Overview
- The UK government has introduced legislation to block Sentencing Council guidelines requiring pre-sentence reports for minority and vulnerable groups, citing concerns about perceptions of preferential treatment.
- Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that the guidelines risked eroding public confidence in the justice system by creating a perception of unequal treatment.
- The Sentencing Council, which suspended the guidelines under political pressure, argued they were designed to address well-documented racial disparities in sentencing outcomes.
- Critics, including legal advocacy groups and MPs, condemned the government's intervention as a setback for addressing systemic racism in the justice system.
- The debate has raised questions about judicial independence, with some calling for a review of the Sentencing Council's role and its members' accountability.