About
A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
'New threat to legislate as Sentencing Council rejects lord chancellor’s request for guidance revision'
The lord chancellor has repeated her promise to 'legislate as necessary' following the Sentencing Council's rejection of her request for it to revise new guidelines on the imposition of community and custodial sentences. The guidelines, due to come into effect next week, have prompted a political row over allegations of differential treatment of ethnic groups. In a letter to the council, dated 20 March but published only today, Shabana Mahmood said she considered ‘that encouraging a judge to request a pre-sentencing report for one named cohort but not another, amounts to differential treatment’...
Concluding that the guidelines did not require revision, the judge said the council decided ‘some clarification of the language of the relevant part of the guidelines should be included in the hope that this would correct the widespread misunderstanding which has emerged in the last few weeks’. Responding in turn, Mahmood said today: 'I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someone’s outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion. This is unacceptable, and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week. I am extremely disappointed by the council’s response. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary.’
'Leveson review: criminal defence solicitors say intermediate courts will complicate legal aid'
The government risks having to write a blank cheque to find legal aid solicitors willing to cover cases heard by ‘intermediate courts’, a practitioner group has told the Leveson review of criminal justice, which is exploring the possibility of creating a new tier of criminal court. Intermediate courts, where cases too serious for the magistrates’ courts but not serious enough for the Crown court are heard by a judge and two lay magistrates, could be one of the recommendations Sir Brian Leveson makes to the lord chancellor this spring. However, the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) has told the review the introduction of intermediate courts could prove costly...
In its submission to Leveson's call for evidence, the CLSA said the duty solicitor population has shrunk by one-third over a decade and solicitors have insufficient capacity to cover all cases. In many areas, courts 'brigade' cases so that one solicitor can cover as many cases as possible. Solicitors will struggle to split their time between three courts. The new 10-year criminal legal aid contracts commencing in October do not contain provision for an intermediate court or associated fee scheme, the CLSA added... The CLSA joins a long line of organisations that have told Leveson that intermediate courts, which would effectively limit jury trials, are not the answer to cutting the Crown court backlog. The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA) says the new tier of court raises more questions than it answers, such as which rights of audience would apply, how would it affect custody time limits and how would it affect the duty solicitor scheme. The LCCSA says the backlog would be better tackled with proper investment in the Probation Service and pre-charge engagement...
'Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo: 'IBOR two' appeal begins at Supreme Court'
Two former City traders will have their cases heard before the Supreme Court this week over their criminal convictions for interest-rate rigging. Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo’s convictions were referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Case Review Commission in 2023 following the US Court of Appeal decision in Connolly and Black, clearing two other traders convicted in 2022. Outstanding charges against Hayes in the US were also dropped.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals last year on all grounds and, though permission to appeal was denied, appeal judges certified that their decision involved a point of law of general public importance relating to the proper construction of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) definitions...
The Supreme Court hearing is listed for three days before Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Leggatt and Lady Simler. It will make findings on two issues: first, whether a LIBOR or EURIBOR submission is automatically dishonest if it is influenced by a trading advantage and secondly whether a LIBOR or EURIBOR submission must be at the single cheapest rate available at the time of the submissions or whether it can be selected from a range of potential borrowing rates...
'Places of worship to be protected from intimidating protests'
Places of worship will be better protected from intimidatory protests under new powers being given to police. The new measures, which will be included as an amendment in the government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill, will protect synagogues, mosques, churches and other religious sites from intimidating levels of disruption caused by protest activity. These changes will build on existing laws under the Public Order Act, providing a new threshold for officers to be able to impose conditions – including on the route and timing of a march – where the effect of the protest is to intimidate those attending a place of worship. This will give the police total clarity on how and when they can protect religious sites from the types of protest designed to disrupt them.
The Home Secretary has announced that the new offence for climbing on a war memorial – already announced when the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced – will be extended to cover the new National Holocaust Memorial scheduled to be built next to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens...
'Sarah Everard's parents join campaign for harsher sentences'
Sarah Everard's parents are campaigning for tougher sentencing for serious violent and sexual criminals as part of a new campaign group being launched in Parliament. Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in London in 2021 - he was later sentenced to a whole life order. Jeremy and Susan Everard said it was "important that sentences truly reflect the seriousness of the crime".
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it has launched a review into sentencing to help ensure sentences are punishing offenders and protecting the public. Mr and Mrs Everard said "although nothing can alleviate the sense of loss, it is a relief to us that our daughter's murderer received a whole life order". They added: "It made us feel that the enormity of his crime was recognised and that our daughter's life was valued. We know of other families in similar circumstances who have not had this small comfort."
Cases
R v BUV [2025] EWCA Crim 327
On 23 May 2022 in the Crown Court at Snaresbrook before HHJ Alex Gordon and a jury, the appellant was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003...
... Mr Eissa KC submitted on behalf of the appellant that the father’s evidence of the change in the complainant’s demeanour or behaviour was inadmissible. This was because it was too uncertain a basis to provide evidence of anything. Mr Eissa relied on R v Keast [1998] Crim LR 748 (Keast), and R v Miah [2014] EWCA Crim 938 CLW/14/26/1 (Miah). Reference was made to the Crown Court Compendium...
... In these circumstances while evidence about an alleged victim’s later distress might be technically admissible, it is rarely going to be of sufficient relevance to justify calling it and raising the satellite issues of what other factors might have been responsible for such distress. This is particularly so in circumstances where the law recognises that there is no typical sexual offender or person that is the subject of sexual offending, and no standard reaction from the person subject to the offending...
... we agree with the comment in Miah that this sort of evidence is very rarely likely to be of much assistance to a jury. This is because there may be many reasons for a child of 14 years to become disengaged for a period with friends and school. This is part of the reason why the jury are given guidance that there is no stereotypical rapist, victim or reaction, and the judge had reminded the jury of that in the summing up...
Other
'Lord Chancellor letter to the Sentencing Council: 20 March 2025'
In this letter, to Sentencing Council Chair Rt Hon Lord Justice William Davis, the Lord Chancellor acknowledges the Council’s plans to publish new Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentence Guidelines. The letter reiterates the government’s objections to the guidelines, specifically that it introduces ‘differential treatment’ in court on the basis of race or ethnicity - and notes the risk this would have on public confidence in the justice system. The Lord Chancellor also raises concerns about the fact the current government was not consulted on the introduction of the guidelines, and sets out her position that matters of policy should be decided by Parliament and Ministers.
Obscurity
'Man admits theft of Cadbury Creme Eggs worth £220'
A man who admitted stuffing more than £220 worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs into a duffle bag and leaving a petrol station without paying has been banned from a county for three months. Cambridgeshire Police said Deon De Groot, 26, went into Tesco Express in Welland Road, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, at about 11:40 GMT on Saturday. A staff member flagged down officers in a passing police car who found boxes of the chocolate eggs in his jacket. A bag - dropped nearby - was also full of the Easter favourites, police said...