Judges given new powers to punish sentencing no-shows
Judges in England and Wales can impose extra punishments, including up to three weeks in cells and loss of privileges, on criminals who refuse to attend sentencing, with the changes due next year.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Judges in England and Wales are being given new powers to punish criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearings, including serious offenders already facing life sentences. The measures were laid before Parliament and are expected to come into effect next year.
Under the plans, a judge can confine an offender to a cell for up to three weeks, remove prison privileges for up to 84 days, and restrict social visits for nearly a month. For some prisoners, visits could be limited to once every four weeks for an 84-day period. Younger offenders will face slightly less severe restrictions. Crown Court judges will use their discretion, normally in serious cases such as murder or manslaughter.
The changes build on legislation introduced in April, which allowed judges to add up to two years to a sentence or impose a fine when an offender refused to attend. Ministers judged that measure insufficient as a deterrent for people already facing long or life sentences, because a short extra term may mean little to them.
The move follows years of campaigning by victims' families. Zara Aleena, a 35-year-old law graduate, was sexually assaulted and murdered as she walked home from a night out in 2022. Her killer, Jordan McSweeney, refused to leave his cell for sentencing. Her family said the refusal added to their grief and left the justice process incomplete. Her aunt, Farah Naz, said the family wanted him to hear the sentence, face the consequences of his actions and hear what he had done to Zara and to them.
Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead at her home in Liverpool in 2022 by drug dealer Thomas Cashman, who refused to come into the dock for sentencing. Her family welcomed the new restrictions but said they were extremely disappointed by how long the changes had taken and described previous promises as broken. Other cases were also cited: Kyle Clifford, who killed three members of the Hunt family, Lucy Letby, and Zahid Younis, who murdered Jan Mustafa and refused to hear his sentence.
Ministers said the powers would ensure criminals cannot pick and choose when they face justice. One government voice said the justice system had for too long been weighted towards perpetrators rather than victims. The Conservatives called the measures only a small step in the right direction.
Some campaigners said the sanctions did not go far enough because they do not force defendants into the dock. Jan Mustafa's cousin said the family would have wanted the killer dragged into court and argued that losing privileges for a few months would not trouble someone already facing decades in prison. A charity also warned that the first weeks in custody are a period of increased risk of self-harm and self-inflicted death, so sanctions imposed on people entering prison need careful handling.
Because the law was passed in April and the latest measures still need an implementation period, the new sanctions are not expected to apply until early next year.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 5 or more of 6 channels | ||||||
| Judges in England and Wales are gaining new powers to punish offenders who refuse to appear for sentencing, with sanctions including cell confinement for up to three weeks, loss of prison privileges for almost three months, and restrictions on social visits. | ||||||
| Reported by a few · 2–4 channels | ||||||
| An earlier law in April already allowed judges to add up to two years to sentences or impose a fine for non-attendance, but the government said this did not deter offenders already facing long sentences. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |||
| The measures were presented to Parliament and were due to take effect around early next year, after an implementation period. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |||
| Only on one channel | ||||||
| New powers will allow judges in England and Wales to punish offenders who refuse to face victims' families in court at sentencing. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Conservatives described the measures as only a small step in the right direction. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The family of Olivia Pratt-Korbel welcomed the proposed measures but expressed strong disappointment at the time taken. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The measures followed years of campaigning by families including Zara Aleena's and Olivia Pratt-Korbel's. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News led with the government announcement and built the report around Zara Aleena's family, then Olivia Pratt-Korbel. It explained the sanctions in detail and gave the government's rationale, without the later family criticism about delay. The tone was straight news, with the victims' account used to justify the change.
- “Judges in England and Wales are getting new powers to punish criminals who refuse to face their victims' families when they're sentenced, including blocking prison visits and keeping them locked in their cells.”
- “Under the new powers prisoners could face, being confined to their cell for up to three weeks, loss of prison privileges for almost three months, and restrictions on social visits.”
- “The government says that the new powers will ensure that criminals should not be able to pick and choose when they face justice.”
Sky News treated the story as a live Westminster explainer, setting out why ministers think earlier sentence extensions were not a strong enough deterrent. It used the phrase solitary confinement and stressed the implementation delay until early next year. It also included a victim family's reaction, but kept the focus on how the sanctions are meant to compel attendance.
- “This is supposed to be about tougher sanctions.”
- “They don't get to pick and choose justice and they don't get to avoid turning up to their sentencing hearing and facing their victims' families.”
- “these newer reforms that are being introduced today still won't come in until around about early next year”
Channel 4 gave the story a short summary read, with no case detail or family reaction. It focused on the basic mechanics: wider judicial powers, cell confinement for weeks and blocked prison visits. The item was brief and sat among unrelated business and foreign news.
- “Criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing could lose prison privileges under new rules giving wider powers to judges in England and Wales.”
- “Judges would be able to confine prisoners to cells for weeks and block them from prison visits for refusing to face their victims or their victims' families in court.”
BBC ONE West carried the same correspondent package as the national BBC bulletin, centred on Zara Aleena and Olivia Pratt-Korbel. It set out the new punishments and the expected start date in a straightforward report. It did not include the families' complaints about the time taken to act.
- “Judges in England and Wales are to be given new powers to punish criminals who refuse to attend court for sentencing.”
- “Punishments could include blocking visits, loss of privileges, and staying locked in their cells for longer.”
- “The move follows a series of high-profile cases where killers have refused to face their victims' families.”
ITV1 gave the story prominent treatment across lunchtime and evening bulletins. Its evening report led on Olivia Pratt-Korbel's family, who said they were extremely disappointed by the delay and that the measures did not go far enough. ITV1 also added a charity warning about self-harm risk for newly arrived prisoners, making its coverage more critical than the BBC's.
- “The family of a nine-year-old girl who was shot dead on the doorstep of her Liverpool home have told ITV News they're extremely disappointed at government plans to force killers to appear in court for sentencing.”
- “I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. It's the audacity of it. We do welcome the restrictions, but at the same time, it's the length of time that it's taken.”
- “We know that the first few weeks in custody is a period of increased risk for people in terms of self-inflicted death and also self-harm as well.”
5 News framed the story around grieving families and listed several high-profile killers who skipped sentencing. It gave the detailed sanctions but also gave space to a victim's relative who said the measures fall short because defendants are not forced into the dock. The tone was sympathetic to families and sceptical about whether lost privileges would deter long-term prisoners.
- “it's the ultimate insult for grieving families”
- “I think me and my family would have loved to see him be forcefully dragged into the doc.”
- “So sanctions are not enough. This is afterwards, isn't it? No, it's not enough.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.