§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Solicitor-General what plans she has to propose amendments to the law on provocation; and if she will make a statement. [102043]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralTwo questions have arisen for consideration in recent months: first, whether the law as interpreted by the courts is sound, which includes the question of how the law operates in practice; and/or whether a review of the sentencing guidelines is needed.
The Home Secretary and the Law Officers with the assistance of the Director of Public Prosecutions are currently considering whether there are grounds for a review of the law of provocation and/or a reference to the Sentencing Advisory Panel. I refer to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 28 February 2003 for more details of the work being carried out by the Law Officers and the DPP.
In December 2002 the Court of Appeal reviewed the sentences imposed on two defendants convicted for the manslaughter of their partners by reason of provocation. The Law Officers referred the sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they appeared to be unduly lenient and that the existing sentencing guidelines did not appear to reflect adequately the seriousness of the offence. Among the other observations in its judgment, in declining to increase the sentences imposed on these defendants the Court of Appeal held that it could not consider whether new guidelines were justified in this difficult area without advice from the Sentencing Advisory Panel.
Ultimately the responsibility for the criminal law and for making references to the Sentencing Advisory Panel falls to the Home Secretary.