Petition
Halt the deletion of Court records and preserve open justice
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
We call on the Government to immediately halt the deletion of court records held by Courtsdesk and to preserve this archive in full pending independent review.
It was created as part of a government-approved pilot to improve transparency and media access.
It was created as part of a government-approved pilot to improve transparency and media access.
The Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of this archive on data protection grounds, yet no specific breach has been publicly identified.
Deleting the entire archive is an irreversible and disproportionate response when less extreme options, such as redaction or restricted access, are available.
Destroying these records would permanently erase evidence of how the justice system has operated, prevent scrutiny of past decisions, and undermine public confidence in the courts.
Deleting the entire archive is an irreversible and disproportionate response when less extreme options, such as redaction or restricted access, are available.
Destroying these records would permanently erase evidence of how the justice system has operated, prevent scrutiny of past decisions, and undermine public confidence in the courts.
Why it was rejected
The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.
The Government appears to have gone back on its original plans and so for now the Courtsdesk archive is being retained:
The Government has u-turned on this - although not explicitly stated in the most recent Written Answer, it has no plans to delete the Courtsdesk archive.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-02-10/112281
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c6259fa5-5bb1-464d-8086-c0fed0797b66
The Government has u-turned on this - although not explicitly stated in the most recent Written Answer, it has no plans to delete the Courtsdesk archive.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-02-10/112281
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c6259fa5-5bb1-464d-8086-c0fed0797b66
Timeline
| 10 Feb 2026 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
19 Mar 2026
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 27 Jul 2026.