In an editorial published today, the newspaper said the right to trial by jury “has for centuries been the foundation of Scotland’s criminal justice system”, but that consensus “is now challenged”.

It goes on to warn: “A suggestion that judges should be expected to increase conviction rates necessarily risks compromising judicial independence. Judges are required to dispense justice, not meet politically inspired targets, no matter how reasonable or desirable those goals might initially appear to be.”

The intervention comes a day after the Law Society of Scotland raised serious concerns about Scottish government proposals to introduce judge-only sexual offence trials and new courts outside the existing judicial structure.

The proposals are among a number contained in a Scottish government consultation paper titled Improving victims’ experiences of the justice system.

Stuart Munro, convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee, said: “The right to trial by jury for serious crimes is a cornerstone of the Scottish legal system, and we believe replacing that with judge-only trials would carry risks with no discernible benefits.

“A jury will always be far more reflective of Scottish society than a single judge can be, which greatly reduces the potential for subconscious bias to influence trial outcomes.”