Crime sentencing reform plan shelved

London Evening Standard/London

Kenneth Clarke: plans postponed

Kenneth Clarke has been forced to shelve his plans to halve jail terms for rapists and violent offenders who plead guilty, following a storm of protest.In the wake of controversy over the justice secretary’s remarks on rape, government sources revealed that a sentencing shake-up expected to be unveiled next Tuesday had been postponed on the orders of Number 10.In an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time, broadcast from Wormwood Scrubs prison, Clarke finally offered an unequivocal apology after suggesting that not all rapes were “serious”.He said he was sorry that he had “phrased it very, very badly”, adding: “I am not going to deny that the reaction made it quite obvious that I should not have phrased it that way.” But earlier, Clarke had mounted a strong defence of the idea of increasing discounts on sentences from 33% to 50% for offenders who spare victims the ordeal of a court case by admitting their guilt at an early stage.His plans were even attacked as too soft by Left-wing LibDems, and one senior Downing Street source said it was inconceivable they would go ahead as expected.Gabrielle Browne, 45, a rape victim who wept as she confronted Clarke over his proposals on a radio phone-in, said: “The problem with giving somebody a 50% reduction for an early guilty plea is it doesn’t lessen the crime they have perpetrated by 50%.”The final nail in the coffin of Clarke’s proposal came from the Association of Chief Police Officers, which said the level of discounts given to offenders who plead guilty early to the most serious crimes should not be the same as for those who admit less serious offences.On Question Time, Clarke admitted his comments about the differences between “proper” or “classic” rapes and others had “obviously upset a lot of people”.