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The government is set to curb the Sentencing Council’s powers after a row over sentencing criminals from ethnic minorities sparked accusations of “two-tier justice”.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood will now have to approve all new guidelines issued by the council after she intervened to block measures requiring judges to seek pre-sentence reports when deciding punishments for certain minority groups.
The guidelines were formulated by some of the most senior legal figures in England and Wales in response to official figures which show offenders from ethnic minorities consistently get longer sentences than white offenders.
Ms Mahmood asked for the Sentencing Council to reconsider amid controversy over the proposals, including accusations of “two-tier justice” from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.
He said he would legally challenge the guidance on the grounds it enshrines “anti-white” and “anti-Christian” bias in the criminal justice system.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also called for Ms Mahmood to change the law and said the Conservatives “will back her”.
Ms Mahmood blocked the guidelines with emergency legislation after the council refused to back down, insisting it was “a clear example of differential treatment” and risked “undermining public confidence in a justice system that is built on the idea of equality before the law”.
This week, Ms Mahmood went further and announced a new “democratic lock” on their powers which means they will now need her explicit approval to introduce new sentencing guidelines.
The approval of the Lady Chief Justice will also be required before new guidelines are issued.
There will also be a requirement for the Council to seek approval for its annual business plan, however the Ministry of Justice insists the reforms do not interfere with the independence of judges in making sentencing decisions.
“Individual sentencing decisions will always be the responsibility of the independent judiciary – and this is something I will staunchly defend,” Ms Mahmood said.
“However, policy must be set by parliamentarians, who answer to the people.
“Government and Parliament have a legitimate role in setting the sentencing framework. It is right that we now have greater democratic and judicial oversight of the direction of the Council’s work and the final guidelines they publish.”
The prime minister had said he was “very disappointed” after the Sentencing Council previously refused to reconsider the guidance.
Sir Keir Starmer said the government had “no other option” but to bring forward legislation to reverse it.
The Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Act, which received Royal Assent in June, prevents sentencing guidelines from singling out specific cohorts for differential treatment based on their personal characteristics, when it comes to ordering pre-sentence reports.
Sentencing council chairman Lord Justice Davis had defended the guidelines, citing evidence of disadvantages in the justice system and arguing complexities can only be understood through an assessment of the offender.
