Jo Cox murder trial delayed by prison strikes as there are NO STAFF to bring defendant to court

JO Cox’s murder trial has been delayed this morning as a prison strike meant there was no staff to bring the defendant to court.

Thomas Mair was due to appear at the Old Bailey for the second day of his murder trial.

He is accused of killing the MP in a politically motivated attack.

A strike by more than 10,000 prison workers across the UK means a number of high profile court cases have been delayed.

But the High Court has since ruled the strike unlawful and officers have been ordered to end the 24-hour protest and return to work.

Thousands of prison officers in England and Wales have stopped work over claims of a “surge in violence” in jails.

It is illegal for the profession to strike, but the Prison Officers Association says “protest action” was needed to keep staff and inmates safe.

However the justice secretary said the action was “unnecessary and unlawful” and government lawyers seeking an injunction against the POA accused the union of trying to impose “its own limited regime” against the wishes of governors and prison service chiefs.

Daniel Stilitz QC, for the Ministry of Justice, said the POA had no legal right to instruct its members to walk out in what amounted to a strike.

He added: “What they are doing is seeking to take over the control of jails from governors and run them on a controlled lock-down basis.

“Each hour that goes by with the prisons unmanned, the danger ramps up.”

Mair is said to have shot and stabbed mother-of-two Mrs Cox, 41, in a politically-motivated attack on June 16.

The trial opened yesterday, and the first witnesses were due to give evidence today.

But Mair could not be produced from Belmarsh prison because of the strike, and the trial was adjourned until Wednesday morning.

Other cases in the building were also adjourned, as defendants could not be produced from the jails they are being held at.

Mr Justice Wilkie told jurors: “You will have observed that the defendant is not in the dock, and he will not be attending court today.

“The reason for this is that there are circumstances at Belmarsh prison, where he is currently residing, and I understand prisons all over the country, which have precluded bringing any prisoners to court.”

He said the law was clear that, where a defendant does not attend his trial through no fault of his own, and in the absence of his consent, which the court was “practicably” unable to get, it was inappropriate to proceed.

In those circumstances, Mr Justice Wilkie said, “it is rarely ever appropriate for a trial to proceed in his absence”.

He added: “It is particularly so in this trial where we have reached the stage where the first evidence was to be heard today.

“And so, with great reluctance, I am afraid we are unable to proceed today.”

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