Prof Roshan Doug is an educational consultant from the West Midlands. He has also served as a magistrate and supports controversial changes. Here are his thoughts on plans to reduce jury trials.

Jury trials are failing Britain - it’s time for real reform.

Justice Secretary David Lammy has proposed cutting down on jury trials.

His suggestion may be controversial, but it is rooted in an uncomfortable truth: the current system is no longer fit for purpose.

As a former lay magistrate, I have seen the cracks in Britain’s justice system widening year after year. What the public is often told about the sanctity of jury service and the noble tradition of the magistracy bears little resemblance to the reality inside the courtroom.

The truth is starker: our reliance on laypeople - however well-

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