Labour retreats on rape courts pledge amid fears over shortage of lawyers

Election manifesto promise to set up specialist tribunals to deal with huge backlog of cases has been put on hold

The government has backed away from plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.

Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial.