Youth Justice and sentencing for very serious offences

Youth Justice has a long and interesting history. The website of Beyond Youth Custody has a Youth justice timeline setting out key developments from 1792 to 2014. The timeline was prepared by Dr Tim Bateman and Professor Neal Hazel. 

Overall, the trend has been from punishments (often very severe) to sentencing aimed at rehabilitation of offenders taking into account the lack of maturity of young people. 

In England and Wales the age of criminal responsibility is set at 10 years. This has applied since 1963 and continues to be a point of controversy. It is discussed in the latest government White Paper - Cutting Youth Crime. Changing Young Lives.  (The age in Scotland is now 12 - see HERE). 

When

The Manchester Airport assault case: retrials and the law: public comment

On 20 December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges against two men who were involved in a serious incident with Police Officers at Manchester Airport - Charges authorised over Manchester Airport incident | The Crown Prosecution Service (please read in full).

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was charged with section 47 Actual Bodily Harm x 2, assault against an emergency worker, and common assault (against a member of the public). 

Muhammed Amaad was charged with section 47 Actual Bodily Harm.

A trial was held at the Crown Court in Liverpool

The 'unduly lenient' legislation ~ a recent Court of Appeal decision

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) decided a reference by the Attorney General under the "unduly lenient" legislation (Criminal Justice Act 1988) - 'If it appears to the Attorney General - (a) that the sentencing of a person in a proceeding in the Crown Court has been unduly lenient; and (b) that the case is one to which this Part of this Act applies, he may, with the leave of the Court of Appeal, refer the case to them for them to review the sentencing of that person .....'

The report of the case is at Riley, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 158 (04 February 2026)

The respondent (R) was 18 years of age when, in June 2023, he committed an offence of assault by penetration, contrary to section 2(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The maximum sentence available is life imprisonment. The victim ("C") of the assault was aged 14 at the time of the offence.

On 5 September 2025, in the Crown Court

Court of Appeal to review sentences imposed on young offenders

It has been announced that the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) will review the sentences on the young offenders convicted of rape.

Court of appeal to review rape sentences of three teenage boys | UK criminal justice | The Guardian (26 May 2026)

The Guardian report provides more detail about the cases. The report states:

The sentences relate to the rape of two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January last year.

Youth Justice - sentencing for serious offences // Government's White Paper (May 2026)

The BBC has reported - Starmer 'appalled' by case of boys spared jail after raping teenage girls - BBC News (24 May 2026) and Girl raped by boys spared jail tells BBC judge's decision was like 'rock in my face' - BBC News 

The reports states - 'Two girls, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack.  ..... At a sentencing hearing for the boys on Thursday, Judge Nicholas Rowland said he wanted to "avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily". Instead, the boys were given Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YROs).

The article also tells us that the Law Officers are considering

MP appointed to the "Chiltern Hundreds" - (Stoke, Desborough and Burnham).

On 18 May 2026 the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed Joshua Cameron Simons to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern - Three Hundreds of Chiltern - GOV.UK. 

Mr Simons had agreed to vacate his seat as Member for Makerfield so that the present Mayor of Greater Manchester (Andy Burnham) could, if selected as a candidate by the Labour Party, stand for election at a by-election. The politics behind this are not the concern of this blog but the aim is to try to secure the Labour Party leadership for Burnham and he would then displace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. 

The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 section 4 provides that - ' ... the office of steward or bailiff of Her Majesty’s three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, or of the Manor of Northstead, shall be treated as included among the offices described in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act.'

The effect is that the holder of one of those offices is disqualified for membership of the House of Commons.

As far as I know, there is no connection between Andy Burnham and the fact that one of the three Chiltern Hundreds is known as Burnham  - see Chiltern Hundreds - Wikipedia.

The European Convention on Human Rights - Chişinău Declaration - 15 May 2026

 

The 46 member states of the Council of Europe, including UK, have adopted a non-binding political declaration clarifying the operation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), with particular relevance to immigration and asylum law.

The Declaration is referred to as the Chişinău Declaration following its adoption in the Moldovan capital. It signals a shared position among member states on how the Convention should be interpreted and applied, including by domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights.

New Council of Europe declaration clarifies ECHR interpretation in immigration and asylum law | Electronic Immigration Network

and see the UK government Press Release

Reforms to secure British borders to be agreed by Foreign Ministers in Moldova this week - GOV.UK