Overview

• During an eight-hour Virgin Atlantic flight from London Heathrow to Lahore, Salman Iftikhar made roughly 100 threats at cabin crew, including promises of gang rape, fire and bombing of the Avari Lahore Hotel
• Iftikhar pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court on August 5 to threats to kill and racially aggravated harassment and was jailed for 15 months, far below the maximum sentences available
• Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has formally asked Attorney General Lord Hermer to invoke the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and refer the term to the Court of Appeal
• Under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, the Attorney General’s Office can ask the Court of Appeal to increase sentences deemed too low after a Crown Court conviction
• Critics point to the 31-month sentence given to Lucy Connolly for a single social-media post as evidence of inconsistent sentencing and a potential two-tier justice system