Robert Jenrick has clashed with a BBC presenter over claims new sentencing guidelines will lead to a “two-tier justice” system.
The shadow justice secretary lashed out at guidance coming into force in April which will require a pre-sentence report before punishment is handed out for someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Mr Jenrick called for justice secretary Shabana Mahmood to overrule the independent Sentencing Council, which highlighted the “critical role” of pre-sentence reports. He has argued the guidance will discriminate against straight white men.
Ms Mahmood has also condemned the prospect of “differential treatment before the law”, for example for those from ethnic minority backgrounds, and called for the changes to sentencing guidance to be reversed.
The justice secretary will write to the sentencing council to “register her displeasure and to recommend reversing this change in guidance”, Downing Street said on Thursday.
But, in a tense interview, Mr Jenrick called for Ms Mahmood to pursue a law change giving the government the power to overrule the independent body.
He said the pursuit of “equality of outcomes rather than equality of treatment” is “wrong and a dangerous approach”. Suggesting the change, aimed at redressing existing imbalances in the justice system, is unnecessary, Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you're asking me, ‘is there authoritative evidence that says that a black person or somebody who is a Hindu, a Muslim or a Jew who has committed exactly the same crime as, say, for example, somebody who is white or Christian, with all the same aggravating factors and all of the same pre offenses would get a different outcome?’
“No, I don't think there's authoritative, conclusive evidence of that.”
But he was challenged by presenter Emma Barnett, who said “a two-tier system of justice already exists”, citing an email from a sitting magistrate who said claims straight white men will be discriminated against under the changes are “objectively false”.
“They are seeking to address the discrimination that is currently within the system,” Ms Barnett said. In a pointed barb at Mr Jenrick and Ms Mahmood, she said: “A sitting magistrate thinks both you and the justice secretary are wrong and there is concern here about wrongly stoking division.”
She also pointed out that the consultation on the sentencing changes concluded under the Conservative government in February 2024, with no concerns having been expressed at the time.
At the end of the clash, Ms Barnett cut Mr Jenrick off, telling the Tory MP: “You had a long time in power Robert Jenrick, you had a long time in power and that is the amount of time I can give you this morning.”
Asked about the sentencing council’s guidelines, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said they do not represent Ms Mahmood’s views or the views of this government.
“[The justice secretary] will be writing to the sentencing council to register her displeasure and to recommend reversing this change in guidance.
“That's a move that the prime minister welcomes and as we've said before, Parliament will always have the power to determine the minimum sentence people should face for their crimes.”
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