Member

Turning to specifics, as other hon. Members have referred to, the Bill and its amendments are rushed, knee-jerk and not the way to make policy about people’s liberty or our constitution. Why not negotiate with the Sentencing Council, now that the immediate emergency has subsided? To my knowledge, based on my engagement with the Ministry of Justice, Ministers and officials, the question of how long they would be prepared to pause before the implementation of the guidelines has not been asked. Why not wait for the Gauke review to report and ensure that the issue is explored comprehensively and that wider consultation takes place? Why not comprehensively address what is already a two-tier justice system, as hon. Members on the Benches behind me and the Mother of the House, the right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), have referred to? As the Lammy review found, people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to serve longer sentences for the same crimes than those who are not from ethnic minority backgrounds. It is disappointing that there is no provision in the Bill to consider that. If the Government insist on passing the Bill, we urge them to embrace our calls for an independent review of pre-sentence reports to be conducted within two years, as per new clause 1.