In his more recent quote above, he may be trying to mislead, but without telling an outright lie. He says:
In this case, he was given the choice of Magistrates or a jury trial in the Crown Court. So if I was being exceedingly generous, I might accept that all he is saying is that previously he has never had the opportunity to choose between Magistrates and a jury trial. He has, of course, previously had the opportunity to face a jury in the Crown Court on two occasions, but he chose to plead guilty instead.