What to know

• The proposals had been pushed by former PM Keir Starmer to tackle the court backlog, but met furious opposition, including from Labour MPs and legal professionalsS1
• The move is a U-turn on radical plans to cut thousands of jury trials across England and Wales in a bid to tackle the court backlogS2
• Ministers are scaling back a shake-up of the court system given the ‘strength of feeling’ over the proposalsS3
• Barrister Karl Turner, who had the Labour whip suspended after he criticised plans to restrict jury trials, welcomed the decision.S4