Exclusive: Courts minister says change needed to stop criminals opting for juries to delay cases, sometimes by years, and clear huge backlog * UK politics live – latest updates Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election. Drug dealers and career criminals were “laughing in the dock” knowing cases can take years to come to trial, Sarah Sackman told the Guardian, saying inaction would be a road to “chaos and ruin”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Member of homeland security group says anti-terrorism Prevent scheme risks being overwhelmed by Palestine advocates The anti-terrorism Prevent programme risks being overwhelmed because of the government’s ban on Palestine Action and could lead to people being wrongly criminalised, a member of the Home Office’s homeland security group has warned. The official said there was already confusion among counter-terrorism police, officials and in schools and hospitals as a result of the proscription of the direct action group, which makes being a member of – or showing support for – it a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act. Continue reading...

The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.