Criminal justice system ‘about to crack’ as prosecutors refuse work over low pay
The criminal justice system is “about to crack” with a record number of trials being aborted at the last minute because no one is available to prosecute them, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has warned.
A fresh row is bubbling after the government agreed to boost legal aid fees by 15% in October in a bid to end defence barrister strikes.
The deal – made by Brandon Lewis during his brief stint as Justice Secretary under the Truss administration – has created a disparity of fees between defence advocates and prosecutors.
Most barristers in England and Wales are self-employed, meaning they can choose what side of the work to take.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, the chair of CBA, said prosecution barristers are “effectively striking” by refusing to take on cases for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and opting for defence work instead.
“A lot of barristers are saying they’re no longer going to prosecute, because they don’t want to be in a case where they are receiving 20% less than the person who’s defending,” she told Sky News.
“The CPS is finding that they’re ringing round hundreds of chambers and they still can’t find anyone to take the case to prosecute it, and I’ve come across that myself.”
‘The justice system is failing’
Ms Brimelow called the situation an “unprecedented crisis” that will hinder efforts to clear the crown courts backlog, which soared to record highs during the pandemic.
“It used to be unheard of that you would have trials that would be adjourned because you cannot find a barrister to prosecute, and now it’s pretty common.
“This impacts on delays as cases are bounced back sometimes for another year. It impacts on the trauma for witness complainants and it impacts upon defendants who are saying they’re not guilty and can’t get on with their lives either.
“So all around the justice system is failing.”
Kirsty Brimelow, chair of the Criminal Bar Association
The shortage is particularly being felt in rape and serious sexual assault offence cases (RASSO), which require barristers with special qualifications to prosecute.
‘Almost impossible’ to return rape trials
A senior barrister who prosecutes for the CPS said it is “becoming almost impossible” to return complex grade 4 trials “because so many grade 4s have just walked away”.
But one grade four RASSO barrister said: “Why would anyone now accept new CPS instructions? It means in 18 months time still working for already inadequate rates, can’t be done.”
Max Hill KC, the head of the CPS, has also backed calls to raise prosecution fees to address the shortage.
A government spokesperson said they are “working closely with the CPS to help make sure the criminal justice system can function effectively”.
“Spending Review settlements have been maintained and any requests for further funding will be considered by HMT in due course,” they added.
It provides a fresh headache for ministers as they come under mounting pressure to tackle the NHS crisis and wave of industrial unrest grinding the public sector to a halt.
Last month, the Ministry of Justice hailed “significant progress” since the government published its landmark rape review action plan, including a rise in rape charges and convictions.
But the CBA says while it is encouraging more cases are reaching court there has also been an “exponential rise” in RASSO trials being cancelled on the day due to a lack of staff and resources.
Official figures show that in the year to June 2022, 314 rape and serious sexual assault trials were “ineffective” – meaning they could not go ahead on the day – because of a lack of court rooms, judges, defence advocates or prosecution barristers, up from 109 in the previous year.
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Criminal barristers in England accept pay rise offer
The amount of prosecution “no-shows” were 15 times higher than the previous year and 10 times more than the yearly average for past seven years, according to the CBA analysis of the data.
Data for the most recent quarter has not been published, but the CBA say they are aware of a string of serious rape trials that were aborted last minute in December as no cover could be found for prosecution.
One example included a case in Newcastle involving a defendant in his 70s and several complainants – which has now been re-listed for July 2023.
Effect on victims and witnesses
James Oliveira-Agnew, a barrister who specialises in RASSO trials, raised concern about prosecutions being dropped if victims traumatised by long delays withdraw their support, and of unfair acquittals due to the effect of delays on witnesses’ memories.
Data from April to June 2022 suggests rape victims are already waiting an average of 1397 days – almost four years – for their cases to be complete, with the biggest increase in delay coming post charge.
Mr Oliveira-Agnew said he has cases in his diary for the middle of 2024 “because that’s the earliest time they can get things in” but there is no guarantee they will go ahead if prosecutors can’t be found.
