A rebel Labour MP has threatened to trigger a by-election unless Sir Keir Starmer backs down on Government plans to scrap jury trials for many cases.

Karl Turner, the MP for Kingston upon Hull East and a former barrister, said he was 'ashamed' of the Prime Minister over the 'ludicrous proposals'.

He also revealed he was warned Labour whips he would consider triggering a by-election in his seat to make a 'principled point'.

Mr Turner won his constituency, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, by nearly 4,000 votes from Reform UK at the last general election.

But Labour's slump in opinion polls since the 2024 contest - and Reform's surge - will leave Nigel Farage's party confident of winning the seat at a possible by-election.

Mr Turner was the sole Labour MP to rebel against the Government in a House of Commons vote this week over the plans to scrap jury trials.

He broke the party whip for the first time since becoming an MP in 2010 to side with the Tories and vote against the proposals.

Mr Turner, a former shadow attorney general, has been a consistent critic of Sir Keir and Justice Secretary David Lammy since the plans were announced last year.

Karl Turner, the MP for Kingston upon HullEast and a former barrister, said he was 'ashamed' of the Prime Minister over the 'ludicrous proposals' 

Mr Turner, a former shadow attorney general, has been a consistent critic of Sir Keir and Justice Secretary David Lammy (pictured) since the plans to scrap jury trials were announced

Mr Lammy, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, wants to set up so-called 'swift courts' in England and Wales, where cases will be heard by a judge alone.

He has argued the action is necessary to slash the Crown Court backlog, which has nearly hit 80,000 cases. 

But Mr Turner has said the primary cause of the crown court backlog is the restriction on the number of court sitting days, and that scrapping jury trials is an ineffective way of dealing with the issue. 

In an interview with the Sunday Times, the Labour backbencher said he was 'not fearful of having the whip removed' after voting against the Government.

He said his own experience of being accused of a crime meant he was determined to save the right to a jury trial.

'Many years ago I dealt in antiques,' he said. 'I bought items that turned out to be stolen unbeknown to me. It can happen. It did with me.