"A Conservative plan to abolish the judge-led Sentencing Council and hand its powers to the Ministry of Justice has been described as bonkers, unimplementable and potentially dangerous by former Tory ministers. The shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick will announce on Tuesday that the independent public body responsible for developing guidelines for judges and magistrates in England and Wales would be closed down by a future Conservative government because it was not fit for purpose."
"Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general, said: This is bonkers. Sentences have been rising in recent years and there is no prison capacity left. The Sentencing Council has done good work in providing consistency even if it may not be perfect. The [Jenrick] proposal is the cheapest form of politics as he must know it is unimplementable. Bob Neill, a Conservative former chair of the Commons' justice select committee , said the policy was very unwise and potentially dangerous."
A Conservative plan would close the judge-led Sentencing Council and transfer its guideline-setting powers to the Ministry of Justice and lord chancellors. The proposal is presented as a response to alleged two-tier sentencing and claims that council guidelines have watered down parliamentary intent on serious crimes. Labour recently changed rules so new guidelines must be signed off by the justice secretary and the lady chief justice. Former Tory ministers warn the plan is unimplementable, risks ratcheting up sentences, worsening prison overcrowding and potentially collapsing the criminal justice system. Critics emphasize the Sentencing Council's role in providing consistency.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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