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Sky News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Politics latest: UK and US have agreed trade deal, Sky News understands
Government accused of 'running scared of right-wingers' over sentencing bill The government has been accused of "running scared" over its bill to block new sentencing guidelines. In a debate held on the government's bill today, peers accused Labour of trying to "feed a culture war" and warned they are "damaging public understanding". What is the row over sentencing all about about? Labour's Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-Sentence Reporters) Bill has been introduced to block recommendations from the Sentencing Council. The independent body recommended that a pre-sentence report should be prepared before offenders from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities are sentenced. These reports provide information about the perpetrator's background, circumstances of the offence, the risky they pose and the suitability of different types of sentence - and are already in use for some cases. The body argued that these should become more routine for certain groups due to disparities in how different people are sentenced. Watch: The shadow justice secretary calls the guidelines 'blatant bias against straight, white men' The Lammy Review, a 2017 report, found that those from minority backgrounds were more likely to face harsher sentences than their counterparts. But following the announcement from the Council, the Conservatives said it would lead to differential treatment under law and a "two-tier" justice system. The government then introduced their bill to block the new guidelines and it means that the Council's recommendations will not come into effect while parliament considers the legislation. 'The government is running scared of these nasty right-wingers' During a second reading of the bill in the Lords today, Green Party Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb accused the government of trying to "interfere" in the workings of an independent body. She said: "The Sentencing Council is an independent body that saw a problem and tried to do something about it. "It has done what it was designed to do and now the Labour government is running scared of these rather nasty right-wingers who are trying to interfere. "We do not have equality under the law", she added. "We've known about women being less fairly treated for decades, with women being imprisoned for things that men would not be. "The Sentencing Council came up with the mildest of changes to address that issue and has been slammed for it." Baroness Jenny Jones said that "everybody wants" equality under the law and said that is what the advice of the Council is seeking to implement. The Bishop of Gloucester meanwhile branded the bill "theatrical" and said it has been brought about by the "am-dram of politics". The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said everybody should receive a pre-sentence report in an ideal world, but said that it "makes sense to prioritise those that we know are especially vulnerable". She added: "The use of the Sentencing Council guidelines to apparently feed a culture war is distressing, and the allegation of two-tier sentencing based around race, religion, belief or cultural background is so damaging to public understanding." The government is aiming to ensure equality before the law Responding, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: "Implementing a sentencing guideline, which could lead to differential treatment before the law, puts trust in the legal system at risk, which is why we acted quickly to address this. "The Government's objective is to help ensure equality before the law. We are clear that an offender should be judged by a court on an individual basis according to the particular facts and circumstances of their case. "Any reference to preferential treatment for a particular cohort is unacceptable."
Belfast Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Government accused of ‘running scared' over bid to block sentencing guidelines
New guidance from the independent Sentencing Council would have recommended a pre-sentence report (PSR) be sought before sentencing offenders from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities. Pre-sentence reports provide information about the offender's background, circumstances of their offence, the risk they pose and suitability for certain types of sentence. The use of these reports has been linked to higher rate of community, rather than prison sentences. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reporters) Bill to block the new guidelines, arguing that it would lead to a differential treatment under the law and a 'two-tier' justice system. The implementation of the updated rulebook has been put on hold to allow Parliament to consider this legislation. However, supporters of the guidance argued that the UK already has a 'two-tier' justice system, due to entrenched racial bias. The Lammy Review, published in 2017, found disparities in outcome across the justice system for those from minority backgrounds compared to their white counterparts, including in sentencing. As the House of Lords debated the Government's Bill during its second reading, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb argued that politicians were trying to 'interfere' with the workings of an independent body. She said: 'The Sentencing Council is an independent body that saw a problem and tried to do something about it. 'It has done what it was designed to do and now the Labour Government is running scared of these rather nasty right-wingers who are trying to interfere. 'I think it was Elon Musk, perhaps amongst others, who first said that Britain had a two-tier justice system. 'And he was right, that is exactly what we have, because some groups are worse treated than others. 'We do not have equality under the law. 'We've known about women being less fairly treated for decades, with women being imprisoned for things that men would not be. 'The Sentencing Council came up with the mildest of changes to address that issue and has been slammed for it…. 'When the Government says it wants equality under the law, everybody wants that. 'But the difference is that I accept the evidence that we currently have a two-tier system of justice where you can end up receiving worse treatment because you're a woman or because of the colour of your skin.' The Bishop of Gloucester, the Anglican bishop for prisons, branded the Bill 'theatrical' and unnecessary, brought on by 'am-dram politics'. The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said: 'In a world of sufficient resources, there would be comprehensive pre-sentencing reports for everyone to which careful attention was paid in court. 'But if we have to prioritise PSRs, then it makes sense to prioritise those that we know are especially vulnerable or where there is evidence of disproportionate outcomes from the justice system.' Referring to the Lammy Review, she asked: 'Does the Government believe the issues raised in the landmark report by the current Foreign Secretary almost eight years ago are now a thing of the past? 'Is there no role for judges in mitigating the issues raised in that report? 