Tories condemn 'moral rot' of Labour's plan to give rapists and paedophiles shorter jail sentences, as they launch bid to reverse Shabana Mahmood's soft justice masterplan
The Conservatives are launching a bid to overturn the worst excesses of Labour’s soft justice masterplan.
Shadow ministers will force a vote on changes to the Government’s Sentencing Bill to prevent thousands of rapists and paedophiles being freed early.
The Bill, which enters committee stage in the Commons on Tuesday, will allow six out of 10 jailed rapists – more than 600 a year - to be freed at the halfway point of their jail term, according to a Tory analysis of sentencing data.
It will also see more than 2,100 paedophiles jailed each year have their jail time cut by up to a third, the analysis said.
The Bill was the brainchild of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood when she was in charge of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
She vowed to Labour supporters last month that she would be a ‘tough’ home secretary – despite her track record at the MoJ, where she released 26,000 criminals from jail early under crisis measures to free up space.
Shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan MP has tabled amendments to the Bill which would exclude serious crimes from Labour’s sentence discounts.
If passed, the move would prevent discounts being introduced for offences such as rape, all child sex offences including grooming and child pornography, grievous bodily harm, stalking and causing death by dangerous driving.
However, the Tories’ measures are almost certain to be voted down under Labour’s Commons majority.
Shabana Mahmood pledged to be a 'tough' home secretary at Labour party conference in Liverpool at the end of last month, despite her record at the Ministry of Justice
Dr Mullan said: ‘Labour’s early release plan is a betrayal of victims and a gift to rapists and paedophiles.
‘Keir Starmer is putting criminals before communities and letting predators out early.
‘Under Labour’s plans, thousands of the most serious would no longer be treated as such, an insult to thousands of victims across the country.’
He went on: ‘Anyone who votes for these plans will have to explain exactly why these crimes do not count among the most serious offences.
‘The Conservatives will fight this moral rot every step of the way.’
Labour’s early release measures will apply ‘regardless of the release regime applicable at the time of sentence’, according to official papers published alongside the Bill.
Thousands of sex offenders a year will get out of jail earlier under Labour's planned law changes
It means Justice Secretary David Lammy could decide to grant early release to criminals who have already been sentenced, the Tories said.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘This Bill rewards some of the most despicable people in our country.
‘There is no two ways about this: slashing prison sentences for the most serious criminals will mean more rapes, abuse and violence on our streets.
Justice Secretary David Lammy is now overseeing the Bill introduced by Shabana Mahmood earlier this year
‘To add insult to injury, Labour are going to let existing criminals out from prison even earlier.
‘Thousands of hardened criminals won’t believe their luck if this Bill passes.’
Under Labour’s reforms most criminals will be freed after serving one third of the jail sentence handed down by the courts. More serious offenders who currently serve two-thirds of their sentence will normally be freed at the halfway point.
The Bill will also scrap the vast majority of jail sentences of under 12 months, allowing criminals such as shoplifters to walk free.
Junior justice minister Jake Richards said: ‘The Conservatives’ rank hypocrisy is shameful. They built this crisis, then feigned outrage when the consequences arrived.
‘They took our prisons to breaking point, released thousands of serious offenders early, and pushed Britain to the brink of a situation where police could no longer make arrests and courts could no longer prosecute.
‘That would have been a total collapse of law and order.
‘Now they attack us for cleaning up the mess they made.’
He added: ‘This Labour Government believes in prison and in punishment that cuts crime.
‘We’re delivering the biggest prison expansion since the Victorians, reforming sentencing to keep the public safe, and rebuilding a justice system worthy of the name.’
