Lords defeat 'will not halt jury reforms'

David Blunkett today vowed to end the right to trial by jury in some cases despite a heavy defeat in the Lords.

Rebel Labour peers joined Tories and Liberal Democrats to reject the Home Secretary's proposals by 210 votes to 136.

But the reforms will now go into Labour's flagship Criminal Justice Bill in September.

Mr Blunkett wants juries replaced by judges in complex fraud trials or if jury-nobbling is suspected. His proposals would also let defendants choose trial by a judge.

The Home Office said: "We shall reverse this defeat in the Commons. These are sensible measures that, far from undermining a fundamental principle of the legal system, will protect its integrity."

Tory shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin called the Government's defeat "a blow against overweening executive power and in defence of individual liberty".