Government urged to reconsider fraud trials

The City of London Law Society's Corporate Crime & Corruption Committee has raised significant concerns regarding proposals to retain judge-only trials for fraud offences.

The Committee, which submitted a detailed response to Sir Brian Leveson's Independent Review of the Criminal Courts in September 2025, and provided further evidence to the Lord Chancellor following the publication of the Courts and Tribunals Bill, warns that the justification now offered for removing jury trial in fraud cases — "freeing up jurors from the personal and financial burdens created by complex, months-long trials" — bears no resemblance to the original rationale advanced by Sir Brian himself.

They argue that such a move is unprincipled and unsupported by evidence, potentially undermining the rule of law. Although the government's partial retreat on jury trial reform has been acknowledged as a positive step.