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Justice delayed is justice denied Prime minister WIlliam Gladstone once said. New figures revealed by Newsnight shed more light on the lengthy waits for some before cases finish. More than 300 crown court cases in England and Wales have been waiting four years or longer to reach a conclusion, and nearly 200 cases have been stuck in the system over six years.

For an alleged victim and for a defendant - it can mean their lives are essentially in limbo - although the government says in a statement that that the 'average prosecution is now completed within 10 months and falling'.

Why is it taking so long for a case to come to trial and what does it tell us about the way the government has managed the criminal justice system through austerity, the pandemic and a barristers' strike?

Newsnight's UK Editor Sima Kotecha reports.