Anger over ‘two-tier sentencing’ as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood rejects new guidelines
There’s been angry reaction to new guidelines – described by some as “two-tier sentencing” – which recommend judges consider whether a criminal is from a ethnic, cultural or faith minority before issuing a punishment.
The Sentencing Council, which sets out recommendations to courts in England and Wales, has issued fresh advice about how certain offenders should be processed.
But its updated guidance, which is due to come into force from April, has been described as enshrining a “double standard” by the shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.
He accused the council of setting rules which make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community”.
The independent body is now advising that a pre-sentence report (PSR) “will normally be considered necessary” before sentencing a criminal from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority.
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A PSR assessment would also be expected for people from the transgender community and certain other groups, such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Posting on X, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “I will be writing to the Sentencing Council to register my displeasure and to recommend reversing this change to guidance.
“There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch.”
In setting out the changes, Lord Justice William Davis said the reforms reflect evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in the circumstances of individual offenders.
The chair of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales said: “PSRs provide the court with information about the offender; they are not an indication of sentence. Sentences are decided by the independent judiciary”.
He added that a punishment tailored to the offender had the “greatest likelihood” of being effective.
According to the most recent government statistics, since 2018 white defendants are more likely to have a shorter jail sentence than any other ethnic group.
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The Sentencing Council is also advising judges and magistrates to consider rehabilitative sentences, or community sentences. It points out they can be more effective in reducing re-offending than a short term behind bars.
Among the fresh guidance is also a recommendation for courts to “avoid” sending pregnant women or mothers of babies to prison.
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Janey Starling, co-director of feminist campaign group Level Up called the changes a “huge milestone”.
Meanwhile Liz Forrester, from No Births Behind Bars, said it finally recognises the “deadly impact” of prison on babies and pregnant women.
Pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care had already been introduced in April 2024 as a new mitigating factor in England and Wales.
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Rachel Reeves has hinted that taxes are likely to be raised this autumn after a major U-turn on the government’s controversial welfare bill.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill passed through the House of Commons on Tuesday after multiple concessions and threats of a major rebellion.
MPs ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to universal credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Initially aimed at saving £5.5bn, it now leaves the government with an estimated £5.5bn black hole – close to breaching Ms Reeves’s fiscal rules set out last year.
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In an interview with The Guardian, the chancellor did not rule out tax rises later in the year, saying there were “costs” to watering down the welfare bill.
“I’m not going to [rule out tax rises], because it would be irresponsible for a chancellor to do that,” Ms Reeves told the outlet.
“We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement.
“So we’ll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.”
Meanwhile, The Times reported that, ahead of the Commons vote on the welfare bill, Ms Reeves told cabinet ministers the decision to offer concessions would mean taxes would have to be raised.
The outlet reported that the chancellor said the tax rises would be smaller than those announced in the 2024 budget, but that she is expected to have to raise tens of billions more.
It comes after Ms Reeves said she was “totally” up to continuing as chancellor after appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions.
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Criticising Sir Keir for the U-turns on benefit reform during PMQs, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.
Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she would, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
In her first comments after the incident, Ms Reeves said she was having a “tough day” before adding: “People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday.
“Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job.”
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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job
Sir Keir also told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby on Thursday that he “didn’t appreciate” that Ms Reeves was crying in the Commons.
“In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang,” he said. “That’s what it was yesterday.
“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”
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