MEMBERS of the Royal Family, judges and peers will be eligible to serve on juries under an overhaul of the criminal justice system announced by the Government yesterday.

Only the Queen, the mentally ill and people with a criminal record will be exempt from jury service under the plans aimed at tilting the scales of justice in favour of victims.

The attempt to end middle-class avoidance of jury service was included in a Bill which extended plans to abandon the 800-year-old rule barring anyone from being tried twice for the same crime to 30 offences including murder and trafficking in hard drugs. The law will be applied retrospectively.

Ministers admitted that the impact of the 273-clause Criminal Justice Bill would be an increase in the present jail population of 72,447, with 221 in police cells.

But despite Home Office insistence that the proposals put victims first, it emerged last night that proposals for a Victims Commissioner and statutory rights for victims are to appear in a separate Bill later in this Parliament.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said that the Bill was intended to reform “antiquated rules” producing arbitrary effects and unpredictable consequences.

He added: “Obstacles to delivering a more effective and efficient system must be swept away to enable the system to focus on what matters — the search for truth and the conviction of the guilty.”

The Home Secretary is preparing for battles in the Lords over some of the more controversial proposals, such as the scrapping of jury trials in complex fraud and financial cases, ending double jeopardy and allowing juries to hear of a defendant’s previous convictions. Mr Blunkett believes, however, that he has public backing for many of the proposals and is relishing the prospect of a fight with lawyers.

But Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “After five years and 12 criminal justice Bills from this Government, this new Bill is an admission of failure. Five years after the Prime Minister said that he would be tough on crime, a crime is committed every five seconds.”

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