We the undersigned uphold the principle of trial by jury which has been challenged by the Heathrow warehouse robbery case (defendants Twomey, Cameron, Hibbard and Blake). This case represents the first Crown Court case of its kind to be carried out in England for over 350 years without a jury.

We believe that jury trials democratise the law both by upholding the principle of being tried by your peers and by allowing the public to pass judgement in serious criminal cases.

We call for all serious Crown Court cases in the future to be tried with a jury, and for the powers introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 allowing for non-jury trials, to be repealed.