MOVES by the Government to reduce people’s right to trial by jury are being opposed by Wellington’s MP Gideon Amos.

Justice Secretary David Lammy wants to scrap jury trials in England and Wales for crimes which carry a likely sentence of less than two years.

Under the changes, more serious offences, including murder, robbery, and rape, will still go before a jury.

However, the proposed new justice system would see even more work taken on by local magistrates, who currently deal with the majority of all criminal cases.

Mr Amos said: “Taunton has been the scene of justice and courts for over a thousand years and trial by jury has taken place in the town for hundreds of years.

“The Government’s latest reforms will take away the right to trial by jury for offences imprisonable for up to two years.

“That is a step too far for Liberals like me who believe in trial by jury as a fundamental right of English people.

“We have opposed this in Parliament and we will stand up for the right to trial by jury.”

Mr Amos, speaking during a debate in the House of Commons, suggested an alternative solution.

He told MPs: “If every lever needs to be pulled, should not the cap on ‘sitting days’ be removed?

“That would make a far bigger difference to the process of clearing the backlog than removing jury trials.”

Mr Amos voted in favour of scrapping the Government's plans, but the proposal was defeated by 290 votes to 182.

Mr Lammy is proposing the changes to the justice system as the Government tries to tackle a record high backlog of about 80,000 crown court cases across the country, but it was estimated even with the new system it could take about 10 years to clear the current backlog.