Shock and horror that a judge should receive a ‘pre-sentence report’ before sending someone to jail. The political backlash was quick and strong. This, for example, from opposition justice spokesman: “Under ‘Two-Tier Keir’, our justice system is set to have an anti-white and anti-Christian bias. Starmer sneered at people who said we have a two-tier justice system — and Angela Rayner labelled them ‘conspiracy theorists’. But here we have it in black and white. It’s unarguable.” Read on.
Ethnic minority and transgender criminals may be more likely to avoid prison under changes to sentencing guidelines that take effect next month.
Updated guidance sent to judges says that they should consider whether an offender is from an ethnic, cultural or religious minority when deciding whether to impose a custodial or community sentence.
Other factors include whether an offender has disclosed that they are transgender, according to the Sentencing Council, an independent body that provides guidance for judges and courts to ensure consistency and transparency across the country.
The new guidance has sparked claims of a “two-tier” sentencing policy that treats ethnic minorities favourably.
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, was unaware of the new guidance before it was published on Wednesday and said she would request its reversal. A Ministry of Justice source said she was “incandescent” when made aware.
Mahmood said: “The Sentencing Council is entirely independent. These guidelines do not represent my views or the views of this government. I will be writing to the council to register my displeasure and recommend reversing this change to guidance.
“As someone who is from an ethnic minority background myself, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law, for anyone of any kind.
“There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch.”
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, called the guidance “completely outrageous” and said it confirmed claims made after the Southport riots last summer of a two-tier approach to sentencing in England and Wales.
He said: “Under this guidance there is blatant discrimination against straight white men.”
He added: “Under ‘Two-Tier Keir’, our justice system is set to have an anti-white and anti-Christian bias. Starmer sneered at people who said we have a two-tier justice system — and Angela Rayner labelled them ‘conspiracy theorists’. But here we have it in black and white. It’s unarguable.”
Speaking on Times Radio on Thursday morning, he said: “They say that you are less likely to get a custodial sentence because your case would be handled through a pre-sentencing report commissioned by a judge — if you’re a woman, if you’re trans, if you’re neuro-diverse, if you’re an ethnic minority, if you’re from a minority faith group, which presumably means anyone who isn’t Christian.
“Essentially Christian and straight white men, among other groups, will be treated differently to the rest of society. And I think that’s wrong. I think that is an example of two-tier justice, and it will corrode public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system which clearly I don’t want to see.”
But Sarah Jones, the energy minister, said there had to be a “single system of justice” and that ministers were not part of the decision-making process. She said: “We must have a fair justice system. Everyone must be treated equally. We must not have two-tier systems of justice. I don’t think anybody would disagree with that. So we are asking the Sentencing Council to look again at this guidance that they put out.”
Minutes from a meeting of the Sentencing Council that rubber-stamped the guidelines on January 24 reveal that a senior Ministry of Justice official was present at the meeting. However, sources close to Mahmood said the changes were not flagged to ministers.
A Labour source pointed out that the last government was aware of the change in guidance during a consultation that ended in February last year.
Under the guidance, which takes effect from April 1, judges and courts must consider a wider range of factors pertaining to an offender’s background when deciding whether to impose a community or custodial sentence.
The guidance relates to the pre-sentence report, drawn up when an offender is from a cohort that judges and courts may deem relevant when considering a sentence. The council states that such a report can be “pivotal in helping the court decide whether to impose a custodial or community order and, where relevant, what particular requirements or combination of requirements are most suitable for an individual offender on either a community order or a suspended custodial sentence”.