Monday Message – Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!  Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!!!

We start the year with the news that there is currently no heating at Wolverhampton Crown Court, and they cannot produce any defendant in any case because it’s far too cold. A very Happy New Year indeed.

But – putting that to one side for the moment, I hope…..



I hope that everyone had a wonderful break over the holidays – and managed to have some real time off, spend time with loved ones, or simply happily with yourself, and to recuperate after the difficult year that was 2025.


There was no let up in our work during the weeks before Christmas, when amongst other things, meetings took place with:


    

  • HH Deborah Taylor, and the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board [CLAAB] to discuss the ongoing issues with remuneration for defence legal aid work;
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  • Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, in respect of prosecution fees and pressures on the criminal bar;
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  • Prison Escort Services, when together with Claire Davies KC, leader of the South Eastern Circuit, we engaged directly about the ongoing delays in the delivery of defendants in custody to court.
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  • HHJ Julian Smith, chair of the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Edis, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division’s Consultation on Criminal Court Listings; we also provided a full written response to the Consultation which can be found here.
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  • The Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, Sir Nick Green’s Roundtable in respect of best practice in Domestic Abuse cases;
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  • The Bar Council, Circuit Leaders, and Members of Parliament in respect of the government’s proposals to restrict jury trials;
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  • Sir Brian Leveson’s team in respect of our representations and the recommendations that may be made in Part 2 of his Report.
    • 



The year ahead


As we embark on 2026, we all know that there will still be much work to do. Our opposition against the proposals to restrict the right to jury trial is underway, but the next few months will be of utmost importance to the future of criminal trials as we know them, and to the future course of our profession.


As I indicated in my message just before Christmas, the CBA has been working with the Bar Council, and the Circuit leaders, to organise a series of events to promote our collective “Justice Needs Juries” campaign, and I am now able to share some further details and dates with you:


    

  • Tuesday 20th Jan – MP/Peers drop-in session in Parliament. An MP has sponsored a room for the BC/CBA to continue talks about the proposals, and the reasons for our objections to curtailing jury trials. MPs and Peers from across all parties will be invited to meet myself, Kirsty Brimelow KC, Circuit Leaders, and other members of the Bar.
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  • Friday 30th Jan – Court Day in constituencies – The Bar is asked to invite their MPs to come to their local court on this specific Friday at the end of January. We will in due course provide a model letter/email text to send and will also be encouraging MPs to come directly, as members of the public.
    • 

  • Tuesday 3rd Feb – MP lobby day with wigs and gowns – We ask as many barristers as possible to come to Parliament, and to lobby their MP.
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  • The link for our government petition to encourage people to sign up against the proposals is still not yet live as it has been sent to moderation “to ensure that it meets petition standards”. We will update you as soon as we hear more and will circulate the link for signing. When we reach 10,000 signatures the Government must respond.  If we get 100,000 (our aim) it will trigger a debate in Parliament.
    • 



Bar Council Chair


Barbara Mills KC has now ended her term as Chair of the Bar Council. She has been a brilliant leader, an inspiration, and a great friend to the criminal Bar. I have seen first hand how she has fought for us:  tirelessly, with fortitude, grace and passion. We owe her a huge debt of gratitude.


We welcome Kirsty Brimelow KC and Heidi Stonecliffe KC into the roles of Chair and Vice Chair respectively. Kirsty and Heidi will make a formidable team, bringing a great deal of dedication and experience to their new roles. Both have already been proactive and effective in our joint negotiations, and we very much looking forward to continuing to work with them over the year to come.


Circuit Leaders


Congratulations and welcome to our new circuit leaders Samantha Hillas, who leads the Northern Circuit, Caroline Goodwin KC who leads the North Eastern circuit, Christopher Rees KC who leads Wales and Chester – and belated congratulations to Sarah Jones KC who leads the Western Circuit. We look forward to working with you all over the coming year.


