Hundreds of criminals awaiting trial for rape, murder and drug trafficking could be freed on bail due to court cutbacks, a judge has warned.
Lord Justice Green, the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales, has warned “difficult decisions” will have to be made in the wake of the Government’s decision to cut crown court sitting days.Crown court sitting dates are being capped to 105,000 this year, a two per cent drop from previous years.Judges have warned this will force them to consider freeing suspects awaiting trial, as they can only be remanded in custody for six months.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Government has increased sitting days to a total of 106,500 – more than in six out of the last seven years... and is committed to bearing down on the crown courts backlog.”This comes after the MoJ admitted 37 prisoners were wrongly released under Labour's plans to reduce overcrowding in jails.The individuals were released in error on 10 September because their offences were wrongly logged under outdated legislation.
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