BBC News - Heathrow armed robbery accused on run from London court
Today a guy who was on trial for an armed robbery at Heathrow airport in 2004 jumped bail after having left the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ostensibly to consult his lawyers. This is his third trial; the previous two collapsed because of suspected jury tampering; the trial is the first non-jury criminal trial in England or Wales for 350 years. (Courts in Northern Ireland don’t have juries.)
He has been described as dangerous and the public are advised not to approach him. Has it taken them this long to realise this, given that he or his associates managed to nobble two juries in the past? Apparently the prosecution opposed granting him bail, but given his apparent record, it should have been a good reason to refuse him bail.
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“Courts in Northern Ireland don’t have juries.”
I don’t think that’s true any more. When they were used, the Diplock courts were only used for terrorist offences, where there was a history of jury-nobbling and the murder of witnesses.