New figures reveal number of trials postponed at Portsmouth Crown Court during barristers' strike

The Law Society said the impact of years of budget cuts is ‘plain to see’ in the latest figures, which also reveal the backlog of crown court cases reached a new high across the country last summer.

Ministry of Justice figures show that of the 44 trials listed at Portsmouth crown court between July and September 2022, 15 were 'ineffective', meaning they had to be postponed to a later date.

This was up from eight over the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, and an increase from 11 in 2014 – the earliest year with comparable data.

Trials can be labelled as ineffective for a range of reasons, including the defence or prosecution not being ready, or witnesses being absent.

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Meanwhile, nine trials at Portsmouth crown court were 'cracked' last year – when the Crown Prosecution Service drops the case or the defendant pleads guilty – and 20 were effective, meaning the trial went ahead as planned.

Criminal barristers in England and Wales began an indefinite strike on September 5 2022 after their action against the Government's proposals for legal fees intensified

The walkouts ended in October, when members of the Criminal Bar Association accepted a package of measures, including a 15 per cent legal aid fee increase for most crown court cases.

Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: ‘The impact of decades of underinvestment in our criminal justice system is plain to see.’