Latest news with #SentencingBill
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Step to legally prevent new 'two-tier' sentencing guidelines begins today, justice secretary says
A bill to legally prevent new sentencing guidelines on how ethnic minority criminals should be punished will be introduced today, the justice secretary said. Shabana Mahmood told MPs in the House of Commons the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence reports) Bill would be presented on Tuesday to stop the guidance coming into effect. The independent Sentencing Council said 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. Politics latest: However, Ms Mahmood called the guidance "unacceptable" and said it amounted to "differential treatment before the law" as she urged the council to reverse it. The council refused so she said - which is what she is now doing. After Downing Street said on Monday the government planned to introduce legislation on Tuesday and to push it through quickly, the , due to come in today. Ms Mahmood also announced on Tuesday the government would carry out a review of the Sentencing Council "in the coming months". "Should further legislation be required, I shall propose it as part of the upcoming Sentencing Bill," she added. The justice secretary acknowledged the council "holds an important position" within the justice system. She also said pre-sentence reports are "an incredibly vital tool for judges before passing sentence". Read more:Starmer says US-UK trade talks 'well advanced' Conservative justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed magistrates and judges were only informed of the guidance suspension at midday, so said some may have used the guidance in sentencing that morning. He accused Ms Mahmood of having "completely lost control of the justice system" and said her "incompetence took this down to the wire". But she dismissed his criticisms, saying he had never raised these issues while in government and said communication of the suspension was up to the Sentencing Council. Mr Jenrick had previously called the guidance "two-tier justice" as he said it would lead to "blatant bias" against Christians and straight white men. He also argued that it would make "a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community" - something the council denied.
Sky News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Step to legally prevent new 'two-tier' sentencing guidelines begins today, justice secretary says
A bill to legally prevent new sentencing guidelines on how ethnic minority criminals should be punished will be introduced today, the justice secretary said. Shabana Mahmood told MPs in the House of Commons the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence reports) Bill would be presented on Tuesday to stop the guidance coming into effect. The independent Sentencing Council said 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. However, Ms Mahmood called the guidance "unacceptable" and said it amounted to "differential treatment before the law" as she urged the council to reverse it. The council refused so she said she would legislate to overturn the guidance - which is what she is now doing. 2:10 After Downing Street said on Monday the government planned to introduce legislation on Tuesday and to push it through quickly, the Sentencing Council suspended the guidance, due to come in today. Ms Mahmood also announced on Tuesday the government would carry out a review of the Sentencing Council "in the coming months". "Should further legislation be required, I shall propose it as part of the upcoming Sentencing Bill," she added. The justice secretary acknowledged the council "holds an important position" within the justice system. She also said pre-sentence reports are "an incredibly vital tool for judges before passing sentence". Conservative justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed magistrates and judges were only informed of the guidance suspension at midday, so said some may have used the guidance in sentencing that morning. He accused Ms Mahmood of having "completely lost control of the justice system" and said her "incompetence took this down to the wire". But she dismissed his criticisms, saying he had never raised these issues while in government and said communication of the suspension was up to the Sentencing Council. Mr Jenrick had previously called the guidance "two-tier justice" as he said it would lead to "blatant bias" against Christians and straight white men. He also argued that it would make "a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community" - something the council denied.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Justice Secretary threatens to change law in call to reconsider court guidance
