DEFENDANTS from north Essex have been left with their lives on hold due to a justice system crippled by a backlog of cases made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

A Parliamentary report has warned the pandemic has left the courts system in England and Wales in “crisis”, with a backlog of cases that will take years to clear.

Ministry of Justice figures show at Chelmsford Crown Court, where many north Essex cases are heard, there were 991 outstanding cases at the end of December.

This was a rise of 16.7 per cent on the end of September and 47.9 per cent on the end of 2019, when there were 670.

Caroline Woodley, a defence solicitor based in Colchester, said the backlog had been going on for some time.

“It is, in my opinion due to years of Government underfunding in the criminal justice system,” she said.

“Prior to the pandemic you only have to observe how many courts were empty and not in use.

“The Ministry of Justice has, over the years, sold off many court buildings and sought to centralise.”

Ms Woodley cited examples of cases where a client had admitted a charge, but was still awaiting sentence seven months later at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Where another alleged offence was committed in January 2019, a trial date had been listed for March 2022 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

She said such a wait often leads to witnesses rescinding their support for the prosecution, or results in them forgetting events which could impact upon evidence given in court.

“As a criminal defence practitioner I acknowledge that the general public has little sympathy for a defendant awaiting trial,” she said.

“However these delays fail to account for the fact that the defendant and their family, who are often completely blameless, have their life on hold.

“They may have been suspended from work or lost employment as a result of the allegations or the ongoing proceedings have an adverse affect on their health.

“Witnesses and victims have to wait and in some cases are tormented waiting for their ordeal to just be over.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are spending £450 million to deliver speedier justice for victims and this is already having an impact – outstanding magistrates’ cases have fallen by 50,000 since last summer and crown court cases reached pre-Covid levels in December.”