The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has said there has been a big increase in the number of people pleading not guilty to criminal offences, and he has said the barristers’ strike was partly to blame.
At a briefing with journalists on Tuesday, Rowley said the number of people pleading not guilty had shot up from 20 percent to 80 percent and he said the trend was causing great pain to victims, especially to those who have reported rape and sexual assault.
Rowley said: “The barristers’ strike has been a real challenge for us all. More and more cases are backing up in the system and that’s a real concern to me.”…