King’s Speech

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (CB)]

My Lords, in the gracious Speech, there are two matters where constitutional principle relating to our justice system requires particular scrutiny, and they also require scrutiny in relation to the strength of our union.

First is lay participation in our Crown Courts. The jury and the magistracy have been an essential part of our constitutional structure for centuries: they date back in statute to the 13th and 14th centuries. They are a hallmark of our system of justice, underpin its worldwide reputation and give the public confidence in the administration of justice. There is nothing I have seen that can possibly be taken as an excuse for dismantling that constitutional principle.

If you read carefully the report of Sir Brian Leveson’s second volume, you will see that the causes of the problem are multifaceted but that each of them is capable of remedy. One of those issues is productivity, with which we are all familiar. The decline in the productivity of the Crown Courts, measured by the time of sitting days over the last 10 years, has been 16%. We are used to remedying this and must do so. I am glad the Government are committed to making more resource available, and I hope I can have confidence in the Minister and the Government in taking these necessary steps, so we do not destroy what underpins our justice system, namely lay participation.

Second is constitutional principles relating to the police and the great reform that is now being undertaken. There are two of particular importance: that the police are operationally independent from local and central government—just as the prosecutor, the justices and the judges must be—and that the police have and must continue to have a discretion as to the way in which they enforce the law. I hope very much that the Bill will underpin those two principles, just as principles are underpinned in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 in respect of the judiciary. I also hope that, when we look at police reform, we will look with particular care at the way in which the police have been governed over the past century or two and learn from the mistakes that have been made.

As to Wales and the strength of our union, I hope the Government will now see what, on occasion, I have raised in this House: the need for the devolution of justice to Wales. Wales is a small country, it has effective and efficient courts, and it certainly had them before this Parliament abolished them in 1830. Secondly, I have no doubt that, if policing is to be properly reformed in Wales, it must be tied very closely to the way in which the rest of the government of Wales is conducted.