Recent announcements: Murder sentencing, Law Commission, Asylum

1) Sentencing for murder: 

The Secretary of State for Justice (David Lammy MP) has announced his intention to alter sentencing for murder ….

Justice for victims as domestic killers to face longer behind bars - GOV.UK

‘Heinous offenders who kill their partner, or ex, could face an additional 10 years in prison, under a change announced today by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Under the current law, most domestic murders have a 15-year sentencing starting point, because they take place in the home with a weapon most likely already at the scene. However, for other murders where a weapon is taken to the scene with intent, the starting point is 25 years.

The Government has announced today (30 June) it intends to close this 10-year gap so that domestic murders are dealt with the same severity as other murders - regardless of whether they happen at home or anywhere else.’

Law Commission:

The Law Commission has put forward proposals to reform homicide offences - Law Commission proposes major overhaul of homicide offences – Law Commission

Law Commission consultation paper proposing to replace the existing two-tier structure of homicide offences (murder and manslaughter) with a three-tier structure (first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter). The proposed reform constitutes the first strand of the homicide review, with two further strands of work, respectively on defences and the sentencing framework for murder, to follow.

2) Asylum:

The Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood MP) is planning a system of independent adjudicators to hear asylum appeals instead of judges -

Mahmood: My reforms will save the asylum system for a generation - GOV.UK

'The rollout of new safe and legal routes for refugees will begin in the autumn, the Home Secretary has announced, ahead of wider reforms to the immigration system to be delivered through the Immigration and Asylum Bill that was confirmed in the King’s Speech.

This will include reforming human rights laws to preserve protection for those in need, while bearing down on abuse of the asylum system.'

Mahmood’s plans appear to build on an announcement by her predecessor in office (Yvette Cooper MP - now Foreign Secretary) -

Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions - GOV.UK

Under the Immigration and Asylum Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament there will be a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA) which will have a Chair and a Professional Standards Officer.  There will also be a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a Chief Adjudication Officer and IIAA Adjudicators.

The IIAA Adjudicators will divide into Senior Adjudicators (to be legally qualified) and Executive Adjudicators (need not be legally qualified).

Links / Notes:

Fining migrants - by Joshua Rozenberg - A Lawyer Writes

People crossing the English Channel in small boats - Migration Observatory

Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2026 - GOV.UK

More than 700 people cross English Channel in small boats - BBC News - as at 16 June it was repoirted that A total of 9,852 people have made the journey so far this year - a fall of 40% compared with the same period in 2025.