Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed the Recorder - His Honour, Judge Mark Lucraft, KC - to the meeting.

The Recorder updated the Committee on work at the Old Bailey. He stated that the Bailey were continuing to deal with 14 trials concurrently in the 14 large Courtrooms with the smaller court rooms being utilised for non-trial work. Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic, the Recorder reported that, pre-pandemic, there was a period of a year where defendants might be held in custody awaiting trial at the Old Bailey. However, with the pandemic affecting the ability to hold as many trials, some significant delays ensued adding a period of, on average, 9 months to the time that a defendant awaited trial. The ability to work once more at full capacity had, fortunately, seen these delays begin to reduce. The Recorder reported that trials for April 2024, were already in the process of being fixed.

The Recorder commented that the Old Bailey was very fortunate in having a loyal and committed group of staff from both the City of London and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). He added that there were also now 14 permanent judges at the Old Bailey with 2 new judges being appointed in April  – Judge Lynn Tayton KC and Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC – meaning that there were 7 male and 7 female judges now in post. A third new judge was to be appointed in September taking the Old Bailey’s complement to 15.

The Recorder went on to talk about judicial diversity in a wider sense stating that the Bailey’s 14 judges came form a variety of professional backgrounds. He highlighted that appointments were made by an independent body called the Judicial Appointments Commission with Old Bailey judges being drawn from senior circuit judges (of which there were only approximately 30 in total across England and Wales who sat in crime regularly). The Common Serjeant and Recorder are the two most senior circuit judges in England and Wales. It was underlined that appointment as a senior circuit judge was unusual before the age of 50 with the mean age of appointment being 57. There was therefore a very small cohort from which to appoint Old Bailey judges. The Recorder commented that when he first began to sit at the Old Bailey full time, in 2015, there were just 2 female judges alongside 14 men with most being from private or public school backgrounds and from Oxbridge. However, many judges were now from a state school background and from a wide range of universities. The Recorder added that, with time, he would also like to see the racial diversity of judges continue to change. The Recorder commented that, compared to many courts, the Old Bailey was outperforming in terms of both jurisdiction and background diversity – something which should be celebrated by the City.

In terms of the types of cases heard, the Recorder stated that these continued to be a mixture of homicide, murder, manslaughter and terrorism with many involving young defendants aged between 18-25 years. A typical day saw between 30 and 35 defendants in custody on trial with trials lasting between 2 and 12 weeks.

This year would see some significant works commencing in the area of the custody cells which was essential in terms of improving air flow here, particularly over the summer months. The Committee were informed that maintenance of the Old Bailey was a constant but essential piece of work to ensure that the building remained fit for purpose.

The Recorder went on to speak of the many outreach projects pursued including the work of the Secondary, Fiona Adler, around knife crime and the ‘No Knives, Better Lives’ project funded by the City of London. The Recorder was also keen to improve efforts around schools outreach and reported that two pupils were currently selected as Old Bailey apprentices in conjunction with the Kalisher Trust. The Committee were informed that the Old Bailey hosted many visits from judges and lawyers around the world. The Recorder also took the opportunity to congratulate Alderman and Sheriff King for the events that he had organised at the Bailey this year with a legal theme. The Recorder reported that events focused on gender and the law, domestic violence, the menopause, free speech and the recent lecture given by John Major for the Prison Reform Trust were all examples of events that he had been extremely proud to support with each putting the Old Bailey at the forefront of these important issues.

The Recorder concluded by encouraging all Aldermen to visit the Old Bailey whenever they were allocated duties to do so.

The Chairman thanked the Recorder for his presentation and for all of his hard work at the Old Bailey to date. He welcomed any questions that the Committee may have.

An Alderman, also the Chairman of the Operational Property & Projects Sub Committee, commented that the City had just approved the last tranche of funding towards a comprehensive programme of repair work for the Old Bailey. He commented on the positive transformations that had taken place in recent years but asked that the Recorder reach out to him with any additional issues on this front if necessary.

The Recorder commented that the Bailey had a significant maintenance programme in place but added that unexpected issues, such as a current, mechanical issue with the gates into Newgate Street still tended to emerge. He undertook to keep the Committee informed of any significant, unforeseen projects which might emerge as opposed to any routine issues.

Another Alderman spoke on judicial diversity and questioned what activities the Recorder and his staff envisaged undertaking to promote greater ethnic diversity of the diversity. He added that he was thinking specifically of appointments to Senior and Junior Treasury Council who were based in the Old Bailey. The Recorder responded that many Old Bailey judges, including himself, were judicial mentors who met with those interested in potentially becoming judges in future years. They were also often asked to provide references for those applying to Treasury Council. The Recorder commented that he had worked very closely with Senior Treasury Council on a scheme launched last year which sought to broaden the ability of people to apply to Junior Treasury Council. It was well understood that senior judges of tomorrow would be drawn from the Treasury Council and from senior defence barristers. It was also reported that a number of Old Bailey judges were also significantly involved in the work of (WICL) Women In Criminal Law.  

An Alderman asked further questions on Aldermanic duties at the Old Bailey and the system of allocation here. The Recorder reported that he now had a new PA that would be overseeing this system and encouraged all to attend as frequently as possible on their allocated dates to offer their support on the various different events hosted and topics covered. Another Alderman questioned whether the allocations could be set out for a longer period of time – for example for the year ahead. The Chairman commented that this was the plan and that there should also be a system going forwards whereby places were offered to the wider Court of Aldermen on a first come, first served basis in instances where those allocated to duties could not attend.

Another Alderman questioned the Recorder on his involvement with the new Courts development at Salisbury Square and its likely impact on the Old Bailey. The Recorder confirmed that he had not been involved in any in-depth discussions as to how the new Courts building would interact with the Old Bailey to date. He added that this would depend upon what work would actually go to the Crown Court part of the new development but added that he did not envisage this changing the core work undertaken at the Bailey.