Rewriting centuries of British law, and the public wasn’t asked — top barrister Jeremy Dein KC speaks out against government proposals

Jan 26, 2026

Jeremy Dein KC, a senior criminal barrister with decades defending serious cases, warns that proposed reforms would gut jury trials and concentrate power in the state. He discusses why juries are a constitutional safeguard, why cutting juries will not fix court backlogs, how appeal rights and policing failures harm trust, and why intimidation of Jewish communities exposes deeper institutional breakdowns.

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INSIGHT

Juries Are A Constitutional Safeguard

Jeremy Dein KC argues jury trials are the heartbeat of the criminal justice process and a constitutional safeguard.
He warns narrowing jury rights is a fundamental constitutional shift done without public mandate.

INSIGHT

Abolishing Juries Won't Fix Backlogs

Dein says removing juries to clear backlogs won't work because judges would need to write time-consuming judgments.
He notes judges don't want the extra responsibility and the change could worsen delays.

INSIGHT

Twelve Minds Beat One

Dein highlights juries dilute individual biases by bringing twelve diverse minds to verdicts.
He cautions a single judge deciding many cases concentrates power and risks public backlash.

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Britain’s justice system is facing a profound rupture. Under the banner of efficiency and backlog reduction, reforms are being proposed that would remove large numbers of cases from jury trial, weaken appeal rights, and concentrate decision making power in the hands of the state. These changes touch principles that have defined British liberty for centuries and raise fundamental questions about our justice and democracy, and who they ultimately serve.

In this conversation, Jonathan Sacerdoti speaks to veteran criminal defence barrister Jeremy Dein KC, whose decades at the heart of the courts give him a rare vantage point. Dein explains why dismantling jury trials will not solve the crisis it claims to address, why judges themselves are alarmed, and how political pressure, public disorder and selective enforcement are corroding trust in the rule of law. From constitutional change to the reality of two-tier justice, this discussion exposes how institutional drift becomes moral failure when the state forgets its duty to protect the individual.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand how the erosion of jury trials, policing failures and selective enforcement are symptoms of a deeper crisis in British justice.

💬 We Discuss:

⚖️ Why jury trials are not a procedural detail but a constitutional safeguard against injustice

🏛️ How proposals to reduce jury trials undermine principles dating back to Magna Carta

📉 Why abolishing juries will not solve the court backlog and may worsen it

👩‍⚖️ Why concentrating power creates new risks

📜 The quiet removal of appeal rights and what it means for ordinary defendants

🚨 Fast tracked justice and why speed can become a substitute for fairness

🔍 Two tier justice and how public order policing reveals institutional fear and inconsistency

🕍 The failure to protect Jewish communities from intimidation masquerading as protest

🗣️ Free speech versus criminal intimidation and where the law has lost clarity

🇬🇧 What all of this says about Britain’s future as a liberal democracy

🔔 Subscribe for more serious and unflinching conversations about law, power and the future of British institutions.

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👇 Comment below — if jury trials and equal justice are weakened in the name of efficiency, what protections remain for the individual against the state?

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