Patrick Torsney
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|  | [VIDEO] Clarke in the news again 8 June 2011
« Thread Started on Jun 8, 2011, 9:25am » | |
The Prime Minister has allegedly told the Justice Secretary to scrap proposals to offer criminals a 50% sentence reduction after a public outcry over the proposal
Following report from Sky News:
David Cameron has reportedly sent Kenneth Clarke back to the drawing board over the reforms in a bid to reimpose the Tories' law and order standing
Mr Clarke's proposal - one of a series of sentencing alterations - was unpopular with Conservative colleagues and viewed as a vote loser
A Downing Street source told Sky News: "We're not commenting. You'll have to wait for the announcement which will be made in due course."
A separate source added: "You can't u-turn on a policy that hasn't been announced yet."
Mr Clarke will now have to come up with £100m of savings elsewhere from his budget but has already begun to make record cuts in legal aid as part of large cuts to Ministry of Justice spending
The issue of sentencing has recently proved to be a thorny one for the front bencher
Last month he came under pressure from Downing Street to clarify claims some rapes were more "serious" than others amid Labour calls for his resignation
Mr Clarke sparked an outcry while defending the Government proposals to halve the sentences of some rapists if they made early guilty pleas
He angrily rejected reports that sex attackers could face just 15 months behind bars as a result - insisting "classic" rapes involving violence and unwilling women resulted in longer sentences
Less clear-cut "date rapes" and consensual sex between teens, one of whom was under age, skewed average sentencing figures, he insisted
Labour leader Ed Miliband seized on his remarks demanding his sacking
Mr Clarke was later forced to make a public declaration that he regarded "all rape as a serious crime"
He also said "sorry" to a sexual assault victim who broke down in tears as she challenged him during a radio phone-in about the half-jail terms
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The consultation on the Green Paper has now closed and we are compiling our response, which we expect to publish in the next few weeks
"We do not give a running commentary on discussions and meetings between ministers."
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