When jury trial cuts were foretold on TV | Letters

Charles Harris recalls a dystopian political drama series and spots a worrying parallel with today’s society

The restriction of justice by a leftwing government was intriguingly predicted as far back as 1977 by Wilfred Greatorex in his BBC Two political drama series 1990 (Founder of Starmer’s legal chambers condemns Labour plans to cut jury trials, 13 April).

Starring Edward Woodward as a journalist for Britain’s last remaining independent newspaper, the story was set in a UK where justice was fixed in favour of the state, democracy had been deliberately withered and the borders tightened.