Coronavirus in Scotland: 75% of trials to be adjourned due to increasing spread of new Covid variant

Around 75% of trials are to be adjourned due to the increasing spread of the new Covid variant, announces the Lord President.

Lord Carloway, the current Lord President, stated that: “As a result of the increasing spread of the new variant of COVID-19 across Scotland, the Lord President has announced that during the lockdown period the criminal courts will focus on the most serious trials and the majority of

summary trials in the Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court will be adjourned.

Coronavirus in Scotland: 75% of trials to be adjourned due to increasing spread of new Covid variant

"This will reduce the overall number of criminal trials taking place during lockdown by up to 75%."

Humza Yousaf, Scotland's Justice Minister responded to the news saying that it was a ‘difficult but necessary’ decision by Lord President.

He tweeted: “Jury trials will continue - High Court and Sheriff and Jury - new custody cases will proceed & majority of civil business can continue to be conducted remotely.”

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.