Appointments announced to Sentencing Council

The Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, and Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, today announced the appointment of the new members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, the independent body being set up to support greater consistency in sentencing.

The Council will be established on 6 April, streamlining the development of guidelines previously undertaken by the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Advisory Panel.

The Council will be chaired by Lord Justice Leveson. The seven other judicial members of the Sentencing Council are:

• The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hughes - Deputy Chairman
• The Honourable Mrs Justice Rafferty, DBE
• The Honourable Mr Justice Treacy
• His Honour Judge McCreath QC
• His Honour Judge Globe QC
• District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) Anne Arnold
• Katharine Rainsford JP

The six non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council are:

• John Crawforth OBE, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Probation Trust
• Siobhain Egan, consultant solicitor
• Tim Godwin OBE QPM, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
• Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Victim Support
• Julian Roberts, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford
• Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:

“It is fundamental to our criminal justice system that decisions on sentencing in individual court cases must be a matter for the independent judiciary. The Sentencing Council will ensure greater consistency by enabling the Courts to approach sentencing in similar cases from a common starting point, and will make the process clearer to the public.

“This important work is in the best interests of justice and the public. I welcome the concentration of expertise that the members of the Council will bring to this from their distinguished backgrounds, both in the judiciary and in other essential criminal justice disciplines.”

The Lord Chief Justice said:

“The Sentencing Council will contribute to consistency of approach to sentencing throughout England and Wales, as well as to the improved public awareness of and confidence in sentencing practice.

“I am grateful to the members of the Sentencing Council for accepting this responsibility.”

Lord Justice Leveson, Chairman of the new Sentencing Council, said:

“I am delighted that the Sentencing Council has attracted members with such a wide range of experience and expertise from across the criminal justice system. I am confident that the appointments made today will enable us to deliver the significant remit of the Sentencing Council.

“As a Council, we are keen to focus not only on developing and monitoring the effect and impact of sentencing guidelines, but also on raising public awareness of the practice and realities of sentencing. I have no doubt that this can help to increase public confidence in the criminal justice system.”

Courts will be required to follow the Council’s guidelines unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. In these cases the Court will be required to explain its reasoning.

In developing and reviewing its guidelines the Council will have regard to:

• current sentencing practice,
• the need to promote consistency in sentencing,
• the impact of sentencing decisions on victims,
• the need to promote public confidence in the criminal justice system,
• the cost of different sentences, and their relative effectiveness in preventing re-offending,
• its monitoring of the effect of its guidelines.

The Council will also publish information on sentencing practice in each local justice area and Crown Court.

Other responsibilities will include assessing the impact of sentencing and other factors on the resources needed for the provision of prison, probation and youth justice services. When requested, the Council will assess the impact of policy and legislation proposals.

The Council will make an annual report to the Lord Chancellor.

ends

Notes to Editors

1. Please see Judicial Members for biographical summaries for further information on the judicial and non judicial members of the Sentencing Council.
2. The Sentencing Council is created by Part 4 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which also introduces the requirement on courts to follow guidelines unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
3. The Lord Chief Justice will be the President of the Council and is entitled to attend meetings, but will not be a member of the Council.
4. The Lord Chancellor will also appoint a representative with experience of sentencing policy who has a right to attend and speak at meetings of the Council.
5. The non-judicial appointments to the Council are public appointments. All such appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for such appointees' political activity (if any declared) to be made public. No political activity has been declared. John Crawforth currently holds a public appointment as a member of the Sentencing Advisory Panel.
6. For more information please contact the Ministry of Justice press office on 020 3334 3536.

The Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson

Lord Justice Leveson has been appointed as Chairman of the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. Most recently he has held the position of Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales for the three year term until December 2009. Lord Justice Leveson was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1970. He practised on the Northern Circuit from Chambers in Liverpool, across the full range of common law work, crime, personal injury and commercial work. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1986, and was a Recorder and a Deputy High Court Judge. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division, in 2000, and served as a Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit. In 2005 he was appointed to the new position of Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, and in 2006 as a Lord Justice of Appeal. He is an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford and has received an Honorary Ll.D. from the University of Liverpool.

