Labour vows to end scandal which forces rape victims to pay £20,000 for court documents

Labour wants to explore “digitising” courts to stop rape victims being charged tens of thousands for court transcripts.

Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it was “astonishing that in 21st Century Britain, we haven’t yet got a digitised system for the production of court transcripts” and pledged to “look at this carefully” if Labour gets into No10.

Her party has refused to back an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill to allow victims of rape and sexual assault to get transcripts of sentencing remarks and summings up in their own trials free of charge. Ms Mahmood said she was unable to commit due to the expense and said there needed to be a wider conversation about how production costs can be reduced.

Speaking after her first major speech since taking on the role, Ms Mahmood said: “Part of the reason why the cost getting quoted is so high is because the system of transcribing court transcripts and producing them means somebody has to physically sit there and type away and listen to maybe a day’s worth of a court hearing.

Shabana Mahmood said she believes in ‘transparency and open justice’ but needs to think about how transcripts are produced

“I think it’s kind of astonishing that in 21st century Britain, we haven’t yet got a digitised system for the production of court transcripts. So that’s something I’d like to look at. The Government has half hinted that they may be looking at this themselves. But if they don’t move on the system of digitisation of transcripts and how they produce them, then we will certainly look at it in government.”

She added that any exploration should be done in “the context of the wider courts’ digitisation programmes”. “I’m very clear that I believe in transparency, open justice,” she continued. “I would want victims to be able to access transcripts, but I think I need to think about how they’re produced, which is the only reason why we’re not supporting the amendment. But we will look at this carefully and if the government doesn’t move then we will certainly think about how to include it in the digitisation programme.”

Rape survivor Juliana Terlizzi last week branded Rishi Sunak’s failure to stop victims being charged tens of thousands of pounds for vital court transcripts a “slap in the face”. The 36-year-old watched on from the Commons’ public gallery as the Prime Minister was confronted over her having been ordered to pay more than £7,000 to access transcripts of her own trial.

After Mr Sunak also failed to back the Lib Dem tabled amendment, Ms Terlizzi told the Mirror: “I felt very emotional to see this raised to the Prime Minister and to be honest, I was so disappointed with his answer.”

Ms Terlizzi, along with other victims and their families, is backing the Open Justice for All Campaign. Along with free access to court transcripts, it is calling for better rights for rape survivors – including allowing victims to attend the whole of their trial after giving evidence and better virtual attendance facilities so vulnerable people don’t have to come face to face with their alleged attacker. Some victims have been quoted up to £22,000 for transcripts of trials.

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said: “No victim or bereaved family should be forced to pay thousands to access a court transcript, and it is clear our current system is failing to address this glaring inequality. Justice should not have a price tag, and I am so honoured to stand side-by-side with victims like Juliana on this vitally important campaign.”

The Ministry of Justice were contacted for comment. In a recent statement, a spokesman said: “It is vital victims get the support and information they need to rebuild their lives and move on. That is why we’ve launched a new pilot scheme allowing victims of serious sexual offences to request a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks free of charge. While judges can already decide to provide a full or partial transcription to victims, this pilot will inform our next steps as we continue to look at all other options to reduce the costs of providing them.”