Acriminal justice adviser accountable to the prime minister, an annual review of legal aid fees and allowing prison vans to use bus lanes are just some of the 135 recommendations in part two of the government-commissioned Leveson review to cut the Crown court backlog.
The lord chancellor and justice secretary, David Lammy, is already pressing ahead with controversial reforms to curb jury trials; one of 45 proposals in part one of Sir Brian Leveson’s review. Publishing part two of the review today, Lammy said the government ‘will urgently consider the proposals’ and respond to them ‘in the coming weeks’.
Part two of the Leveson review, split over two volumes, focuses on proposals to make the criminal justice system run more efficiently.
The most eye-catching of the recommendations is the creation of the post of ‘Prime Minister’s Criminal Justice Adviser’, who would be appointed by and answerable to Downing Street. The adviser, whose role would be enshrined in law, would be solely focused on coordinating work to build a ‘single vision for a fragmented criminal justice system’.