'The use of the Sentencing Council guidelines to apparently feed a culture war is distressing, and the allegation of two-tier sentencing based around race, religion, belief or cultural background is so damaging to public understanding… 'We cannot pretend that circumstances and characteristics do not matter.' However, unaffiliated peer Baroness Fox of Buckley hit back at the culture war argument, branding it a 'slur'. She said: 'The popular critique of criminal justice as 'two-tier', that actually really resonated, particularly in relation to the sentencing post-last summer's riots, was sneeringly dismissed as a far-right conspiratorial myth by many ministers and politicians. 'It was written off as some culture wars trope, and we've heard similar slurs here today.' She criticised the 'tendency to try and use criminal justice to compensate for perceived racial unfairness and alleged social injustices'. Responding, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'Implementing a sentencing guideline, which could lead to differential treatment before the law, puts trust in the legal system at risk, which is why we acted quickly to address this… 'The Government's objective is to help ensure equality before the law. We are clear that an offender should be judged by a court on an individual basis according to the particular facts and circumstances of their case. 'It is not for the Sentencing Council to set in guidance that judgments should be made on the basis of personal characteristics like race or ethnicity. 'Any reference to preferential treatment for a particular cohort is unacceptable.' He insisted that tackling disproportionate outcomes within the criminal justice system is 'a policy matter' to be determined by the Government, not judges. However, he acknowledged the need to tackle inequalities and told peers that the Government has commissioned a review into data held by the Ministry of Justice on racial disparities and will 'carefully consider next steps'.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government accused of ‘running scared' over bid to block sentencing guidelines
The Government has been accused of 'running scared of rather nasty right-wingers' over plans to block new sentencing guidelines. New guidance from the independent Sentencing Council would have recommended a pre-sentence report (PSR) be sought before sentencing offenders from ethnic, cultural or faith minorities. Pre-sentence reports provide information about the offender's background, circumstances of their offence, the risk they pose and suitability for certain types of sentence. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The use of these reports has been linked to higher rate of community, rather than prison sentences. The Government brought forward the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reporters) Bill to block the new guidelines, arguing that it would lead to a differential treatment under the law and a 'two-tier' justice system. The implementation of the updated rulebook has been put on hold to allow Parliament to consider this legislation. However, supporters of the guidance argued that the UK already has a 'two-tier' justice system, due to entrenched racial bias. The Lammy Review, published in 2017, found disparities in outcome across the justice system for those from minority backgrounds compared to their white counterparts, including in sentencing. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement As the House of Lords debated the Government's Bill during its second reading, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb argued that politicians were trying to 'interfere' with the workings of an independent body. She said: 'The Sentencing Council is an independent body that saw a problem and tried to do something about it. 'It has done what it was designed to do and now the Labour Government is running scared of these rather nasty right-wingers who are trying to interfere. 'I think it was Elon Musk, perhaps amongst others, who first said that Britain had a two-tier justice system. 'And he was right, that is exactly what we have, because some groups are worse treated than others. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'We do not have equality under the law. Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Stefan Rousseau/ PA credit) 'We've known about women being less fairly treated for decades, with women being imprisoned for things that men would not be. 'The Sentencing Council came up with the mildest of changes to address that issue and has been slammed for it…. 'When the Government says it wants equality under the law, everybody wants that. 'But the difference is that I accept the evidence that we currently have a two-tier system of justice where you can end up receiving worse treatment because you're a woman or because of the colour of your skin.' The Bishop of Gloucester, the Anglican bishop for prisons, branded the Bill 'theatrical' and unnecessary, brought on by 'am-dram politics'. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said: 'In a world of sufficient resources, there would be comprehensive pre-sentencing reports for everyone to which careful attention was paid in court. 'But if we have to prioritise PSRs, then it makes sense to prioritise those that we know are especially vulnerable or where there is evidence of disproportionate outcomes from the justice system.' Referring to the Lammy Review, she asked: 'Does the Government believe the issues raised in the landmark report by the current Foreign Secretary almost eight years ago are now a thing of the past? 'Is there no role for judges in mitigating the issues raised in that report? ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'The use of the Sentencing Council guidelines to apparently feed a culture war is distressing, and the allegation of two-tier sentencing based around race, religion, belief or cultural background is so damaging to public understanding… 'We cannot pretend that circumstances and characteristics do not matter.' Prisons minister Lord Timpson (Ben Whitley/ PA credit) However, unaffiliated peer Baroness Fox of Buckley hit back at the culture war argument, branding it a 'slur'. She said: 'The popular critique of criminal justice as 'two-tier', that actually really resonated, particularly in relation to the sentencing post-last summer's riots, was sneeringly dismissed as a far-right conspiratorial myth by many ministers and politicians. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'It was written off as some culture wars trope, and we've heard similar slurs here today.' She criticised the 'tendency to try and use criminal justice to compensate for perceived racial unfairness and alleged social injustices'. Responding, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'Implementing a sentencing guideline, which could lead to differential treatment before the law, puts trust in the legal system at risk, which is why we acted quickly to address this… 'The Government's objective is to help ensure equality before the law. We are clear that an offender should be judged by a court on an individual basis according to the particular facts and circumstances of their case. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'It is not for the Sentencing Council to set in guidance that judgments should be made on the basis of personal characteristics like race or ethnicity. 'Any reference to preferential treatment for a particular cohort is unacceptable.' He insisted that tackling disproportionate outcomes within the criminal justice system is 'a policy matter' to be determined by the Government, not judges. However, he acknowledged the need to tackle inequalities and told peers that the Government has commissioned a review into data held by the Ministry of Justice on racial disparities and will 'carefully consider next steps'.
