Minister threatens law change after 'two-tier' sentencing row

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has told the Sentencing Council she volition reappraisal its powers and "legislate, if necessary", pursuing a enactment implicit its caller guidance connected sending radical to jail.

The changes, which are owed to travel into unit successful England and Wales adjacent month, would marque the ethnicity oregon religion of an offender a bigger origin erstwhile deciding whether to jailhouse them.

Ministers bash not person the powerfulness to overturn the guidance, but successful a missive Mahmood urged the council's president to reconsider "as soon arsenic possible".

Conservative shadiness justness caput Robert Jenrick said the caller rules were "anti-white" and "anti-Christian" and amounted to "two-tier justice".

In a station connected societal media, helium said that if the authorities did not enactment helium would situation the rules successful court.

The Sentencing Council said the guidance would guarantee courts had the "most broad accusation available" to manus retired an due condemnation and could code disadvantages faced wrong the transgression justness system.

Official figures amusement that offenders from taste minorities consistently get longer sentences than achromatic offenders for indictable offences.

Writing to Lord Justice William Davis, president of the Sentencing Council, Mahmood said she wanted to "make wide my displeasure" astatine the changes.

"As idiosyncratic who is from an taste number inheritance myself, I bash not basal for immoderate differential attraction earlier the law," she wrote.

She said she would beryllium "considering whether argumentation decisions of specified import should beryllium made by the Sentencing Council".

A reappraisal of the council's relation and powers volition present instrumentality spot alongside the existing reappraisal into sentencing being led by erstwhile Tory curate David Gauke.

Mahmood concluded her missive by informing the assembly that pursuing the reappraisal she would "legislate if necessary".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - who antecedently sat connected the Sentencing Council erstwhile helium was manager of nationalist prosecutions - said helium was "concerned" by the guidance.

The caller sentencing guidance puts a greater accent connected the request for pre-sentence reports for judges.

Pre-sentence reports springiness judges details connected the offender's background, motives and idiosyncratic beingness earlier sentencing - past urge a punishment and what would enactment champion for rehabilitation.

But implicit caller years their usage has decreased.

Magistrates and judges volition beryllium advised to get a pre-sentence study earlier handing retired punishment for idiosyncratic of an taste oregon religion number - alongside different groups specified arsenic young adults, maltreatment survivors and large women.

These factors are not an exhaustive list, the assembly said. A pre-sentence study tin inactive beryllium indispensable if an idiosyncratic does not autumn into 1 of these cohorts.

The erstwhile Conservative authorities was consulted connected the changes erstwhile the assembly was considering reforms betwixt November 2023 and February 2024.

Asked wherefore the authorities had not objected to the changes then, Jenrick said "there was nary absorption oregon request by government" for the assembly to analyse the issue.

He added that the justness caput astatine the time, Alex Chalk, had labelled the thought "ridiculous and patronising".

Mark Daly from the Prison Reform Trust said determination were "very bully reasons" for the changes.

Speaking to Radio 4's The World Tonight, helium said it was "simply reflecting the information that if we look astatine outcomes from sentencing, determination is disproportionality".

"So we cognize already that if you are from a number taste inheritance you are much apt to person a custodial condemnation for an equivalent offence, peculiarly for definite types of offences specified arsenic cause offences, than you would if you were white."