Tag: Attorney General

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 17 October 2023.

Child sex offence cases saw the greatest number of prison sentence increases by the Court of Appeal last year the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has announced.

Figures released as part the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme annual statistics for 2022 show there were 23 child sex offence sentence increases. This was followed by 10 sentences increased for rape offences and 7 for cases involving grievous bodily harm.

Under the ULS scheme, anybody can ask for a Crown Court sentence to be reviewed if they believe it is too low.

However, there is a strict criteria as only certain offences are considered and referrals to AGO must be made within 28 days of the sentence.

In 2022, the Law Officers received 1,179 cases to review and referred 139 cases to the Court of Appeal. In total, 95 cases (68 per cent) saw the sentence increased.

The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said:

Being a victim of crime can leave life-long emotional scars and some of society’s most dangerous offenders – including child sexual predators and violent criminals – saw their sentences increased in 2022.

As the statistics show, the vast majority of offenders are sentenced appropriately. However, the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme provides a vital safeguard to ensure that there is confidence in our sentence regime.

The scheme is a vital pillar of criminal justice and shows there is a robust system to make sure criminals are suitably punished for their actions.”

Other offences which saw sentence increases in 2022 included, kidnapping, robbery, child cruelty and murder.

Semi Lave’s 15-year sentence saw the biggest increase in 2022 when his jail term was extended by nine years, totalling 24 years with a licence extension of six years.

Lave was found to have raped and sexually abused two children between 2015 and 2020. Both children were threatened with violence and were physically abused.

Other cases in 2022 that saw sentence increases after the Law Officers intervened included:

• Convicted child sex offender Lee Gibson saw his prison sentence increased from 16-and-a-half years to 23 years in January 2022. Derby’s Gibson subjected his young victim to a campaign of sexual abuse which began when she was under 13 years of age.
• Former radio DJ, Mark Page, was convicted of trying to arrange sexual encounters with children in the Philippines and had his sentence extended from 12 years to 18 in June 2022.
• Zachary Jagger saw his prison term increase from six years to 13 years, with a licence extension of three years, after he deliberately drove his car into a group of people he had been fighting with after he was refused entry into a party. He left one victim with a double leg fracture.
• Lorna and Chris Dennington were sentenced in 2022 for child cruelty offences. Their campaign of cruelty was conducted over 11 years where victims were physically and emotionally abused. Lorna’s sentence was increased to four years and 10 months’, while Chris was ordered to serve a new sentence of six years.

The press release issued by the Attorney General on 13 October 2023.

Adil Iqbal, 22, from Accrington had his 12-year sentence increased to 15 years after the Solicitor General referred his conviction to the Court of Appeal as being unduly lenient.

The court heard that Iqbal had a history of driving offences, and was previously convicted of driving without insurance and driving while disqualified. He had also been given a warning from police after racing in another vehicle.

On 13 May 2023, Iqbal was driving a BMW at excessive speeds on the M66 heading towards Manchester.

He was travelling at 112mph when he swerved to avoid a collision with another car and ploughed into Frankie Jules-Hough’s car which was stationary on the hard shoulder.

Ms Jules-Hough was 17 weeks pregnant and travelling in the car with her two sons and nephew. She was airlifted to hospital but died two days later having suffered catastrophic injuries. Her unborn baby did not survive the collision.

Two of the children were placed in induced comas and their long-term health and well-being remains uncertain.

Iqbal denied driving at excessive speeds and blamed the loss of control on an issue with his vehicle’s rear tyres. He also refused to provide the PIN to unlock his mobile phone.

However, investigations uncovered that in the moments leading up to the collision, Iqbal was filming himself travelling at speeds between 107 and 123mph.

The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said:

Adil Iqbal’s driving that day ripped apart a young family that had so much to look forward to – not least welcoming a new baby. It is deplorable enough that he was travelling at such excessive speed but endangering lives further by filming himself was simply inexcusable.

I am pleased the court has recognised the severity of his crimes and hope Iqbal’s increased sentence sends a stark warning to people who think it is acceptable to drive at high speeds and put the lives of others in jeopardy. You risk being punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Adil Iqbal was sentenced on 19 July 2023 to 12 years’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 13 years after he was convicted of one count of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

On Friday 13 October 2023, the Court of Appeal increased Adil Iqbal’s sentence to 15 years. The Court also increased the disqualification period to five years with a 10 year extension.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 13 October 2023.

A convicted sex offender has been ordered to spend longer in prison after his case was reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

Michael King (57), from East London, has seen his prison sentence for multiple sexual offences increase to 19 years after the Solicitor General referred his conviction as being unduly lenient.

King was sentenced on 14 July 2023 at St Albans Crown Court to 16 years, plus an extended licence period of 4 years.

He was convicted of having sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, attempted sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, indecency with a child, and indecent assault.

The court heard the offences were committed in the early 1990s when the offender was 25 and the victim was nine or 10.

Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC MP, said:

The offender is a dangerous predator who preyed on a child for his own sexual gratification. I was appalled by this case and the court has rightfully concluded that he should serve longer behind bars.

On Thursday 12 October 2023, the Court of Appeal increased King’s sentence to 19 years after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. His four-year extended license remained unchanged

On 16 May 2023, King was convicted after a trial of seven counts of having sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, contrary to section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956; attempting to commit such an offence; four counts of indecency with a child, contrary to section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960; and three counts of indecent assault, contrary to section 14 of the 1956 Act.

The press release issued by the Attorney General on 6 October 2023.

