Government proposals to allow television broadcasting from Crown Courts in England and Wales is a key step in supporting transparency in the justice system, according to top barristers.

Under the new legislation, sentencing remarks of High Court and Senior Circuit judges would be available for the public to watch online for the first time, a move welcomed by the likes of Adrian Waterman QC at Matrix Chambers. “I think justice is open and if it’s open it ought to be seen,” he said. “Transparency, save in very rare circumstances, must be a good thing.”