I’m a fan of @theJeremyVine but this is just wrong. They didn’t get 10 years each. They were charged with different offences and got different sentences. The ringleader received life with a minimum term of 18 years.
This contributes nothing but misunderstanding to public debate.
This contributes nothing but misunderstanding to public debate.
By all means, argue whether the sentences were right. Suggest that the law or Sentencing Guidelines are inadequate, if that's what you believe, or argue that we should pay to lock up offenders like this for longer. That's all fair game. But let's do it on the facts, please.
Because - and this is a theme I'll be saying more on next week - if we spread misunderstanding and confusion about how our justice system works, we make it harder to identify and solve its many problems. And we do the work of those trying to undermine our first principles.