A drug dealer who sold cocaine worth nearly half-a-million pounds before fleeing to evade arrest has his sentence increased after Court of Appeal intervened.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 22 September 2023.

The Attorney General confirms the requirement not to publish material which could prejudice any potential criminal investigation or prosecutions.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 20 September 2023.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis KC has delivered the UK’s submissions in a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague today.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 14 September 2023.

Stephen Parkinson will be the new Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service the Attorney General has announced today.

Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP selected Mr Parkinson following an open and transparent competition. It is expected that he will take up the appointment from 1 November for an initial term of five years. He will succeed the outgoing DPP, Max Hill KC.

The Attorney General Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP said:

Stephen Parkinson brings a unique combination of legal expertise and public service at the highest levels, demonstrated most recently as Senior Partner at law firm Kingsley Napley LLP, and having spent numerous years in three of the Law Officers’ Departments: the Attorney General’s Office, Treasury Solicitor’s Department and as a prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) itself.

Stephen has had a stellar legal career both in and outside of government as well as experience of both prosecuting and defending. Combining this with his extensive track record of leadership, I have every confidence he will be a collaborative director and a principled and independent chief prosecutor. The public will rightly expect nothing less.

He will build on the achievements of Max Hill to whom I am grateful. The role of DPP requires exceptional qualities of judgement and character. I am looking forward to working with the new Director.

The CPS prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and Wales. The CPS is independent and makes its decisions independently of the police and government.

Mr Parkinson said:

I am delighted and honoured to be appointed as the next Director of Public Prosecutions. Both as a prosecutor and defender I have always strongly believed in the importance of the CPS in bringing to justice and prosecuting fairly those accused of crime.

I would like to pay tribute to the work that Max Hill has done leading the CPS successfully through the challenges of the Pandemic and setting a clear direction for the future. I look forward to building on his legacy.

Note to Editors

• As set out in the Criminal Justice Act 1987, the Attorney General appoints the DPP.
• The current DPP, Max Hill KC, will serve his full five-year term, which is due to end in October 2023.

Stephen Parkinson Biography

Experience

Senior Partner, Kingsley Napley LLP 2018 – 2023

Head of Criminal Litigation Practice Area, Kingsley Napley 2006 – 2018

Deputy Legal Secretary (SCS, Grade 3) 1999 – 2003

Government Legal Department, Group Head, Litigation Division 1996-1999

Department of Trade and Industry – Assistant Solicitor 1992-1996

Crown Prosecution Service – Head of International Co-operation Unit 1991-1992

Education

University College London, LLB 1976 – 1979

Inns of Court School of Law, Barrister 1979 – 1980

Pupillage, 3 Temple Gardens 1980 – 1982

Qualified as Solicitor 2005

Biography

Stephen Parkinson is a practicing lawyer with a long and distinguished career which began in the CPS as a junior Prosecutor.

He has most recently been Senior Partner at law firm Kingsley Napley LLP where he has represented a number of high-profile clients.

His last 20 years as a defence lawyer have built on the skills and experience that he gained from his years working as a prosecutor, and he has developed an extensive practice advising on, or undertaking, investigations for organisations, companies and individuals which will be a strength in his role as DPP.

He accumulated a wealth of experience in Government, including roles in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where he was responsible for most of the Government’s regulatory litigation, and also the Department of Trade and Industry, where he headed a team providing legal advice in live company investigations.

In the CPS, he progressed from junior prosecutor to the head of the International Co-Operation Unit and also spent two periods in the Attorney General’s Office, with his last post being as deputy head of the department.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 11 September 2023.

A man who got behind the wheel with a lethal cocktail of alcohol and drugs in his system before killing a girl he had met on the same night has had his sentence increased.

Keilan Roberts (22), from Rhymney, Caerphilly County, has had his three years and nine months prison sentence overturned by the Court of Appeal and increased to five years and three months after the Solicitor General referred the original sentence as being unduly lenient.

Roberts also saw his driving disqualification increased from 10 years to 12 years and seven-and-a-half months.

The court heard that on the evening of 24 July 2022, Keilan Roberts met Chloe Hayman in a nightclub while on a night out in Pontypridd, Wales.

The pair had been given a lift home by a mutual friend before Keilan Roberts and Chloe Hayman continued their journey in Keilan Roberts’ car.

But as Keilan Roberts approached a cattle grid just outside Fochriw, near Bargoed, Caerphilly, he mounted the kerb and collided with a metal railing and stone wall.  Chloe Hayman sustained grave injuries and died at the scene.

Keilan Robert’s blood sample taken at his arrest showed he had a lethal cocktail of alcohol and drugs in his system.

The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said:

“This was a tragic case where a young person died because of the offender’s careless actions. I want to express my sincere sympathies to Chloe’s family for their loss.

“When you get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence you are not only putting yourself in danger but your passengers and everyone else on the road. The court’s decision to increase the sentence should serve as a strong warning that reckless behaviour will be punished to the full extent of the law.”

Keilan Roberts pleaded guilty to four counts of causing death by careless driving and was sentenced on 6 June 2023 at Newport Crown Court to three years and nine months imprisonment. He also was disqualified from driving for 10 years.

On 8 September 2023, the Court of Appeal increased Keilan Roberts’ sentence after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 7 August 2023.

A woman who permanently blinded a taxi driver in one eye after a frenzied attack with her high heels has been jailed for three years.

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 27 July 2023.

Prosecutors from the North East have been showcasing their expertise securing convictions in complex cases as the Attorney General discovered on a recent visit.