“What we are seeing happening on the ground a lot now, which I have never seen before, is turning up on the day of the trial (defending), we will get a judge if we are lucky, the witnesses and everyone who is required but you won’t have a prosecutor.
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“If you’re a complainant, and something like this has happened to you and you build up everything and you come to court on that first morning, ready to have this traumatic experience to be told it’s cancelled, it’s soul destroying.”
Mr James Oliveira-Agnew said a barrister will earn £1,600 more defending a five-day rape trial than prosecuting it “so parity of fees is vital”.
‘A break down in trust’
He said the long-term consequence of not taking action will be a break down in trust of the justice system.
“If people don’t trust the justice system, people aren’t going to report crimes because they’re not going to see the point, and people are going to commit crimes because they’re going to get away with it.”
The government has introduced a raft of measures to speed up justice for victims and improve the system since the start of the pandemic, including lifting the cap on the number of days courts can sit on and quadrupling funding for victim support services to £192m a year by 2025.
But Ms Brimelow said: “The system is about to crack and there has to be urgent action of increasing the prosecution fees so that they achieve parity with the defence.
“Otherwise, it’s a total waste of resources piling in huge amounts of money into Victim Support, when the alleged offences are never going to see the inside of a Crown Court.”
Criminal barristers in England and Wales have entered an indefinite strike
A CPS spokesman said: “The criminal justice system depends on equality of arms between defence and prosecution.
“We are continuing to engage with Bar leaders regarding prosecution fees as we continue to use a mix of in-house and external advocates to meet our needs and support the provision of quality advocacy services.”
Both India and Pakistan claimed they didn’t want all-out war, or for things to escalate.
But given that those statements came within hours of airstrikes from either side, it’s easy to understand why the world was sceptical.
Fast forward just a few hours though and a ceasefire has been agreed – with the help of the US, who brokered talks and even announced the deal.
India-Pakistan live: Latest updates as ceasefire agreed
The agreement has sparked celebrations in Pakistan, with people in many cities, including Lahore, taking to the streets. Chants of “Pakistan Zindabad” – “Long Live Pakistan” in English – are ringing out.
But the deal doesn’t undo the events of the past two weeks, which will continue to weigh heavily on the minds of many here.
The military action has been the most significant between the countries in decades and dozens have died on both sides.
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Pakistan fires missiles at India
Just this morning, Pakistan inflicted some serious damage to India’s military sites and New Delhi did not waste time responding with further strikes.
It was a reminder, for many, of the uncertainty of the situation between India and Pakistan.
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A house damaged in Indian shelling, in Shah Kot, in Neelum Vallery. Pic: AP/M.D. Mughal
Representatives from each country will speak again on Monday and even with the strikes halted, for now, the next 48 hours will be a very testing moment.
Both sides have often shown striking strategic restraint. And in the past fortnight, neither has launched a full-scale attack.
But their enmity has been enduring, and even with the agreement in place, it feels a bit complacent to assume India and Pakistan will just walk back from the brink.
World
Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes
Social media accounts expressing support for a Pakistan-based terror group linked to al Qaeda appear to have posted recent videos from a Pakistan mosque targeted by Indian airstrikes.
Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called ‘313’.
Sky News has found and geolocated multiple videos that appear to be filmed in the area where the captions include either or both ‘313’ and LeT.
Some of the videos show men in the streets with guns. Another post captioned a video of children doing martial arts training inside the targeted mosque, “we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”.
The caption of the video reads ‘we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers’. It uses the hashtag ‘313’.
The caption uses the hashtag #جہاد313, which translates to ‘313’ jihad.
‘313’ appears to refer to the 313 Brigade, a proscribed terror organisation in Pakistan.
In a TikTok video posted to the Google page for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, a man can be seen walking along the street with a gun.
The account that posted that video wrote in their description, “Lashkar Taiba, Mujahid Force, ‘313’ and Markaz Taiba Muridke”, self-proclaiming their support for the groups.
