'Our assault case has been postponed five times'

In April 2023, Abdul Rehman claims he was assaulted on the rooftop of his shop in Sparkhill, Birmingham.

A man was quickly arrested and charged by police but three years on the case has not reached a conclusion, despite being listed five times at the city's magistrates court.

Rehman is not alone. Many complainants are waiting years for justice because of a court backlog, which government data shows is now at a record high of 379,437 open cases at the magistrates courts of England and Wales.

The main witness, Iqbal Mohammed, described the criminal justice system as "a complete shambles".

Mohammed, who is a civil law barrister, was representing Rehman in a separate dispute at the time.

He said he had missed out on paid work to attend court, as a witness, in what he described as a sense of civic duty.

"I don't think the system cares about witnesses, it gives them the runaround and makes it as difficult as possible for them so they give up."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government had "inherited a court system in crisis" and was "pulling every lever available to turn the tide on the backlog".

For the alleged victim it has left him looking over his shoulder when he is opening and closing the grocery shop, particularly in the winter months when it is dark.

"I'm scared if anybody's coming to attack me," he said.

The case has been delayed for a multitude of reasons, including priority cases involving defendants in custody taking precedence.

On another occasion an interpreter had not been booked.

The Law Society, which represents solicitors, said delays in cases going to trial eroded public confidence in the justice system and even resulted in alleged victims withdrawing from the process.

Stuart Nolan, chair of the organisation's Criminal Law Committee, said: "They lose confidence, they don't think they're getting justice and that is bad for all of us".

The society called for sustained financial investment and system‑wide reform with more magistrates, qualified judges and legal advisers needed.

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice show the backlog of cases at the magistrates' courts is now 70% larger than before the Covid pandemic in 2019.

That had a huge impact, but under-investment and the increasing complexity of evidence has also been blamed.

This crisis has prompted the government to announce radical reforms to the criminal courts more broadly, including reducing jury trials, which would see thousands more serious cases moved to the magistrates' court.

Mohammed is critical of the proposals and said it would "make no difference" to the case he is involved in.

He called for more accountability after writing to the chief executive of HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the magistrates court and receiving "stock answers".

The court case is next listed for November 2026 and Mohammed and Rehman said they were determined not to give up.