Labour retreats on rape courts pledge amid fears over shortage of lawyers
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Election manifesto promise to set up specialist tribunals to deal with huge backlog of cases has been put on hold. The government has backed away from plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.
![[Sir Brian Leveson wearing a judge's wig and robes]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/40196938caa431d9d2b00a6496a83952f3124404/0_162_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial. But government sources and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) appeared to confirm this weekend the idea had in effect been put on ice, with consideration of how to tackle the backlog set to be folded instead into a wider review of courts policy being conducted by Sir Brian Leveson. It will make its initial recommendations in the spring.
![[Anthony Rogers]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/685c43ba73d8e1912e5ec5da2b4e33e7e6db1678/0_98_4880_2928/master/4880.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In its manifesto, Labour said specifically it would “fast-track rape cases through specialist courts at every crown court location in England and Wales”, suggesting it was an urgent priority and a key element of its commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.
But the legal profession was always sceptical, saying that the lack of lawyers prepared to take on such complex and often relatively poorly paid cases was the more fundamental challenge in addressing the backlog, which has caused 60% of rape victims to drop out even before trials begin.
