Judge-only trials will help get ‘justice moving faster’ in fraud trials – Lammy
The Justice Secretary launched the strategy as he faces continued outcry over his plans to scrap jury trials for some crimes.
Judge-only trials will help to deliver swifter justice in complex fraud cases, David Lammy claimed as he launched the Government’s anti-corruption strategy.
The Deputy Prime Minister made the claim as he set out plans to make the UK a harder target for corrupt practices at a speech in the City of London.
The strategy includes stronger law enforcement action to tackle bribery and corruption in the public sector and financial services, as well as tougher sanctions on corrupt lawyers and bankers who enable the flow of dirty money.
Mr Lammy, who is also the Justice Secretary, launched the strategy as he faces continued outcry over his plans to scrap jury trials for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years.
Speaking at Mansion House in central London, Mr Lammy insisted his reforms to the criminal courts system would help “bear down swiftly on the most sophisticated corruption, allowing specialist judges to hear the most serious, complex fraud cases alone, something the anti-corruption community has been calling for for some time”.
He added: “Because these are crimes deliberately buried in years and accounts, myriad offshore structures, opaque trades, hidden by the most devious hands, with cases that go on for months and even years on end, with tens or even… hundreds of thousands of pages of technical evidence, one case famously collapsing after almost two years in court at the cost of £25 million in the public purse.
“So judge-only trials in the most complex frauds will get justice moving faster and send a clear message: If you loot, if you launder, if you defraud the British people, you will be caught and tried by those who understand your tricks, and you will face the consequences.”
Other measures announced by Mr Lammy in his speech include £15 million for the City of London police’s anti-corruption unit, greater transparency in political donations and a review of stolen assets in the UK to be led by anti-corruption champion Baroness Margaret Hodge.
Lady Hodge said: “Tackling corruption in all its guises is vital for Britain to be a trusted and fair jurisdiction able to pursue sustained economic growth.
“This strategy will toughen the UK’s defences against dirty money and better equip us to go after those profiting from corruption and criminality. Our job now is to get on and implement it.”
Mr Lammy made fighting corruption one of his top priorities in his previous role as foreign secretary, following increasing concern among campaigners that the UK had become a haven for illicit cash.
The National Crime Agency estimates that £100 billion is laundered through the UK every year.
Recent years have seen high-profile scandals, including concerns raised about contracts awarded during the Covid pandemic and the jailing of former MEP Nathan Gill for accepting bribes to make pro-Russian statements.
A cross-party group of MPs welcomed the new strategy, but called for “urgency and proper funding for the agencies on the front line”.
Phil Brickell, the Labour chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, added: “I welcome Baroness Hodge’s review into who really owns what in the UK. When crooks can hide behind anonymous shell companies, our security and reputation suffer.
“We should not be allowing the world’s criminals and kleptocrats to hide and stash their dirty cash here in Britain.
“Before entering Parliament I worked in anti-bribery roles, and I know most professionals do the right thing – but a few bad actors create huge openings for corruption.
“That’s why the Government’s focus on those dodgy accountants, lawyers and bankers who are letting the vast majority of their profession down is long overdue.”
