A DISTRICT MP is urging the Government to “put victims of crime first”.
Philip Davies – Tory MP for the Shipley constituency, which includes Cullingworth and Denholme – is calling for an extension to a scheme which allows victims to challenge what are deemed unduly lenient sentences.
He said the measure, introduced in 1988, currently only applied to the most serious offences.
“It has been a long-standing promise of this Government to extend the scheme but apart from a bit of tinkering it basically has done very little,” Mr Davies added.
“I urge the Solicitor General to get on with it so we can have appropriate sentences, which is good for victims but also for restoring people’s faith in the criminal justice system.”
Solicitor General Lucy Frazer said that since the scheme’s inception, it had been extended considerably. “The increase in the number of offences covered is more than just tinkering,” she said.
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