Lawyer attacks ‘cuts’

THE justice system is grinding to a halt because of a lack of judges.

A staggering 127 out of 260 courtrooms across the UK sat unused this week.

And the Government was last night accused of leaving courts empty during the summer holidays because it does not want to replace holidaying judges.

Nottingham-based top barrister Jonathan Dunne said: “Judges go on holiday, and they are not replacing them because they don’t want to pay for it.

“Part-time judges, called recorders, who have been used to fill the gaps, are not being deployed. We can only presume they’re doing so to save money.”

Mr Dunne also claimed the courtroom closures could cause witnesses to pull out of criminal cases, leading to crooks being allowed to go free.

Diana Fawcett of Victim Support said: “Multiple adjournments cause significant distress for victims and witnesses, with many feeling re-victimised.”

She added: “Witnesses sometimes pull out.”

A Courts and Tribunals spokesman said: “There is no shortage of judges in the crown court. Last year saw a 12% reduction in crown trial cases and the allocation of sitting days reflects this. Waiting times for these cases are the shortest since 2014.” ■

MONKEYS show they can imitate human expressions as they pull their funniest faces in this set of snaps.

A black crested macaque shows off his pearly whites in Indonesia, while a red-shanked douc tries to look solemn in Vietnam. Meanwhile, a Japanese macaque – known as a snow monkey – sticks out its tongue to taste snowflakes while its fur gets covered in them. A mandrill shows off his