Jaime Hamilton KC, Jason Pitter KC, Caroline Rees KC, and Jo Martin KC have now stepped down. They have all been superb in their leadership over the past year and contributed a huge amount. We owe them all our thanks.


HH Philip Bartle KC 


On the 19th of December, HHJ Philip Bartle KC retired from the judiciary after 21 years of service, 7 ½ years as a Recorder, and 13½ as a Circuit Judge. The Valedictory was held in Court 1 at Southwark Crown Court, and delivered by our Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Sue Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill.


As the LCJ said. Philip’s career was “defined by dynamism, a refined judicial skillset, and popularity as a much-loved and well-respected colleague and friend of many at the Bar and on the Bench alike”. At Manchester Grammar School, Philip seemed destined for a life on the stage. He completed a MA in Jurisprudence and the BCL at Christ Church, College Oxford, before being called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1976. He completed his pupillage at what is now Fountain Court Chambers, spent a few early years practising in general common law at 2 Pump Court, before moving to 2 Crown Office Row, then the chambers of Michael Sherrard, now Littleton Chambers. He appeared in several high-profile cases and has been involved in training advocacy for over 30 years.  Alongside it all, he has maintained his thespian activities. He still regularly treads the boards of Court No.1 at the Old Bailey in a variety of judicial and bandit roles in Trial and Error, produced by HH Peter Rook, and is Master of the Revels at the Middle Temple, in which capacity he last year produced a dazzling performance of sketches imagining the interplay between Shakespeare and technology.


Philip’s very entertaining final speech can be found here and our Lady Chief’s speech can be found here.


We wish Philip the very best in his retirement, and hope that he has a very good time indeed. We have no doubt that we will see him back on the stage soon, perhaps in Trial and Error in March this year? Further details to follow…


s.28 recordings


HMTCS will soon be transferring all s.28 recordings currently stored on Vodafone to the PRE system. This will impact Vodafone edits and how advocates access their recordings.


Vodafone Edit Freeze


Please be advised for those cases that are due to be played back at trial between Monday 19th January and Friday 6th March 2026, where there are any requests for editing, these must be submitted no later than 15:00 on Friday 16 January 2026.


After this date, no further edits can be made until 6th March 2026 when edits will then be made on the PRE system where all recordings will be available.


Action Required – Advocates are asked to review all s.28 trials listed during this period and to submit edit requests in advance to avoid any risk to trial effectiveness, because there will be no exceptions. Once the freeze starts it will be technically impossible to undertake edits, irrespective of the impact upon the trial. It is therefore imperative that all edits are completed in advance of the freeze.


Advocates access to recordings


The PRE system now supports access via CJSM accounts, which provide a more secure method of authentication.


CJSM accounts will become the default e-mail address for advocates logging into the PRE portal and accessing their s.28 recordings.


Posters have been issued to Crown Courts for display in robing rooms, copy attached, that sets out the process that will vary depending on current account type.


All advocates should transition to using CJSM email accounts for PRE system access as soon as possible.


Please be aware that court staff are unable to assist with any external and/or portal account issues.


If an advocate requires support or technical assistance, they should contact the CTSC:


CTSC Telephone: 0300 323 0194


E-mail: [email protected]


Two Final Pushes


Book Donations


If you have any spare criminal law texts either spare or superseded, Mrs Justice Dias has put us in touch with a long-standing project in Sri Lanka which ships books to rebuild legal libraries and support the Commission there. They are currently seeking texts on confiscation, declaration of assets and proceeds of crime. Please contact [email protected] in the first instance if you are kindly able to help.


Kalisher Trust’s pre-loved Clothing Sale


On 16th February 2026 Lincoln’s Inn will host the ‘preloved clothing’ fair in conjunction with the Kalisher Trust. The Fair is an opportunity for students who have other financial pressures and who may be unable to spend large sums on professional clothing to select free of charge up to 5 items,  and also apply for a free wig and gown (subject to availability). Volunteers are encouraged to sign up, and clothing donations are welcome!


Details can be found here.


Happy New Year


Best wishes,


Riel

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