Defendants could be ‘diverted’ from criminal justice system amid record backlog

Brian Leveson, leading England and Wales review, says number of prosecutions waiting to be dealt with is ‘unsustainable’

People scheduled to stand for trial could be “diverted” from the criminal justice system in efforts to tackle the “unsustainable” backlog of court cases, the head of a major justice review has said.

Sir Brian Leveson said the number of prosecutions waiting to be dealt with was unsustainable, with listings now running into 2027.