‘Two-tier justice’ row: Government plans to change law to overrule Sentencing Council
The government plans to change the law so it can overrule Sentencing Council guidelines following a row over “two-tier justice”, Sky News understands.
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.
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”.
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”.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was ‘disappointed’ the Sentencing Council will not reverse its guidelines. File pic: Reuters
Before the weekend, Sir Keir said “all options are on the table” over how the government might respond.
But sources have now told Sky News the 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.
Read more:
Sentencing Council rejects minister’s call for guidance rethink
What are pre-sentence reports and why the controversy?
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‘Blatant bias against straight, white men’
In reply to Ms Mahmood’s letter calling for a reversal, the Sentencing Council’s chair, Lord Justice William Davis, said on Friday that the reforms reflect evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in the circumstances of individual offenders.
He said pre-sentence reports allow judges to be “better equipped” to “avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity”.
“The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed,” he added.
Sky News has contacted the Sentencing Council for a comment on the potential law changes.
A US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by a cryptocurrency platform tied to US President Donald Trump’s family could complicate ongoing bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation in Congress, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) crypto platform launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin in early March, prompting concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
Despite political pushback from Democratic Party lawmakers, WLFI’s stablecoin plans are in line with the current US stablecoin legislation, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.
“The planned backing, audits, qualified custody, public blockchains and no native yield-bearing — all these elements are well in line with the GENIUS and STABLE acts,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.
“I would argue that this is a direct expression of support to the US-based stablecoins, and in any case, the stablecoin issuer is subject to the authorization of OCC, state regulators and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” she added.
Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom
The launch comes as two major stablecoin bills move through Congress.
The STABLE Act, introduced on Feb. 6, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins. It focuses on transparency and consumer protection and enables issuers to choose between federal and state oversight.
Source: STABLE Act
The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws. The act recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6.
Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy
Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is “throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts”
While some see WLFI’s stablecoin as a positive signal for crypto adoption, others fear it may complicate the passage of current legislation, politicizing it in the process.
“Trump’s new US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, is throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation, possibly something like the GENIUS Act,” according to Dmitrij Radin, the founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum.
“With the Trump family holding a major stake and revenue share, critics like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren and Representative [Jim] Himes are calling out potential conflicts of interest,” Radin told Cointelegraph, adding:
“The concern would be that any law could be seen as financially benefiting Trump, making some lawmakers hesitant. While the bill could still pass, this twist might delay it or force stricter rules to keep it neutral.”
While stablecoins appear ready for mainstream adoption, “political drama” may push innovation offshore if regulators become overly restrictive, Radin said, adding that banks and the Federal Reserve are still “pushing back” against stablecoin adoption.
Meanwhile, crypto industry professionals have urged US lawmakers to create more regulatory clarity around stablecoins and crypto banking relationships before legislators switch their focus to crypto tax laws.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Binance has discontinued spot trading pairs with Tether’s USDt in the European Economic Area (EEA) to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has delisted spot trading pairs with several non-MiCA-compliant tokens in the EEA in line with a plan disclosed in early March, Cointelegraph has learned.
While spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDt (USDT) are now delisted on Binance, users in the EEA can still custody the affected tokens and trade them in perpetual contracts.
USDT is available for perpetual trading on Binance. Source: Binance
According to a previous announcement by Binance, the spot trading pairs for non-MiCA-compliant tokens were to be delisted by March 31, which is in line with a local requirement to delist such tokens by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Delistings on other exchanges in EEA
Binance is not the only crypto exchange delisting non-MiCA-compliant tokens for spot trading in the EEA.
Other exchanges, such as Kraken, have delisted spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDT in the EEA after announcing plans in February.
According to a notice on the Kraken website, the exchange restricted USDT for sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. At the time of writing, the platform doesn’t allow its EEA users to buy the affected tokens.
Kraken restricted USDT to sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. Source: Kraken
Among other non-MiCA-compliant tokens, Binance has also delisted spot trading pairs for Dai (DAI), First Digital USD (FDUSD), TrueUSD (TUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), Anchored Euro (AEUR), TerraUSD (UST), TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and PAX Gold (PAXG).
Related: Tether acquires 30% stake in Italian media company Be Water
Kraken’s delisting roadmap in the EEA only included five tokens: USDT, PayPal USD (PYUSD), Tether EURt (EURT), TrueUSD and TerraClassicUSD.
ESMA doesn’t prohibit custody of non-MiCA-compliant tokens
Binance and Kraken’s move to maintain custody services for non-MiCA-compliant tokens aligns with a previous communication from MiCA compliance supervisors.
On March 5, a spokesperson for the ESMA told Cointelegraph that custody and transfer services for non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins do not violate the new European cryptocurrency laws.
On the other hand, the same regulator previously advised European crypto asset service providers to halt all transactions involving the affected tokens after March 31, adding a certain extent of confusion over MiCA requirements.
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
Vanuatu has passed laws to regulate digital assets and provide a licensing regime for crypto companies wanting to operate in the Pacific island nation, which a government regulatory consultant has called “very stringent.”
The local parliament passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act on March 26, giving crypto licensing authority to the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) along with powers to enforce the Financial Action Task Force’s Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Travel Rule standards with crypto firms.
The VFSC has sweeping investigation and enforcement powers under the laws, with penalties stipulating fines of up to 250 million vatu ($2 million) and up to 30 years in prison.
“God help any scammer that goes into Vanuatu because you’ll go to jail,” Loretta Joseph, who consulted with the regulator on the laws, told Cointelegraph. “The laws are very stringent.”
“The thing is, we don’t want another FTX debacle,” she added, referring to the once Bahamas-based crypto exchange that collapsed in 2022 due to massive fraud committed by its co-founders, Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, along with other executives.
“Vanuatu is a small jurisdiction. Small jurisdictions are preyed on by the players that are looking for no regulation or light touch regulation,” Joseph said. “This is certainly not that.”
“I’m so proud of them to be the first country in the Pacific to actually take a position and do this,” she added.
New Vanuatu law regulates slate of crypto companies
The law establishes a licensing and reporting framework for exchanges, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, crypto custody providers and initial coin offerings.
The law notably allows for banks to be licensed to provide crypto exchange and custody services. Source: Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu
The VFSC said that the legislation doesn’t affect stablecoins, tokenized securities, and central bank digital currencies even though they “may in practice share some similarities with virtual assets.”
The legislation also allows for the VFSC’s commissioner to create a sandbox to allow approved companies to offer a variety of crypto services for a year, which can be renewed.
Related: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking
Joseph said Vanuatu “needed a standalone piece of legislation” that covered Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terror Financing requirements, as the country didn’t have existing laws suited to virtual assets.
The regulator said in a March 29 statement that it had developed the legislative framework after years of “assessing the risks associated with virtual assets,” and the laws would open “numerous opportunities for Vanuatu” and improve financial inclusion by allowing regulated services for crypto cross-border payments.
VFSC Commissioner Branan Karae had said in June that the bill was expected to pass that September, but Joseph said the legislation was “not something that was done lightly.” It had been in development since 2020 and was delayed due to changes in government, natural disasters and COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions.
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
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