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.
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
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 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.
and see the UK government Press Release
Reforms to secure British borders to be agreed by Foreign Ministers in Moldova this week - GOV.UK
It is reported that section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020 is to be applied to their sentencing.
Section 69 is headed "Terrorist Connection" and is within Part 4 of the 2020 Act (Exercising the court's discretion) Chapter 3 (Seriousness and Determining Sentence). Terrorist Connection is one of a number of aggravating factors set out in Chapter 3.
The original section 69:
The original section 69 came into force on 1 December 2020 and stated:
In December 2025, a trial was taking place in the Crown Court at Woolwich before Johnson J (“the trial judge”). Six defendants were charged with offences arising out of an incident on 6 August 2024 at a factory in Filton, Bristol, occupied and operated by Elbit Systems Ltd.
Rajiv Menon KC was leading counsel representing Charlotte Head, the first defendant named on the indictment.
There were rulings of law before and during the trial, including in relation to what is sometimes called jury equity; to the defence of lawful excuse to a count of criminal damage; and to the relevance and admissibility of certain evidence.
Following submissions as to the legal directions to be given to the jury, the trial judge gave a ruling on 22 December 2025 in which he said ...
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 responded to the legacy of “The Troubles”, a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that began in the late 1960s and continued until the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement of 10 April 1998. More than 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, with approximately 40,000 injured. Around 1,200 killings remain unsolved.
The 2023 Act created the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (“ICRIR”), whose functions include carrying out reviews of deaths and serious injuries caused by conduct forming part of the Troubles.
Inquisitorial reviews by the ICRIR have replaced police investigations, investigations by the Police Ombudsman, inquests and civil claims relating to Troubles-related conduct, and the 2023 Act has brought existing investigations, inquests and claims to an end.
The Act also introduced
