8th April 2025
The Sentencing Council has suspended plans for new guidelines which could have led to different sentences depending on someone’s age, sex and ethnicity. The Sentencing Council’s decision to suspend plans comes in the wake of ministers preparing to “disapply” wording in the revised sentencing guidelines on the imposition of community and custodial sentences, through primary legislation. Justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, had aimed to pass a bill through Parliament to halt the guidelines within 24 hours but was informed that it would be impossible before the Easter recess. Given that the revised sentencing guidelines were due to take effect in England and Wales last Tuesday, there would have been a “confusing period” during which time the guidelines would be enforced before being declared illegal. These now-shelved reforms included a provision requiring pre-sentence reports for ten specific groups—among them ethnic, cultural, and faith minorities, as well as young adults, abuse survivors, and mothers.

The intention? To ensure that magistrates and judges would consider the broader context before handing down custodial sentences—an effort to counter structural inequality and decades of racist two-tier policing. Senior legal figures, including the Society of Black Lawyers, hailed the guidelines as a long-overdue move toward equal treatment, not special treatment.

Yet Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood moved swiftly to block the reform. Claiming that the guidelines would “single out specific cohorts for differential treatment,” she sought emergency legislation to “disapply” the changes—an effort that failed to clear Parliament before the Easter recess.

The result? A potential constitutional clash between Parliament and the judiciary, with Mahmood arguing that “Parliament is sovereign” while Lord Hermer KC, Attorney General, warned against political interference in judicial affairs, calling such attacks a “huge threat to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.”

Tensions have deepened. On Tuesday, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick demanded the dismissal of Lord Justice Davis, head of the Sentencing Council, in a move many see as politicising the bench.

The guidelines—intended to come into force last week—were suspended after a Council meeting acknowledged that a draft bill, expected imminently, would render them unlawful. Yet their withdrawal reflects more than just a legal technicality. It marks a moment when the justice system turned its back on a chance to confront racial disparity head-on.

This controversy echoes the themes explored in The Stealing of Emily: The Fantasy (‘stealth philosophy’) That Is Our Court System—where justice is shaped not by equity, but by convenience, politics, and illusion. As the line between justice and prejudice continues to blur, the question remains: Who gets to decide what’s “equal”?

#TheStealingOfEmily #JusticeReform #SentencingCouncil #JudicialIndependence #RuleOfLaw #TwoTierPolicing #StructuralRacism #ClosedMaterialProcedures #StealthPhilosophy

evidence that the events are real, here are the relevant sources:

• Sentencing Council Suspends New Guidelines Amid ‘Two-Tier’ Justice Row: This article from The Guardian details the Sentencing Council’s decision to suspend plans for new guidelines that could have led to different sentences based on age, sex, and ethnicity. ​The Guardian
• Government to Introduce Legislation to Block New Sentencing Guidelines: An official statement from the UK Government outlines Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s intention to introduce legislation preventing the implementation of the Sentencing Council’s proposed guidelines. ​GOV.UK
• Lawyers Attack ‘Dangerous’ Decision to Halt Sentencing Council Guidelines: The Guardian reports on criticism from senior legal figures and prison campaigners regarding the halting of the new sentencing guidelines, describing the move as “dangerous” and regressive. ​The Guardian
• Ministers Could Win Power to Block Sentencing Advice for Judges: An article from The Times discusses the UK government’s consideration of granting ministers the authority to block and amend sentencing guidelines set by the Sentencing Council. ​Latest news & breaking headlines

These sources provide comprehensive coverage of the events, confirming the authenticity of the developments discussed.

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