Episode 8: Karl Turner MP and the Government’s proposals for Criminal Justice reform and jury trials

In this episode of the Criminal Justice Matters podcast fromthe ⁠Criminal Bar Association of England & Wales⁠, the Member of Parliament for Hull East, Karl Turner, a former Shadow Attorney General, discusses the Government’s proposals for reform of jury trials with CBA podcast hosts Kate Bex KC ⁠ and ⁠Simon Spence KC⁠.

Karl Turner is a Labour MP and a former practising criminalbarrister who has spearheaded a cross party campaign within Parliament to maintain the existing system of right to trial by jury. The podcast sets out Karl’s vocal opposition to the Government’s stated policy of curbing jury trials, which would impact around half the existing cases in the Crown Court backlog.

Karl's campaign has placed him at odds with his party colleagues and personal friends including the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

The podcasts explores the need to reinvest across thecriminal justice system and addresses a range of fundamental inefficiencies behind the case backlogs and delays that impact large parts of England and Wales.

The podcast references the case backlog at Kingston UponHull Crown Court, which is notable for being one of the few Crown Courts to have managed its backlog over the past year.

The case backlog in Hull reduced 9.4% to 537 over the 12 months to September 2025, compared to an increase of 9% to79,619 across England and Wales over the same period. Hull’s backlog began to rise sharply in 2019 before Covid and rose again during and post Covid. By September 2025 Hull’s case backlog was 39% higher than its low of 385 in June2019, while across England and Wales, there has been a 133% rise in the national backlog over the same six-year period.

The average waiting times from charge to trial conclusion at Hull Crown Court are also considerably better than the national averages for both remand and bail cases.

The CBA has no party-political leaning or affiliation andlistens to MPs and Peers of all political persuasions, engaging without fear or favour on issues that impact upon the functioning of the criminal justice system.

Criminal Justice Matters is edited and produced on behalf ofthe Criminal Bar Association by ⁠Adam Batstone Media & Communications⁠. . The views expressed by all contributors are their personal opinions on the topicsdiscussed.