The data also shows 1,909 trials were ineffective between April and June [2023], compared to 857 between October and December 2018. @TheCriminalBar

The data also shows 1,909 trials were ineffective between April and June [2023], compared to 857 between October and December 2018 – when, the Criminal Bar Association said, the courts were last fully open before sitting days were cut.

‘The entire criminal justice system is fracturing. There are crumbling courts, overwhelmed prisons and a chronic shortage of lawyers and judges. What this means is that delays are compounded. People seeking justice – victims, witnesses, and defendants – are left in limbo waiting longer and longer to see it happen.

‘This is the result of a lack of investment by the government across the entire justice system. More needs to be done if the government is to meet even its own unambitious target of reducing the Crown court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025.’

Criminal Bar Association chair Tana Adkin KC said: ‘Criminal barristers have specialist training to prosecute and defend the most serious and sensitive cases in court and want to work with government to maintain and improve the quality of justice delivered, so in return government must do its part in getting the resources to where they are needed.’