Straw bid to force through jury Bill

The Home Secretary was accused of "arrogance" yesterday for trying to force through a Bill limiting the right to trial by jury, despite its rejection last month by the House of Lords.

The Home Secretary was accused of "arrogance" yesterday for trying to force through a Bill limiting the right to trial by jury, despite its rejection last month by the House of Lords.

The new Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill had a formal first reading without debate in the Commons yesterday but no details of its contents were revealed. It will not be known until the Bill's publication tomorrow whether Jack Straw has made any concessions to critics, who described the original version as an assault on historic civil liberties.

Mr Straw is thought likely to have taken the extreme step of invoking the Parliament Act to overrule the Lords and force this Bill through if it is rejected once more by the Upper Chamber.

The original Bill, published last May, would have reduced the number of cases in which defendants have the choice of trial by jury before a judge or summary trial by magistrates.