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A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
'Two teenage boys given custodial sentences after Attorney General intervenes'
Two teenagers responsible for raping two girls, across two separate incidents, and filming the abuse had their sentences increased to four years detention and indefinite restraining orders (preventing them from contacting the victims), after Attorney General Richard Hermer KC referred their case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The third teenagers’ sentence was left unchanged.
The court heard that on 26 November 2024, one victim, a 15-year-old girl was led to an underpass in Fordingbridge, after arranging to meet one of the offenders. Two others attended without her prior knowledge. She was then raped by two of the offenders, while a third watched. The attack was filmed and the footage later shared online. The victim was threatened and told not to report the abuse. All three offenders were convicted of the rape of a second victim, a 14-year-old girl, on 17 January 2025. The attack was again filmed...
On the 2 July 2026, two offenders’ sentences were increased to four years Detention and Training Order with whole life restraining order. The third offender’s sentence was left unchanged...
'Justice for victims as domestic killers to face longer behind bars'
Heinous offenders who kill their partner, or ex, could face an additional 10 years in prison, under a change announced today by the Deputy Prime Minister. Under the current law, most domestic murders have a 15-year sentencing starting point, because they take place in the home with a weapon most likely already at the scene. However, for other murders where a weapon is taken to the scene with intent, the starting point is 25 years. The Government has announced today (30 June) it intends to close this 10-year gap so that domestic murders are dealt with the same severity as other murders - regardless of whether they happen at home or anywhere else...
This change to the law is subject to consultation with the Sentencing Council. This measure will be introduced as soon as possible. Further policy details, including the application to children who murder, will be outlined in due course. The new starting point will apply to future murders after the date of implementation and will not be applied retrospectively...
'Rough sleeping no longer a crime as Vagrancy Act repealed'
The government will repeal the Vagrancy Act tomorrow (Monday 29 June), bringing an end to nearly two centuries of legislation that has criminalised rough sleeping and begging. Originally introduced in 1824, the Vagrancy Act has been found to punish people simply for not having a home. As a result, it has pushed vulnerable people away from support, increased the risk of fines or criminal records and made it harder for people to rebuild their lives. Repealing the Act is a vital step in ending a system that has failed to address the causes of rough sleeping and in shifting the focus towards prevention, support and long-term solutions...
The Vagrancy Act was introduced in 1824 in response to rising homelessness following the Napoleonic Wars and Industrial Revolution. While its use has sharply declined, it is still sometimes used to move people on instead of addressing the root causes of a person’s homelessness... The government will continue to take a tough stance on organised crime. New offences in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will target organised begging gangs, those who exploit others for financial gain, and trespass linked to criminal activity...
'Silk summoned to court for contempt hearing'
A silk accused of misleading the jury and ignoring the judge’s directions during his closing speech has been summoned to a hearing at which the court will decide whether his conduct amounted to contempt of court. Rajiv Menon KC, called in 1993, faces allegations of contempt of court over his closing speech in a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. Menon represented one of six activists accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems Factory, near Bristol, causing an estimated £1m of damage. None of the defendants was convicted. Following a retrial, a jury found four of the defendants, including Menon’s client Charlotte Head, guilty of criminal damage...
In a summons published today and circulated to the press, Mr Justice Nicklin orders Menon to attend the Royal Courts of Justice on 28 July for a hearing before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, sitting as judge of the Crown court at Woolwich. The summons states that evidence ‘raises a prima facie case that the respondent may have acted in contempt of court and that it is in the public interest for contempt proceedings to be instituted by the court’. Menon will be entitled to give evidence at the hearing, which has been listed with an initial time estimate of two days...
Cases
X, Y and Z [2026] EWCA Crim 845
... We have decided that the non-custodial sentences which were imposed by the judge on X and Y were unduly lenient. X was convicted of an offence of rape committed against C1 in the first incident and a further offence of rape against C2 in the second incident. Y was convicted of three offences of rape against each complainant in each incident, six rapes in all. Both X and Y were also to be sentenced for their part in filming these offences. Each incident, involving rape by more than one offender, was extremely serious, but the fact that they repeated their behaviour after the first incident, and did it again to a different person in the second incident, is the crucial feature of their cases. In our judgment, this renders significant sentences of detention unavoidable. The sentences imposed by the judge will be quashed and replaced by sentences of 4 years’ detention under section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020, concurrently on each count of rape, with no separate penalty in respect of the production of indecent images of children...
Z was involved only in the second incident and was convicted of one offence of rape by encouraging Y to commit the offence against C2. He is younger than X and Y. We decided that in his case the judge’s sentence was not unduly lenient and dismissed the Attorney General’s application in his case...
Other
'Bar Council recommends increasing the minimum age of criminal responsibility'
At the start of 2026, the new Chair of the Bar Council, Kirsty Brimelow KC, set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. Kirsty said that children in the justice system would be a high priority this year and in her inaugural speech to the Bar she said: “The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old. It is the lowest in Europe. I have set up a working group to analyse the increasing of that age. We are rightly concerned about crime, victims and public safety. But the question is not 'how do we punish' but 'how do we prevent a lifetime in the criminal justice system?'” Today the Bar Council has launched its new report: Reviewing the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The report recommends the current threshold should change from age 10 to 14...