Victims of rape and serious sexual offences in Wiltshire will be able to avoid being cross-examined during a trial after a new scheme was rolled out this week.

Complainants in sex offence and modern slavery cases at Swindon Crown Court will now be able to have their cross-examination video - where they are challenged by the defence barrister - recorded and played later during the trial.

The measure, known as section 28, has already been in place for vulnerable complainants and is subject to a successful application to a judge.

The new measures were rolled out to 10 crown courts, including Swindon, on Wednesday. It is already in place at 47 crown courts, and the government plans to roll the scheme out across the country by September.

Victoria Atkins MP, minister for tackling violence against women and girls, said: “We are overhauling the justice system’s response to rape and this measure is key - minimising the stress and trauma faced by victims so they can provide the best possible evidence. 

“While there is still much more to do, we are starting to see the results of these efforts with rape convictions increasing by 15 percent over the last quarter, and by more than a quarter since before the pandemic.”

The measure is also designed to maintain a defendant’s right to a fair trial and any decision to pre-record evidence is made by a judge on a case-by-case basis.