Britain expands AI in courts with Microsoft Copilot to tackle massive case backlogs

Britain's creaking courts to use Copilot for transcriptions

Ministry of Justice wowed by Ontario's paperless system, announces £12M for AI unit The British government will expand the use of AI in courts in England and Wales as part of plans to make them work faster, justice minister David Lammy has told a Microsoft AI event. Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, said the technology will be used to support processes including transcribing speech, summarizing judgments, and scheduling cases. "We are of course already using AI to unleash the potential of our staff, including through Microsoft's AI assistant, Copilot, of which the Ministry of Justice has been one of the fastest growing users across government," he told the Microsoft AI tour event at Excel London on 24 February. Lammy said that courts and tribunals are testing technology already used by the Probation Service to transcribe meetings between offenders and officers, which he claimed has saved more than 25,000 hours because officers no longer need to type up notes. He added that some immigration and asylum judges are using AI to help write notes and remarks while legal advisers and district judges in magistrates' courts are piloting its use in transcription and summarizing judgments. HM Courts and Tribunals Service will introduce an AI-assisted listing tool to support case scheduling while the system's Justice AI Unit will get more than £12 million extra funding in the next financial year. In his speech, Lammy described the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto as "digital by design, purposefully paperless," saying he "felt less like a visitor from another country and more like one from another time catching a glimpse of what could be." The Ontario court has also experienced problems with AI. Last year, one of its judges ordered a criminal defense lawyer to refile submissions that included a made-up case and other unrelated ones. Justice Joseph Kenkel described the errors as "numerous and substantial," adding that generative AI should not be used for legal research for such documents. Lammy's plans to speed up courts and reduce the backlog of cases also involve funding for more court sessions, the use of "blitz courts" that bundle similar cases together, and physical upgrades to courts and tribunals. Some of the ideas, including greater use of AI and more video appearances, came from a review by Sir Brian Leveson published earlier this month. The justice minister also wants to halve the number of jury trials by removing defendants' rights to choose these for offences with sentences of less than three years. This expansion of judge-only trials is opposed by many backbench Labour MPs and the government may struggle to get a bill enabling it through Parliament. ®

Magistrates and judges to use more AI, says Lammy - as jury trials reduced

Justice Secretary David Lammy wants to see more AI-assisted magistrates as he doubles down on his plans to reduce the number of jury trials. Speaking from a Microsoft AI event in London, Mr Lammy, who is also the deputy prime minister, confirmed members of the judiciary had been using the tools, and he now wanted "to see more AI". Mr Lammy said as part of the initiative, the government would ramp up investment in its "justice AI" project. Politics latest: MPs debating release of Andrew trade envoy files He also reiterated his commitment to reducing the number of jury trials being held in England and Wales in a bid to reduce the courts backlog, as well as his recent announcement committing to increase the number of court sitting days. It comes following Sky News uncovering that at least 21 police forces have continued using Microsoft's Copilot tool, despite hallucinations contributing to the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a game against Aston Villa - something Mr Lammy previously criticised. Mr Lammy said trials in the probation system with AI had helped record meetings between offenders and officers, saving 25,000 hours of time by helping transcribe more than 150,000 meetings. "We're testing transcription in the courts and tribunals based on the same technology," Mr Lammy said. "And in the immigration and asylum chamber, some judges are using it to help formulate notes and write remarks. "We're also piloting AI for legal advisers and district judges in the magistrates' courts to speed up case progression by transcribing material, and summarising their judgments. "I want to see more AI initiatives like this, so we're going to invest more in our in-house justice AI unit." Read more: Why you shouldn't use an AI generated password Tech firms face UK block over abusive images Richard Atkinson, a defence barrister and former head of the Law Society, said: "We support modernising the justice system and adopting new technology, provided it enhances access to justice, is reliable and ensures fairness. "AI is not, however, a silver bullet to improve the justice system. It might help to ease some administrative pressures, but it is not a replacement for much-needed investment in the court estate and additional court staff. "Where liberty and reputation are at stake, the government must take particular care to safeguard people's rights and ensure fair processes. All decisions, especially those with serious consequences to people's lives, must be made by humans." Defending his proposed changes to the justice system, Mr Lammy referenced how Margaret Thatcher had changed where cases like taking a vehicle without consent were heard, and the fact crown courts were only created in the early 1970s. On jury trials, Mr Lammy said: "It does not change the fundamental right to a fair trial, which remains absolute. "But there's no automatic right to a trial by jury. "And in the current system, only 3% in fact of criminal cases currently go before a jury. "The vast majority of cases are already heard fairly by magistrates without a jury. "And following our changes, around three quarters of trials in the crown court will still be heard by a jury, including the majority of youth cases serious enough to go to the Crown." 👉Listen to Politics At Sam And Anne's on your podcast app👈 Darren Hardman, the chief executive of Microsoft in the UK, said the Ministry of Justice was "one of the fastest-growing adopters of agentic AI". Agentic AI is the technology that can take instructions in normal English, and then use a computer to carry out new tasks, like creating documents or talking to other software. Mr Hardman added: "Whilst we've already delivered impactful outcomes together, the potential for future transformation across the department is incredibly exciting and a privilege to partner on."

UK Justice Secretary David Lammy to push for more use of AI in courts

(Alliance News) - UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is to push for more use of artificial intelligence to cut court backlogs. The Justice Secretary will give a speech at the Microsoft AI Tour in London on Tuesday where he is expected to back digital modernisation across the courts system, including greater use of AI. As part of his report on fixing the criminal justice system, Brian Leveson has suggested courts could rely on AI summaries of witness statements when they are taking case management decisions. Leveson, a retired Court of Appeal judge, is the architect of controversial proposals to scale back the right to jury trials which the government has adopted despite opposition from Labour backbenchers and legal groups. Concerns have been raised about the dangers of ramping up the use of AI. Last month, a review into the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attending a football match against Aston Villa last November found an "AI hallucination" produced by Microsoft Copilot had helped police justify the move. The error meant that a non-existent game between Tel Aviv and West Ham had been referenced in a report produced by the police force prior to the game. The Law Society of England & Wales has said it has "reservations" about the use of AI in the court system. Vice President Brett Dixon said: "We support modernising the justice system and adopting new technology, provided it enhances access to justice, is reliable and ensures fairness. "AI is not, however, a silver bullet to improve the justice system. It might help to ease some administrative pressures, but it is not a replacement for much-needed investment in the court estate and additional court staff. "We have reservations about some of the recommended uses of AI tools. For example, interpretation requires human involvement to ensure that subtleties and cultural nuances are captured accurately. Without this, errors or misrepresentation of evidence could occur which could have serious and unjust outcomes, and risk miscarriages of justice." Elsewhere, the government and the judiciary have agreed a GBP2.785 billion settlement for courts and tribunals for 2026/27, up from GBP2.538 billion last year. It means the limit on the number of crown court sitting days can be lifted, the Ministry of Justice said. A further GBP287 million will also be invested into fixing the crumbling court estate itself. Lammy said: "This government inherited a justice system on the brink of collapse with victims facing unacceptable delays and we took immediate action to increase sitting days to deliver fairer and faster justice for victims. "But victims still face intolerable delays. That is why I have agreed with the judiciary to fund unlimited sitting days in the crown court next year so they can sit at their maximum and so we can turn the tide on the backlog as quickly as possible. "Investment alone will not be enough to deliver timely justice - which is why it has to be combined with our pragmatic reforms and modernisation." Microsoft shares closed 3.2% lower at USD384.47 each on Monday in New York. By George Lithgow, Press Association Political & Home Affairs Correspondent Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.