Coalition at war over penal sentences dished out to rioters

CRACKS within the coalition have opened up with a row over the sentences being given to people found guilty of taking part in the riots and looting in English cities.

Liberal Democrat MPs have joined human rights lawyers and penal reform groups in claiming that “some very bad sentences” are undermining the courts and are a disproportionate response to some of the crimes.

But last night the Prime Minister David Cameron supported decisions made by magistrates courts including the controversial four-year prison sentences for two men found guilty of inciting riots which never took place.

Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, appeared at Chester Crown Court after police discovered Facebook pages created by the men which urged rioting in their home towns.

Blackshaw, of Northwich, Cheshire, set up an event entitled “Smash Down North-wich Town”, and Sutcliffe-Keenan, of Warrington, created the page “Let’s Have a Riot in Latchford”.

Neither Blackshaw nor Sutcliffe-Keenan were accused of rioting or looting themselves, yet the pair were given the lengthiest sentences so far in relation to the nationwide disorder for intentionally encouraging others.

Tackling crime has been a major dividing issue between the two coalition partners with the Lib Dems questioning the value of prison and right wing Tory back-benchers concerned that the government is going soft on crime.

Already the reaction to the riots has seen a divergence of opinion in the Cabinet with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg distancing himself from calls for rioters to lose their benefits made by Mr Cameron and his Tory colleagues.

Yesterday, Mr Cameron said: “What happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behaviour and to send a very clear message that it’s wrong and won’t be tolerated is what the criminal justice system should be doing.

“They decided in that court to send a tough sentence, send a tough message and I think it’s very good that courts are able to do that.”

His stance pleased many Tory back-benchers who have been concerned that sentencing policy under Justice Secretary Ken Clarke might lead to prison terms being reduced.

Welsh Tory MP David Davies, a special constable, said: “These people wreaked havoc on our streets and now they are getting what they deserve.”

But Liberal Democrat MPs accused the courts and Mr Cameron of a knee-jerk response to the riots.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes admitted there were “two strands of political opinion” in the coalition and so there were bound to be “different voices” on what response there should be to the riots.

He said: “I hope the courts will look more sympathetically on a youngster who has never had a criminal offence and may have been swept up into the system.”

Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell also took a swipe at Tories who have been demanding tough prison sentences for rioters.

“With all due deference to the Prime Minister, politicians should not be either cheering nor booing in the matter of sentencing,” he said.

“It is an important part of our constitutional principles that political influence is not directed at the judicial system.”

Tom Brake MP, chairman of the Liberal Democrat back-bench home affairs committee, added: “We are putting petty offenders in colleges of crime with no prospect of rehabilitation or re-education.”

Concerns were also expressed by the legal profession and penal reform groups. Leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC warned that judges and magistrates had a duty “not to be influenced by angry Britain”, describing some of the sentences handed down already as “disproportionate and somewhat hysterical”.

Sally Ireland, director of criminal justice policy at the Justice campaign group, said several cases appeared “very much outside the normal range”, adding that giving rioters disproportionate sentences to make an example out of them could “compromise confidence in the justice system”.

The Crown Prosecution Service defended the tough punishments in the Facebook case, saying the web pages caused “significant panic and revulsion” to the people of Cheshire, while Cheshire Assistant Chief Constable Phil Thompson said they sent “a very clear signal in terms of the deterrent effect”.