The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hughes

Lord Justice Hughes has been appointed as deputy Chairman of the Sentencing Council. Lord Justice Hughes was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1970; his principal chambers were in Birmingham, practising a mix of common law, crime and family. He was a Crown Court Recorder from 1988 to 1997 and Head of No.1 Fountain Court Chambers, Birmingham. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. From 1997 to 2003, he was a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Family Division. He served as Presiding Judge on the Midland circuit from 2000 to 2003, and then transferred to the Queen's Bench Division. In 2000 he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Midland Circuit and in 2006 was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal and is currently the Vice President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal.

The Honourable Mrs Justice Rafferty, DBE

Mrs Justice Rafferty was called to the bar by Gray’s Inn in 1973. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1990 and a Recorder in 1991. In 1996 she was appointed Deputy High Court Judge and was Head of Chambers at 4 Brick Lane. She was the first woman to be made Vice-Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association and then Chairman and was also the first female Chairman of the Bar Conference. In 2000 she became a High Court Judge and between 2003 and 2006 was Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit. In July 2005 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws conferred from the University of Sheffield and is a Dame of the British Empire.

The Honourable Mr Justice Treacy

Mr Justice Treacy was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1971. He practised from chambers in Birmingham and was Head of Chambers from 1994 to 2000. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1990, a Recorder in 1991 and to the High Court Bench in 2002. He was Presiding Judge on the Midland Circuit from 2006 to 2009. As a High Court Judge he has sat in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division, the Divisional Court, the Queen’s Bench Division, and the Administrative Court and is a Visitor to the Inns of Court. He is currently sitting on the first non-jury trial in the UK at the Central Criminal Court.

His Honour Judge McCreath

His Honour Judge McCreath was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1972. He practiced from chambers in Birmingham. He was appointed an Assistant Recorder in 1986, a Recorder in 1990 and a Circuit Judge in 1996, sitting at Birmingham Crown Court. He became Resident Judge at Worcester Crown Court in April 2006 and in 2007 became Honorary Recorder of Worcester. He was a Tutor Judge and Deputy Course Director for JSB Criminal Induction Seminars from 1998 to 2007, since when he has been Course Director for Criminal Continuation. He has also been Course Director for Long and Complex Cases.

His Honour Judge Globe QC

His Honour Judge Globe QC was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1972. He practised on the Northern Circuit between 1972 and 2003 and was joint Head of Chambers of Exchange Chambers from 2000 to 2003. He has been Standing Counsel to the DSS and to HMCE. He became a Recorder in 1991 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994. He was appointed as a Senior Circuit Judge for crime and became Resident Judge at Liverpool Combined Court and the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool in October 2003. He has been a member of the Judicial Studies Board Criminal Committee and has been Course Director for the Judicial Studies Board for Murder and Manslaughter cases and for Serious Fraud cases. He has been a judicial member of the Criminal Justice Council.

Judge Arnold was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1981. She was appointed as a Stipendiary Magistrate (now District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts)) for the East and West Sussex Commission areas in 1999 based at Brighton Magistrates’ Court. Since 2006 she has been the Resident DJ(MC) at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court. She was appointed a Recorder assigned to the Western Circuit in 2005. She is a member of the Judicial Studies Board DJ (MC) Continuation Training Tutor Team and serves on the Legal Committee of the Council of Her Majesty’s DJs(MC). Prior to her appointment as a Judge she was employed as Director of Legal Services for the Dorset Magistrates’ Courts.

