Cliff Notes – Two-tier justice
- The UK government intends to amend laws enabling it to override Sentencing Council guidelines amid accusations of “two-tier justice” related to new sentencing guidance.
- Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has expressed discontent with the Council’s refusal to reverse its updated guidelines, which introduce pre-sentence reports for certain demographic groups.
- The Ministry of Justice is set to legislate soon, potentially as early as Monday, to swiftly alter the current sentencing guidelines, maintaining that the independent Sentencing Council can continue its operations until then.
‘Two-tier justice’ row: Government plans to change law to overrule Sentencing Council
Kier starmers reforms on the legal system are in full flow. The government plans to change the law so it can overrule Sentencing Council guidelines following a row over “two-tier justice”, WTX News understands.
It said that from April, a pre-sentence report, the results of which are taken into account when considering a criminal’s sentence, will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Conservative shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick called the guidance “two-tier justice” and said there was “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men, as he said it would make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community”.
Which is an inflammatory statement of the actual truth. Since the guidance does not provide provisions for lesser or more sentencing.
The independent Sentencing Council, which sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, has been at odds with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood for weeks after it updated its guidance and is preparing for another battle to come.
Circumnavigate as much red tape as possible
Ms Mahmood had called on the Sentencing Council to reverse the guidance, but it refused, which Sir Keir Starmer said he was “disappointed” with, and the justice secretary called “unacceptable”.
Before the weekend, Sir Keir said “all options are on the table” over how the government might respond.
The Starmer government is also looking to circumnavigate as much red tape as possible, he Ministry of Justice plans to legislate at the “earliest opportunity” to be able to overrule sentencing guidelines.
Ministers could introduce the legislation as early as Monday so they can “push it through parliament”, so the current guidelines can be changed quickly.
Until the law is changed so the government can dismiss the Sentencing Council guidelines, the body can plough ahead with the changes as it is independent of the state.