JUST one in five soft prison sentences sent for review made it to the top court so judges could consider toughening them, research has found.
The Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme has seen a huge drop in the number of cases reconsidered.
Last year only 18 per cent of the 713 considered eligible by the Attorney General went back to the Court of Appeal.
That is compared to 24 per cent in 2021 and 29 per cent between 2015 and 2018.
The analysis was from Labour.
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The party’s Shadow Attorney General, Emily Thornberry, said: “The British people are crying out for a tougher response to crime, but the government either won’t listen or won’t act.”
It comes as Dominic Raab said sick killers could be forced to court to hear their fate, or get longer sentences.
The Justice Secretary spoke after meeting the family of Zara Aleena, whose killer Jordan McSweeney refused to appear for his sentencing.
Mr Raab said: “Defendants who hide from justice can prolong the suffering of victims.
“That is why we are looking carefully at changing the law to compel offenders to attend their sentencing.”
A Tory source said: “It’s scary to think that under a Labour government, these decisions would be made by the Shadow Attorney General who was just this week arguing for Shamima Begum to be brought back to Britain.”
