Last year 1,436 trials of all offences in the #CrownCourt were adjourned on the first day due to the absence of either a #prosecution or defence advocate. @TheCriminalBarJustice News247

Last year 1,436 trials of all offences in the Crown Court were adjourned on the first day due to the absence of either a prosecution or defence advocate, a 20 fold increase on 2019 when 71 trials were similarly adjourned. Of those 252 were trials of sexual offences adjourned due to no prosecution or defence advocate being available while just 16 sexual offence trials similarly adjourned in 2019.

It is no wonder that on average last year trials of rape defendants on bail concluded 18 months after first being charged, 80% longer than the 10 months on average it took for similar rape cases’ trials to conclude just 5 years earlier. This brought the total wait on average for a rape case with a bailed defendant to conclude from first reporting of the allegation to the resolution of a trial to on average 5 and a half years, for those cases concluding in 2023.

Trial dates are now being booked for mid 2026 which, assuming those listings are not further postponed, will mean many rape cases will have waited well over 2 years from charge to completion bringing the total delay to over 7 years from police-reported allegation to case completion.

Whether there will be sufficient criminal barristers left in 2026 to prosecute or defend those rape trials when their listing falls due depends on decisions by government today on funding for counsel so that justice can be done today, tomorrow and the days, weeks, months and years ahead.