Teen on murder charge set for trial 100 miles away
Bedfordshire PoliceA teenage boy charged with murder could go on trial about 100 miles from the town where the crime was allegedly committed.
Adam Khan, 26, died on 31 August after an incident in Humberstone Road in Luton.
The 17-year-old defendant, and lawyers involved in the case, have been told his trial is due to take place in Canterbury on 16 February.
At the latest preliminary hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Judge John Lodge said Canterbury was a "ludicrous" place for him to be tried.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service, which is responsible for the administration of courts, said the problem was a result of the trial needing to be overseen by a High Court judge.
A spokeswoman said the planned move to Canterbury was not caused by the widely-reported backlog of court hearings.
The teenager, who was 16 at the time of the incident, initially appeared at a preliminary hearing before Judge Michael Simon at Luton Crown Court in September.
Since then, the case has been moved to Norwich Crown Court - also about 100 miles from Luton.
Southwark, where the latest hearing took place on 4 December, has been overseeing some cases usually listed at Harrow Crown Court in north-west London.
The court in Harrow has been closed after Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete), which is potentially dangerous, was found in the building.
Eric Johnson/BBCJudge Lodge said at Southwark: "Is Canterbury a ludicrous place for this trial to take place? Absolutely."
He indicated that he would look for other options.
Judges in at least two crown courts in eastern England have moved cases to neighbouring counties in a bid to combat the national backlog of hearings.
Cases listed in Ipswich and St Albans were switched to Cambridge in 2024.
In May 2024, a National Audit Office report explained that the problems were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Labour government has announced reforms to tackle the delays, including the scrapping of jury trials for some cases.
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