David Lammy has been urged to get his department in order instead of scrapping jury trials after the courts wasted millions on a video system that never worked.

The Justice Secretary is expected to set out controversial plans this week that would see judges oversee all but the most serious cases, in order to reduce the backlog of trials and save money.

But the Ministry of Justice’s own accounts reveal that the department and its agencies recorded losses totalling £71million in 2024-25, more than twice the £33.8m reported the year before, including millions within HM Courts & Tribunals Service on a failed video system.

The annual report admitted: ‘Following a formal approval process in May 2025 a decision was made to cease the continuation and development of a specific video hearing project in HMCTS due to unresolved technical issues. This has resulted in a constructive loss of £3,632,609.’

The Video Hearings Service (VHS) project, which was meant to allow lawyers to use ‘virtual consultation rooms’ as well as enabling remote hearings, was tried out in a handful of courts and tribunals in late 2019.

It was not ready to be rolled out nationwide when the pandemic struck a few months later and lockdown means courts could not sit as normal, so a different system called Cloud Video Platform was introduced instead.

The little-used VHS system was meant to be rolled out nationally in autumn last year but had to be taken offline that summer because of technical problems that could not be fixed.

And in May this year HMCTS decided to abandon the project completely rather than spend any more money on it.

Last year the courts service wrote off another £5.6m when it decided to stick with an existing digital case management system rather than adding to a delayed project known as Common Platform.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘Instead of depriving British citizens of ancient liberties, Calamity Lammy should get his own department in order. He is casting aside 800 years of jury trials because of administrative failure.’

Bar Council chairman Barbara Mills KC said: “Over the years, there have been a series of issues with the courts’ IT affecting the entire justice sector due to antiquated systems and lack of resources.

‘The Ministry of Justice (and government departments more generally) has a poor track record when it comes to reform, digitisation and procurement. Many millions were spent on the Video Hearings Service and Common Platform, both of which failed to deliver.

‘The Ministry of Justice should undertake a complete audit of all its IT systems so that any problems can be identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity rather than sticking plasters being used as and when issues come to light. Justice is a key public service and its IT systems must be fit for purpose before they are implemented.’

And Law Society of England and Wales president Mark Evans said: ‘Reliable technology is key to improving efficiency in our justice system.

‘Not all technology projects will prove successful and sometimes the mature decision is to stop. It is however vital that HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is open with stakeholders about its decisions and learns from these experiences.

‘It will be important to understand whether HMCTS could have reached this conclusion before so much had been spent on this project, especially given how underfunded this crucial public service is.’

An MoJ spokesman said: ‘The VHS was taken offline because of technical issues that could not be resolved, rather than incurring further costs on a system that no longer represented value for money.

‘System reforms are about delivering justice, not saving money. We will continue to take tough decisions to ensure every pound is spent where it makes the most difference.’