By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-28 13:46:01 | Updated at 2025-03-31 09:21:09
2 days ago
The Sentencing Council has been branded "utterly scandalous" by a former Scotland Yard Detective, following their decision to double down on their new "two-tier" guidelines.
The Council rejected Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood's calls to change the controversial guidance that recommends pre-sentence reports for ethnic minorities.
The Justice Secretary has now threatened to legislate if necessary after expressing extreme disappointment at the Council's response.
Speaking to GB News, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "disappointed" in the Council's decision and the Government will now "consider" their next steps going forward.
Mike Neville has hit out at the 'utterly scandalous' decision by the Sentencing Council to double down on their new guidelines
GB News / PA / Sentencing Council
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'disappointed' in the Sentencing Council's decision
GB News
Neville said: "Three or four months ago, we were told that believing in a two-tier justice system was a right-wing conspiracy theory. Well, it would seem that that right-wing conspiracy theory was in fact true.
"And it shows the dangers of governments handing over responsibility for decision making to these quangos, who then just make these weird decisions."
Criticising the Sentencing Council, Neville claimed that it is made up of the "liberal left" who believe they "know best" and "think they are smarter than me and you".
He stated: "When you look at the makeup of the Sentencing Council, they are so stereotypical. They are the centrist bunch of men and women who all look the same - I can't imagine any one of them voted for Brexit, and there's one token black lady on there.
"And these are the sort of people who think they know best. They know they're far cleverer than you, me and any of the GB News viewers and listeners, they think that this is a good thing to do, and it's utterly scandalous."
Concluding his thoughts on the decision, Neville claimed that whether it is the justice system, NHS or education, there is "always a liberal left viewpoint" running Britain.
Neville told GB News that it is most often the 'liberal left viewpoint' running Britain's authorities
GB News
He said: "It's just a liberal-left viewpoint, whichever government has been in, Tory or Labour. These people, they're always the same individuals, whether it's a Sentencing Council or something to do with the NHS or education, they're the same people who rule our nation."
In his letter to Mahmood, Lord Justice William Davis defended the Council's position, saying the guideline did not require revision.
He argued that providing judges with information about ethnic minorities would help them avoid differences in sentencing outcomes based on ethnicity.
"The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed," he wrote.
