”.
She added: “You should be ashamed of yourselves. It was disgusting to see the way you hijacked the suffering of victims to make your arguments yesterday.”

The KC claimed the reforms were part of a deeper “command-and-control urge” in the civil service to curtail jury trials, saying: “There is clearly a seam of tyranny in the civil service as well.”

[Theo Lester @theolester42]

Some seriously scorching stuff against Lammy & co, from Flora Page KC.
Her pointing the finger at anti-jury MoJ officials, as being part of why gvnt is pushing this so hard, feels like it's on the money. See also, Robert Buckland's failed attempt to restrict juries in 2020..

[Matt Dathan @matt_dathan]

Excl: Leading barrister quits legal services watchdog in protest at David Lammy's "tyrannical" jury reforms.

Flora Page KC, widely praised for her role helping sub-postmasters to overturn their wrongful convictions, has written a brutal letter to Lammy: https://t.co/2b4KW2M3x9

[YouGov @YouGov]

Britons tend to think it's more important to retain the right to a jury trial than to try and reduce waiting lists for court trials

More important to have right to jury trial: 50%
More important to try and reduce waiting lists: 31%

[stellacreasy @stellacreasy]

Tonight I won't be voting with the government on the courts and tribunal bill - here's why and what I hope will happen next to ensure we can fix the broken system victims face and protect democratic rights.

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 WATCH: Labour MP Charlotte Nichols reveals she was raped as an MP as she opposes the jury trial reforms

"I waited 1,088 days to go to court. We've been told [by the Government] that if we have concerns about this Bill, it's because we've not been raped"

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

Government’s reforms will capsize an already swamped Magistrates Courts. “Swift Courts”? “Pure fantasy” says Chair Riel Karmy-Jones KC. Here’s why:

This Government doubled Magistrates’ maximum sentencing powers to 12 months in November 2024. @DavidLammy and @sarahsackman Sackman will tell MPs that doubling again those powers to 24 months, is a realistic plan for “faster” trials.

Here’s why delays exist today but will WORSEN if Government pushes a tsnunami of cases to Magistrates without heeding its own Ministry of Justice UK figures.

Over 12 months to September 2025 there were 19,998 ineffective trials in the Magistrates’ Courts. The main drivers to trial ineffectiveness were human capacity shortfalls (shortages of lawyers,
Magistrates and of an available court to try the case), and the plain failure of the CPS to be trial-ready by the scheduled start.

Among the ineffective Magistrates’ Court trials, recorded reasons for cancellation included:

315 because prosecution failed to produce unused evidence
1,236 because prosecution was not ready
2,141 because another case overran
4,267 because of over-listing (insufficient cases drop out/floater/backer not reached)
880 because defendant not produced by prisoner escort custody services
740 because there was no interpreter
172 because of court “accommodation” (cells to courtrooms) or equipment failures
136 because no magistrate available
650 because of lack of available advocates (227 prosecution, 423 defence)

Read below what our Chair has to say.