Katharine Rainsford JP

Katharine Rainsford has been a Magistrate on the West Hertfordshire Bench since 1987 and was Chair of the Bench from 2004 to 2007. She is currently Vice Chairman of the Family Panel and has been Bench Training and Development Committee Chairman. Katharine also works for the Judicial Studies Board where she is in her third year as director of the National Bench Chairman’s course. By profession Katharine is an internationally published historical novelist (writing under the name of Katharine McMahon). She has published seven books, including the The Crimson Rooms and best-seller The Rose of Sebastopol which wasshortlisted for the Best Read Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards. She is an advisory fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and teaches and mentors creative writers.

John Crawforth has been the Chief Officer for Greater Manchester Probation Area since March 2005, becoming the first Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Probation Trust in April 2009. Prior to this he was Chief Officer for the Lancashire Probation Area from 1994. John began his probation career in Greater Manchester in 1974 as a probation officer, working in Bury, and then as a probation manager in inner-city Manchester and Salford. He is a graduate of Leeds, Nottingham and Cambridge Universities with a M.Phil in Criminology. His special interests include sentencing and the courts, promoting safer communities and working to develop successful rehabilitation programmes for offenders in prison and on release. John was formerly Chair of the Lancashire Criminal Justice Board and has played a key role there and in Greater Manchester in improving public confidence in the criminal justice system. John was awarded an OBE in June 2008 for public and voluntary service.

Siobhain Egan

Siobhain Egan is a consultant solicitor specialising in defending allegations concerning fraud, serious organised crime, money laundering and regulatory offences. She qualified as a criminal defence barrister in 1989, transferring in 1993 to become a solicitor. She was appointed by the Legal Services Commission to sit on the Very High Costs Cases Appeal Committee. Siobhain was The Times Lawyer of the Week in June 2003 as a result of her work on the Beckham kidnapping case, and from 2005 to 2008 has been cited in both the Legal 500 and the Chambers Legal Directory. Siobhain has also assisted the BBC and Granada TV with a number of documentaries on criminal justice issues and in 2009 she collaborated with The Independent and The Guardian on articles focusing on criminal legal issues.

Tim Godwin OBE QPM

Tim Godwin has been the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police since December 2008 and has chaired the London Criminal Justice Partnership since April 2006. On leaving school, he spent six years in the Merchant Navy, where he achieved the rank of second mate, before joining Sussex Police in 1981 where he served until joining the Metropolitan Police in 1999. On behalf of ACPO, he is responsible for Criminal Justice. Tim has a degree in Public Sector Police Studies from the University of Portsmouth and a Diploma in Applied Criminology from Cambridge University. In 1991 Tim received the Royal Humane Society Testimonial for rescuing a man from a high bridge over a railway line and he received the National Prize for Public Management Leadership in 1998 by the Office of Public Management. Tim was awarded an OBE in 2003 and the Queens Policing Medal (QPM) in 2009.

Gillian Guy has been the Chief Executive of Victim Support since 2006. She has been instrumental in developing new and improved services for victims and led a major programme of change and development which included creating a single national charity for England and Wales out of the former national federation of around 80 individual charities. Gillian is the lead member of the Executive Management Team, who are together responsible for the day-to-day leadership and running of the charity. Gillian trained as a lawyer and she was Chief Executive at the London Borough of Ealing for 11 years.

Julian Roberts

Julian Roberts is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Worcester College. His research interests include sentencing, public opinion about crime and criminal justice, and victims and the criminal justice system. He holds a doctorate in Experimental Psychology and is currently the Editor of the European Journal of Criminology. His books include "Punishing Persistent Offenders"; "Public Opinion, Crime and Criminal Justice", and "Hearing the Victim".

Keir Starmer QC

Keir Starmer is the director of public prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. He was called to the Bar in 1987 and appointed Queen Counsel in 2002, specialising in human rights, international and criminal law. He has conducted cases before the House of Lords, the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Keir was appointed an adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in 2003, and was joint head of Doughty Street Chambers before being appointed as the director of public prosecutions in November 2008.