Nottingham barrister says ‘justice system on brink of collapse’

Mr Joyce says he is very worried about a system that is “in chaos”, adding: “We have a building that’s broken.

“Trials go off. Trials don’t happen.”

Speaking about the situation as temperatures dropped in January, he said prisoners could not be brought into the building because the cell area was too cold.

“That’s pathetic, because the heating doesn’t work,” he adds.

“Every so often water starts coming through the roof. Tiles collapse from the ceilings. There are buckets all over the building because the roof leaks everywhere”.

Mr Joyce says the impact on both defendants and victims is “hideous”.

“You have people who have complained of rape say in 2020, 2021, 2022, whose trials are not going to happen until 2026, in some cases 2027.

“Their cases are adjourned, and it happens two or three times, and eventually they say ‘blow it, I cannot be bothered to engage with this any longer’.

“That is an outrage. The case collapses. And so the alleged rapist just walks away.