In a high-stakes letter to the Justice Select Committee dated February 17, 2026, Courts Minister Sarah Sackman delivered a stark assessment of the criminal justice system.

Headline: UK Justice Minister Warns System is “On the Brink of Collapse,” Confirms Retrospective Reforms

LONDON – In a high-stakes letter to the Justice Select Committee dated February 17, 2026, Courts Minister Sarah Sackman delivered a stark assessment of the criminal justice system.

The Minister emphasized that the current crisis, a decade in the making, has left the judicial workforce depleted and backlogs at record levels. Key data reveals that criminal trials now take twice as long as they did two decades ago, with incoming case volumes consistently outstripping the system’s capacity to hear them.

Crucially, the government confirms that planned reforms—aimed at achieving efficiencies that “spending alone” cannot provide—will apply to the existing caseload to prevent a total systemic failure by 2030.

We've received a letter from @sarahsackman about the Government's criminal court reforms following her oral evidence hearing on 13 January.

The letter confirms that the reforms would apply to those cases in the existing caseload.

Read the letter in full: https://t.co/j8oBlxGtHJ pic.twitter.com/8r90d1pWJ1

— Justice Committee (@CommonsJustice) February 18, 2026

By

Robert Williams

Editor in Chief