Former Tory minister David Gauke to lead prison sentencing review


David Gauke has been appointed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to lead a review of prison sentencing, according to the BBC. The Labour Party promised in its general election manifesto to establish a review of sentencing to bring it up to date. Gauke was the frontrunner to lead the review, according to earlier reports. The Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce Gauke’s appointment on Tuesday.

Gauke, a former Conservative Party member and justice secretary under the leadership of Theresa May from January 2018 to July 2019, left the party over Brexit and stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in the 2019 general election. He then later rejoined the party. He has suggested in the past that jail terms of fewer than six months should be removed.

The review will also consider toughening up community orders as an alternative to jail, according to sources. Community orders can require a person to participate in rehabilitation programmes, or carry out unpaid work in the local area such as removing graffiti. Community orders may also come with restrictions on the person’s movements. The review is also expected to consider the use of technology such as sobriety tags to monitor the alcohol use of criminals at home.

The review will deliver its recommendations in the spring. The government has had to deal with severe overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales since it came to power in July. One of Labour’s first acts after winning the election was to implement an early release scheme previously created by the previous government. Under the scheme, prisoners can be released if they have served 40% of their sentence, instead of the previous 50%. The government has said that prisoners convicted of violent or sexual offences or of domestic abuse are not eligible for early release. The scheme will be reviewed in 18 months

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