England: Offenders who refuse to attend sentencing risk longer jail terms and cell confinement

The measures – to be introduced in the UK government’s Victims and Courts Bill – follow a series of high-profile cases in which convicted offenders have declined to attend hearings at which victims or their families delivered statements.

The legislation will extend the sanctions to all Crown Court cases, empowering judges to impose further custodial time as well as disciplinary measures including segregation and the removal of privileges such as access to prison gyms.

Judges will also be permitted to penalise offenders who, having been ordered to attend court, are removed for disruptive or contemptuous behaviour.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to support the change, originally promised by Rishi Sunak, after meeting Cheryl Korbel, the mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. Ms Korbel and her family have led calls for a legal duty compelling offenders to face sentencing hearings.

Thomas Cashman, who murdered Olivia in August 2022, did not appear in court to hear his life sentence the following April. In March this year, Kyle Clifford, who murdered three women with a crossbow and knife, refused to attend his sentencing, at which he received three whole life orders. Axel Rudakubana, convicted of murdering a child in Southport, also refused to appear and was removed from an earlier hearing after repeated outbursts.

Last year, Lucy Letby, who was found guilty of murdering seven babies, told the court through her legal team that she would not attend further proceedings. In December 2022, Jordan McSweeney, sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 38 years for the murder of Zara Aleena, also declined to appear. Her family described his absence as “a slap in the face”.

Under the proposed legislation, courts will have discretion to impose additional sentences of up to two years in cases where offenders deliberately avoid facing justice. For those already serving lengthy or whole life sentences, judges may order alternative sanctions such as cell confinement and withdrawal of privileges.