Ministry of Justice Spin on Two-Tier Bail Guidance Doesn’t Add Up – Guido Fawkes

Ministry of Justice Spin on Two-Tier Bail Guidance Doesn’t Add Up

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Last night The Telegraph reported on two additional pieces of highly suspect 2025 guidance in the justice system, this time from the Probation Service:

1. HM Prison and Probation Service’s guidance for issuing bail says: “cases should be prioritised for defendants who may be at a disproportionately higher risk of being remanded into custody or where complex needs are identified that indicate additional support for the bail process might be beneficial.” Here the “key criteria” includes “defendants from ethnic minorities” as well as “vulnerable” defendants like people with mental health conditions. Someone sound the two-tier alarm...
2. The Probation Service’s guidelines for issuing pre-sentence reports, which they write, states that it is “vital that the pre-sentence report assessment considers the defendant’s background and culture and whether they have experienced trauma from experiences of racism or discrimination.” This apparently can be “inter-generational” trauma or from “historical” events: “Trauma may have been experienced personally, by those known to the defendant, inter-generationally and relayed to the defendant, or as a result of important historical events which may have had a greater impact on those from specific groups and cultures.” Guido would like to declare his trauma from the events of 31 January 1606 at Old Palace Yard in Westminster…

The Ministry of Justice’s official response to that is to say: “These guidelines were first brought in under the last government. This Government will ensure equality in the courts.” Meanwhile on the guidance Labour “pointed to its origins under the Tories in 2016.” Neither bit of spin adds up…

There is no mention of trauma from racism or discrimination in the previous Probation Service pre-sentencing report guidance from 2021 or 2016. Neither is there mention of the need to take into account the “culture” of the offender. Not the ‘last government,’ then…

Guidance for issuing bail to minorities also pre-dates the last government. As early as 2007 bail guidance was set out in New Labour’s “Bail Information Scheme” to “prioritise women, BME and vulnerable prisoners.” Not the ‘last government,’ then…

Labour’s spin operation is clearly running a little loose as it becomes increasingly clear that on its watch two-tier justice is advancing in earnest. At midnight tonight those new Sentencing Council rules come into effect unimpeded by the government…