Sentencing guidelines ditched after ‘two-tier’ row

New rules on sentencing criminals from ethnic minorities have been abandoned following a weeks-long standoff between senior judges and the government.
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, believed the proposals from top judges would have created a “two-tier” justice system.
The new guidelines, which had been in development for months, told judges to seek extra information before deciding how to punish offenders from certain minority groups.
The proposals had sparked condemnation from politicians across both main parties in recent weeks and, following weeks of the Sentencing Council refusing Mahmood’s demands to reconsider, she was set to overrule them with emergency legislation.
The Council, made up of some of the most senior legal figures in England and Wales, was adamant that the guidelines would have helped address disparities between how different ethnicities are treated in the justice system.

Courtesy: BBC