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| Starmer ‘disappointed’ as Sentencing Council rejects calls to review ‘two-tier’ justice rules | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PM said ministers would consider next steps over guidance for judges in England and Wales aimed at tackling bias | |
| The Sentencing Council’s refusal to agree to the government’s request to change its guidelines that have been deemed a “two-tier” system of justice is “disappointing”, Keir Starmer has said. | |
| The prime minister said the government would “consider what we do as a result” and “all options are on the table”. | |
| Downing Street rejected claims that the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, had been humiliated by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales’s refusal to back down. She told the council this month there would “never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch”. | |
| Mahmood criticised rules drawn up by the independent body that devises judges’ sentencing guidelines after claims they discriminated against white men. | Mahmood criticised rules drawn up by the independent body that devises judges’ sentencing guidelines after claims they discriminated against white men. |
| But the Sentencing Council announced on Friday it had concluded “the guideline did not require revision” and blamed a “widespread misunderstanding” for the backlash. | But the Sentencing Council announced on Friday it had concluded “the guideline did not require revision” and blamed a “widespread misunderstanding” for the backlash. |
| Starmer said Mahmood was “obviously continuing to engage on this, and we’re considering our response. All options are on the table, but I’m disappointed at this outcome, and now we will have to consider what we do as a result.” | |
| The council’s changed guidance, aimed at tackling bias and reducing reoffending, puts more emphasis on the need for pre-sentence reports, which give details of the offender’s background, motives and personal life before sentencing. | The council’s changed guidance, aimed at tackling bias and reducing reoffending, puts more emphasis on the need for pre-sentence reports, which give details of the offender’s background, motives and personal life before sentencing. |
| Under the change, which is due to come into force on 1 April, magistrates and judges would be asked to consult a pre-sentence report before determining whether to imprison someone of an ethnic or religious minority, as well as young adults, abuse survivors and pregnant women. | Under the change, which is due to come into force on 1 April, magistrates and judges would be asked to consult a pre-sentence report before determining whether to imprison someone of an ethnic or religious minority, as well as young adults, abuse survivors and pregnant women. |
| The changes drew strong criticism from Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, who said they amounted to discrimination against white men. | The changes drew strong criticism from Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, who said they amounted to discrimination against white men. |
| The chair of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Davis, said in his response to Mahmood on Friday that a pre-sentence report did not make a prison sentence less likely. | |
| He wrote: “The rule of law requires that all offenders are treated fairly and justly by judges and magistrates who are fully informed about the offences, the effect on the victims and the offenders. The section of the guideline relating to pre-sentence reports is directed to the issue of information about offenders, no more and no less.” | He wrote: “The rule of law requires that all offenders are treated fairly and justly by judges and magistrates who are fully informed about the offences, the effect on the victims and the offenders. The section of the guideline relating to pre-sentence reports is directed to the issue of information about offenders, no more and no less.” |
| In response, Mahmood said: “I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someone’s outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion. | In response, Mahmood said: “I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someone’s outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion. |
| “This is unacceptable and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week. I am extremely disappointed by the council’s response. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary.” | “This is unacceptable and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week. I am extremely disappointed by the council’s response. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary.” |
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| The disagreement throws into question the future role of the arms-length sentencing body amid a cross-government campaign to reduce the power of quangos. Mahmood said last month she was considering laws to restrict the Sentencing Council’s powers after it recommended the changes. | |
| In her letter to Davis this month, Mahmood wrote that access to a pre-sentence report “should not be determined by an offender’s ethnicity, culture or religion”. | |
| She asked Davis to reconsider the rules as soon as possible and said she would “also be considering whether policy decisions of such import should be made by the Sentencing Council and what role ministers and parliament should play”. | She asked Davis to reconsider the rules as soon as possible and said she would “also be considering whether policy decisions of such import should be made by the Sentencing Council and what role ministers and parliament should play”. |
| Black and minority ethnic communities are over-represented at almost all stages of the criminal justice process in England and Wales and are more likely to be imprisoned and receive longer sentences than white people. | |
| The consultation process on the sentencing guidance concluded last February, when the Conservatives were still in government. An earlier version of the guidelines, published last spring, was criticised by the then justice secretary, Alex Chalk, as “patronising”. | The consultation process on the sentencing guidance concluded last February, when the Conservatives were still in government. An earlier version of the guidelines, published last spring, was criticised by the then justice secretary, Alex Chalk, as “patronising”. |