The Justice Secretary has threatened to overrule the Sentencing Council by changing the law as she called for new guidance for judges to consider a criminal's ethnicity before deciding their punishment to be reconsidered 'as soon as possible'. In a letter to the independent body, the Lord Chancellor said she 'must make clear my displeasure' at the changes, adding: 'I do not stand for differential treatment before the law like this.' The Sentencing Council on Wednesday published new guidelines for courts to follow when imposing community and custodial sentences, including whether to suspend jail time. The changes, which come into force from April, detail that a pre-sentence report would usually be necessary before handing out punishment for someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women. But Ms Mahmood wrote: 'A pre-sentence report can be instrumental in assisting courts in the determination of their sentence. 'But the access to one should not be determined by an offender's ethnicity, culture or religion.' She requested an urgent meeting in her letter to the chairman of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, Lord Justice William Davis, adding that 'no minister' in this Government approved of the guidance or was involved in the consultation. Ms Mahmood also said she was considering whether policy decisions such as this should be made by the Sentencing Council and what role MPs should play. 'For that reason, I will be reviewing the role and powers of the Sentencing Council alongside the work of the Independent Sentencing Review,' she said. 'If necessary, I will legislate in the Sentencing Bill that will follow that review.' It comes as shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said he will legally challenge the guidance on the grounds it enshrines 'anti-white' and 'anti-Christian' bias in the criminal justice system. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had earlier called for Ms Mahmood to change the law and said the Conservatives 'will back her'. 'Ministers should decide, not quangos. Labour need to grip this,' she said. The previous government was also consulted on the change during the consultation period between November 2023 to February 2024. Defending the guidance on Wednesday, Lord Justice Davis said: 'The reasons for including groups vary but include evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in circumstances of individual offenders that can only be understood through an assessment. 'Pre-sentence reports provide the court with information about the offender; they are not an indication of sentence.' The guidelines also state pre-sentence reports can still be necessary if an offender does not fall into one of the groups. Meanwhile, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust charity, Mark Day, described the calls as a 'storm in a teacup'. 'A pre-sentence report (PSR) is simply a way of getting detailed information about an individual's personal circumstances and background so that the court is informed and able to pass the most effective sentence possible,' he said. A Prison Reform Trust briefing published in February this year cited a 2016 study that found people from an ethnic minority group face 'disproportionately higher odds' of receiving custodial sentences for indictable offences at the crown court. It also highlighted Ministry of Justice data from 2022 that showed defendants from an ethnic minority were more likely to be remanded in custody than white defendants, and black people spent the highest proportion of their sentence in prison compared to other ethnic groups.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Yahoo
Staff held at gunpoint in spate of armed robberies
A number of shop workers have been held at gunpoint in three armed robberies across Mid Ulster. Two masked men armed with a handgun entered a store on the Ballinderry Bridge Road of Coagh at about 06:50 GMT on Thursday. They placed a gun to a man's head forcing him to open a till, before making off with cash in a car driven by a third man. The second robbery, which was reported to police after 07:00, was at a supermarket on the Shore Road in Ballyronan when two men pointed a gun at a staff member's head before making off with cash and cigarettes. A third armed robbery was then reported at a filling station shop in the Moor Road in Clonoe, County Tyrone, where cash was stolen. Police said the vehicle used by the robbers, a blue Audi A6, was stolen early on Thursday morning from outside an address in Portadown. It was found on fire at about 08:40 at Drumcree Community Centre in the town. Police said the staff had suffered no serious injuries but were "shocked by the ordeal they experienced". Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon condemned the incidents and said staff in Clonoe were left incredibly frightened . "It was a very, very frightening experience for the staff, they really are traumatised. I'm just glad that nobody was seriously hurt," she told BBC News NI. "These were people were coming in early to do a day's work and they didn't deserve this. "This shop really is the beating heart of this community in Clonoe and a lot of the staff are from the locality. "Armed robbery is a very serious offence and I sincerely hope the people that carried out this attack are caught, because these are dangerous people. " Dillon appealed for anybody with information about the robberies to come forward. Glyn Roberts, chief executive of Retail NI also urged anyone with information about the "utterly disgraceful" robberies to speak to police. "We shouldn't forget these are independent retailers that go above and beyond to serve their local community. "Our thoughts are with the staff who have traumatised by these despicable attacks," he said. Mr Roberts said assaults on staff, shoplifting and robberies are at "record levels. "It is crucially important that the Department of Justice include the assault of shop staff is specified in the forthcoming Sentencing Bill," he said.
