Sentencing guidelines for ethnic minority suspects delayed after backlash

31 March 2025, 14:21 | Updated: 31 March 2025, 18:25

Controversial sentencing guidelines that were due to come into force on Tuesday have been delayed after a political backlash, Sky News understands.

The Sentencing Council, the independent body that sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, was due to bring in new rules around how judges should determine punishment for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The new guidance, which was set to come into force on Tuesday this week, states that 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.

Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, had said the proposed guidance was "unacceptable" and amounted to "differential treatment before the law" as she urged the council to reverse it.

When the Sentencing Council initially refused her request, Ms Mahmood threatened to legislate to overturn the guidance if necessary.

She confirmed this evening that she would introduce legislation on Tuesday to block these guidelines coming into effect.

However, Sky News understands the implementation of these guidelines has now been suspended.

Ms Mahmood said: "These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion.

"This differential treatment is unacceptable - equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts."

The Sentencing Council also attracted criticism from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who said its updated guidance was an example of "two-tier justice" that would lead to "blatant bias" against Christians and straight white men.

He also argued that it would make "a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community" - something the council denied.

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(c) Sky News 2025: Sentencing guidelines for ethnic minority suspects delayed after backlash