Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the sentences that saw two teenage boys spared jail after raping two girls will go to the Court of Appeal after being reviewed by the Attorney General Lord Hermer for being too lenient.
A trial at Southampton Crown Court heard the girls were raped on two separate occasions in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The first attack was on 26 November 2024 and the second was on 17 January 2025.
The boys, both aged 15, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) and made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS).
The prime minister, who said he found the case “distressing as a father”, said the decision to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, the second-highest court in England and Wales, is “clearly the right outcome”.
“There are questions about the sentence. The Attorney General has power to refer a case to a court of appeal if the Attorney General thinks that the sentence is too lenient. The Attorney General has now exercised that power”, he said.
“So I can announce that case now will go to a Court of Appeal… and that is clearly the right outcome.”
Sir Keir said the rape case in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, which saw two teenage boys spared jail is “really distressing” and that the courage of the girls who came forward about it is “humbling”.
“I think it’s a really distressing case. I think it’s distressing for everybody to see, to hear about.
“The courage, frankly, of the girls to come forward is humbling, but it is distressing. I find it distressing as a politician. I find it distressing as a father.”
His comments come after government minister Darren Jones teared up over the weekend as he argued the two girls “deserve justice”.
The chief secretary to the prime minister became emotional as he heard testimony from one of the victims on Sunday, in which she said the judge’s decision not to hand down a prison sentence to her attackers was like a “rock straight in my face”.
Asked for his thoughts on the case, Mr Jones told the BBC: “As a minister, what I can’t do is get ahead of the attorney general’s decision, but look, as a parent and as a member of the public, you can imagine what my personal view is on the situation.”
Pushed on what his view was, a visibly emotional Mr Jones said: “Those girls deserve justice, as do their families, both for them but also for other girls that are put in that position.
“And quite frankly, other boys need to know that they can’t behave in that way and get away with it.”
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow…
