Sean "Diddy" Combs is due in court on Thursday for a hearing over the jury selection process for his upcoming sex trafficking trial, where the hip-hop mogul is facing the prospect of life in prison if convicted on all counts.

It's an "idea whose time has probably come", Courts Minister Sarah Sackman told The Times. Jury trial "will always be a cornerstone of British justice for the most serious cases" but "really bold and really radical" measures are needed to bring down the huge backlog of cases awaiting trial.