'Justice delayed is justice denied': Case backlog at record levels as Jay Blades rape trial lays bare crown court crisis
Judge Anthony Lowe’s apology to TV presenter Jay Blades over a two-year trial delay has reignited concerns over record Crown Court backlogs, with cases more than doubling in seven years and defendants and victims left waiting years for justice.
Shrewsbury Crown Court's Resident Judge, Judge Anthony Lowe, made headlines around the country after apologising to rape-accused TV presenter Jay Blades last week for the delay in his court case.
Blades, of Claverley near Bridgnorth, denies two charges of rape. The 55-year-old is looking at a two-year wait for his trial, which was adjourned until September 2027.
"I regret that. It is not a proper justice system where people are having to wait that length of time for their trial, but I am afraid there is just nothing I can do," Judge Lowe told Blades.
Judge Lowe's is an apology we've heard many times before in Shropshire, as the experienced judge has been criticising lengthy delays in the justice system since at least 2019.
"Slow justice is poor justice," he said in 2019 - unaware that justice was about to get even slower.
The latest official figures show there were 76,957 open cases in crown courts in England and Wales waiting to be heard at the end of March 2025, up from 74,592 in December and an 11 per cent increase on the previous year (69,021).
