Climbdown Over Two-Tier Justice as Sentencing Rule Change Is Put On Ice Amid Ministers’ Fight to Block the Policy

New two-tier sentencing rules were suspended last night just hours before they were due to come into force.

In a last-minute climbdown the Sentencing Council agreed to postpone the introduction of guidance which critics said would discriminate against white men.

The move came after Cabinet infighting delayed new legislation designed to block the introduction of the controversial new policy.

Officials warned the delay would have left judges having to apply the new guidelines while parliament was debating their abolition.

The Sentencing Council last night insisted the controversial changes remain ‘necessary and appropriate’.

But, in a surprise move, the quango agreed to suspend the introduction while parliament considers the new legislation, which is set to be published today.

The new guidance said judges should commission pre-sentence reports for offenders from certain minority groups to examine their background and circumstances. Critics warned that the plan could see criminals from minority groups given lighter sentences.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who launched legal action against the quango, said it appeared to have bowed to pressure and plans ‘would have discriminated against men, white people, Christians’.

Ministers reacted with relief after the Sentencing Council agreed to back down. Earlier, a Ministry of Justice source warned there was ‘no world in which those guidelines don’t come into effect’ on April 1.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will publish new legislation today designed to prevent the guidance ever coming into force.

Ministers had planned to use emergency procedures which can allow legislation to be passed in a day in certain circumstances.

But Whitehall sources said the move was opposed by Commons leader Lucy Powell and Lords leader Baroness Smith. The new law is not now expected to come into force until after Easter at the earliest.

Allies of Ms Mahmood also blamed the Whitehall ‘Blob’ for frustrating progress on the issue. One said: ‘I don’t entirely understand why we can’t just fire anyone who gets in the way.’

Ms Mahmood wrote to the Sentencing Council asking it to ditch guidance which she said ‘amounts to differential treatment’.

But the body refused, with chairman Lord Justice Davis responding last week that the council had decided the guidelines ‘did not require revision’.

In a statement last night Ms Mahmood welcomed the change of heart but vowed to press ahead with a change in the law.

She said: ‘These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion.

‘This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts.’

However, the bruising episode could still see ministers axe the quango amid concerns it has overstepped its purpose. The Prime Minister yesterday said he had been ‘very disappointed’ by the organisation’s response to concerns raised by ministers.