Criminal Defence

Legal commentators have rightly hailed the announcement of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and...

The new sentencing guideline for young people published recently and due to come into effect on 1 June, introduces a...

The Age of Unreason is upon us. Brexit and the popularity of Trump and May are simply symptoms of a...

Criminal defence practitioners this week will have approached the publishing of the new definitive guideline on reduction in sentence for a guilty plea, which becomes effective in June, with some trepidation. The proposed guidelines released last year for consultation seemed to demonstrate a worryingly prescriptive approach and suggested a significant limiting of reductions in sentence for pleas proffered after the first hearing.

Last night three prisoners were stabbed in Pentonville, one fatally, a tragic reminder that something must be done to address the prevalence of knife crime in the UK. That said, the government proposals for tougher sentencing for knife offences will be ineffective in reducing knife crime and have the potential to inflict serious injustice on society, especially young people. Sentences are already harsh and yet knife crime continues to rise. We need a more meaningful approach which will actually prevent knife crime and save lives.