Like the defence of the realm, the administration of justice is one of the state’s foundational responsibilities. At present and across the UK, the state is failing to meet its obligations. The shortcomings amount to a wholesale dereliction of responsibility that is as irresponsible as it is dangerous.
In England, an overburdened and underfunded justice system has reached breaking point. Ministers have invoked emergency measures to halt bail hearings and keep defendants in police custody because prisons no longer have the capacity to house defendants on remand. And some prisoners will be released from jail up to 70 days before their sentence is complete. At prime minister’s questions this week, Sir Keir Starmer accused the Conservative government of issuing “get out of jail free cards”
