The Sentencing Council has suspended new sentencing guidelines that could have led to different sentences for criminals based on age, sex and ethnicity, following a threat of emergency legislation by the government. The guidelines, due to come into force on Tuesday, were criticised as creating a 'two-tier' justice system.
The guidance would have required judges and magistrates to consult a pre-sentence report before imprisoning someone from an ethnic or religious minority, a young adult, an abuse survivor or a pregnant woman. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the differential treatment as 'unacceptable' and moved to block the guidelines with a bill specifying that sentencing reports 'should not single out specific cohorts for differential treatment'.
Mahmood said: 'These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion. This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system.' The Sentencing Council delayed implementation after a meeting with Mahmood, acknowledging the imminent draft bill.
Senior legal figures expressed discomfort, with former Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd warning that politicians should not be involved in individual sentences. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backed the legislation, saying the government would 'fast-track' it.
The suspension averts a chaotic period where the guidelines would have been in force for a few weeks before being made illegal. A government source described it as a 'total victory' for Mahmood, who is determined to ensure that 'parliament is sovereign and everyone is treated equally by the criminal justice system'.
