UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants

Both the Labour government and the opposition Conservatives oppose the guidance, due to have come into force on Tuesday, which Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said "risks undermining public confidence in the justice system". Issued by the Sentencing Council -- an independent yet unelected body -- the guidance would require a pre-sentence report examining a defendant's circumstances before handing down punishment to someone who belongs to an ethnic, cultural or religious minority. Introducing the bill in parliament...