This screenshot from the Google user labels Lashkar-e-Taiba and ‘313’ and includes the location name Muridke
India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistani-adminstered Kashmir and Pakistan on 7 May came after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people and injuring dozens in a popular holiday spot near Pahalgam, Kashmir, on 22 April.
LeT were accused by India of involvement in the Pahalgam attack through their proxy the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
LeT, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council and the UK, focuses on fighting Indian control in Kashmir and is based in the Punjab region of Pakistan.
Pakistan denies allegations of terror camps operating in the country. This region has been in the control of the Punjabi government since 2010. The Punjab government condemned the Indian strikes, and declared a state of emergency across Punjab.
Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism research and analysis consortium, told Sky News: “Brigade 313 is al Qaeda in Pakistan. It’s an umbrella organisation for members of several groups like Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqat ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jundullah.”
Ms Sangwan explained that ‘313’ refers to the number of companions said to have fought with the Prophet Mohammed in the Battle of Badr.
TRAC have seen a recent uptick in TikTok videos and other social media posts that refer to ‘313’.
Many of the accounts are linked to each other.
Ms Sangwan said: “They [the TikTok users] mostly use ‘313’ as a hashtag… trying to push that hashtag to as many people it can reach on social media.”
Sky News sought to verify the location by comparing before and after videos from the strike location, and using the video released by the Indian army conducting the strike.
One video showing damage at the strike location was posted by a user with 313 in their TikTok username.
The TikTok account that posted video footage of the destruction in Muridke has 313 in the username
Below is satellite imagery that shows the destruction of the site.
Satellite imagery shows Markaz Taiba Mosque after the strike on 7 May. Credit: Maxar
In one TikTok, the video is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”. The text on the screen of the TikTok is ‘313’ and he is carrying a gun.
The group are comfortable with having an online presence. On the Google tag for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, men pose for a group photo. Almost all the people in the photo have used ‘313’ on TikTok.
Ms Sangwan explained: “With these people from Muridke, pushing this propaganda on social media would generate a lot of significance in terms of recruitment and in terms of gaining support from local people and from other people.”
Sky News’ Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch has reported on the ground in Muridke.
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Anger in Pakistan after India strikes
India says it struck Markaz Taiba, a site in Muridke about 15 miles (25km) from the border, which has long been claimed to be a terrorist training site associated with LeT.
MEMRI, a US-based research group that monitors terrorist threats, told Sky News: “It has been known for decades that Lashkar-e-Taiba has its headquarters in Muridke.”
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Sky News contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for comment. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, told Sky News: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.”
Mr Asif also said that any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false, social media made up hoax”.
On 7 May, after the strikes in Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent branch of al Qaeda issued a statement condemning India’s actions and encouraging its supporters to wage jihad against India.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer have threatened Vladimir Putin with fresh sanctions if Russia fails to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv on Saturday.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine – arriving by train – at the same time.
They updated Donald Trump on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.
European leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold call with Donald Trump. Pic: Number 10
Following the summit, the leaders announced an agreement that there should be an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday, with the backing of the US president.
“All of us here, together with US, are calling Putin out,” said Sir Keir.
“So we are clear, all five leaders here – all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing – an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin’s conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond.
“Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Mr Zelenskyy told reporters the agreed ceasefire should cover air, sea and land, and said that if Moscow refused, Russia would face new sanctions, including the strengthening of punitive measures targeting its energy and banking sectors.
The European leaders said the terms of a peace deal would be negotiated during the 30-day pause in fighting.
But the Ukrainian president said: “We have no illusions that the ceasefire will be breached.”
Mr Macron said the proposed ceasefire would be monitored mainly by the US and European countries and there would be “massive” sanctions if Russia did not agree.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supported the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire, but only with due consideration of “nuances”.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
As the European leaders pulled into Kyiv by train on Saturday, the screen on the platform announced the arrival of the “Bravery Express”.
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Mr Zelenskyy accompanied them as they paid their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the current war.
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The visit came on the final day of a three-day ceasefire unilaterally declared by Mr Putin, which was denounced as a sham by Ukraine.
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Both sides have accused each other of violating it.
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