A Labour MP has called for the Sentencing Council to be abolished, arguing the quango is out of step with Brits in a row over “two-tier justice”. Jonathan Brash, who represents Hartlepool, slammed the Council for ignoring Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who urged it to change new sentencing guidelines. In a post on X, Mr Brash wrote simply: “Abolish the Sentencing Council”.

He went on to tell The Telegraph: “It is a question of democracy. Clearly, the decision of the Sentencing Council is completely out of step with the British people and with what elected politicians think. For the council to say they are not interested in what the Justice Secretary has to say is unacceptable.”

Mr Brash added there was a more fundamental question about who decides on behalf of the British people about how the country is run. He said the country can’t persist with a system where the Council pushes forward guidelines that the democratically elected government doesn’t agree with.

His comments came after the Council published new principles for courts to follow when imposing community and custodial sentences, including whether to suspend jail time.

The updated guidance is due to come into force from April 1. It says a pre-sentence report will usually be necessary before handing out punishment for someone of an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.

Critics fear the change could discriminate against those who do not fit into these groups.

Justice Secretary Ms Mahmood met Council chairman Lord Justice William Davis and set out in a letter that Government policy opposes “differential treatment” based on race or ethnicity in the courts.

But in correspondence published on Friday (March 28), Lord Justice Davis said the Council has concluded the guidance does not require revision, leading to claims the Labour Government had been humiliated.

He said the Council agreed any systemic issue relating to ethnic groups was a matter for policy, adding: “Any judge or magistrate required to sentence an offender must do all that they can to avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity.

“The judge will be better equipped to do that if they have as much information as possible about the offender. The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed.”

The Council itself is a non-departmental public body which develops sentencing guidelines, monitors their use and reviews sentencing decisions.

Undettered, Ms Mahmood has warned “all options are on the table” to alter the guidance, after the Council refused her request to do so.

Former Conservative justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland questioned the need for a change, telling the BBC on Saturday: “I sat in the hot-seat as a part-time Crown Court judge – the pre-sentence report is an incredibly useful resource.

“As Lord Chancellor, I was very supportive of its use. I just don’t see what the fuss is about here and I’m rather concerned that the megaphone diplomacy that I’m seeing being deployed by the Lord Chancellor (Ms Mahmood) isn’t helping the situation one iota.”

Sir Robert was also asked what he thought of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, who accused the Government of presiding over a two-tier justice system.

He said: “Well, look, I’ve never agreed with this perception that the Prime Minister or anybody is presiding over a two-tier system, we are all equal before the law.”

Labour peer Lord Charlie Falconer said he agreed with Ms Mahmood the Council was wrong, as the new guidance “gives the impression of an unfair system”.

He cautioned the Government against threatening to change the law in order to bypass the quango.