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Review for knife murder sentences Review for knife murder sentences
(20 minutes later)
Minimum sentences for knife murders are to be reviewed, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has told the House of Commons.Minimum sentences for knife murders are to be reviewed, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has told the House of Commons.
Mr Straw said he would examine the provisions relating to minimum term "starting points" for people convicted of knife murders in England and Wales.
The current knife murder tariff is 15 years. For gun murders it is 30 years.
The move follows controversy over the case of murdered teenager Ben Kinsella, whose parents called for stiffer jail terms for offenders who used knives.The move follows controversy over the case of murdered teenager Ben Kinsella, whose parents called for stiffer jail terms for offenders who used knives.
The current knife murder tariff is 15 years. For gun murders it is 30 years.
Mr Straw said he would examine the minimum term "starting points" for people convicted of murders involving knives in England and Wales.
'Appalling crime'
Ben, 16, died after he fled a fight in Islington, north London, in June 2008.
Michael Alleyne, 18, Juress Kika, 19, and Jade Braithwaite, 20, all from London, were all given life terms with a minimum 19-year tariff last week.
George and Deborah Kinsella discuss the sentences given to their son's killers
But Ben's parents, George and Deborah Kinsella, said the government should review sentencing guidelines to enable judges to hand down stiffer sentences.
The murder of Ben was an "appalling crime", Mr Straw said.
He told MPs he recognised there had been "considerable concerns" about the gap in minimum terms.
He added: "In the light of these concerns I intend to review the provisions of schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 with a view to deciding whether to amend it as I can by order.
"I will of course be consulting the senior judiciary and the Sentencing Guidelines Council and would be very happy to receive wider representations."
Mr Straw had been responding to a question from Labour backbencher David Winnick, who told the Commons that the jail terms handed down to Ben's killers were "not really sufficient".
The Old Bailey heard that Ben, the brother of EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, was stabbed 11 times after Braithwaite claimed he had been "disrespected".
On 15 June, George Kinsella told BBC Breakfast: "If you murder someone with a gun, the starting tariff is 30 years. But if you do it with a knife, it's 15 years.
"What's the difference?"
Mrs Kinsella told the programme that she believed knife crime sentencing was "too complacent".