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| Criminals to be forced to attend sentencing hearings after Lucy Letby calls | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Criminals are to be made to attend their sentencing hearings in court, including by force if necessary, or face the prospect of longer in prison. | |
| Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed plans to introduce a new law after calls from victims and families. | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed plans to introduce a new law after calls from victims and families. |
| It follows the case of Lucy Letby, who refused to attend her sentencing for the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of seven more. | |
| Labour has previously said it would support a change in the law. | |
| The new rules would allow custody officers to use "reasonable force" to make offenders appear in the dock. | |
| Those who do not appear for sentencing could also face an extra two years in jail if they ignore a judge's order - with the new penalties applying in cases where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment. | |
| The government said earlier this year that it was committed to changing the law to force criminals to be sentenced in person, after the killers of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Zara Aleena and Sabina Nessa all refused to stand in the dock. | |
| Calls for a law change were renewed following the widespread outrage over Letby who stopped turning up in the dock towards the end of jury deliberations - and the government again reiterated it was looking to change the law. | |
| Announcing the news on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said: "It is unacceptable that some of the country's most horrendous criminals have refused to face their victims in court. They cannot and should not be allowed to take the coward's way out. | |
| "That's why we are giving judges the power to order vile offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, with those who refuse facing being forced into the dock or spending longer behind bars." | |
| The legislation is expected to be introduced when Parliament resumes in the autumn. | |
| He was pictured on social media sitting with Olivia's mother, Cheryl Korbel, who has campaigned for the change. | |
| This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. | This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. |
| You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. | You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. |
| Related Topics | |
| Criminal justice system | |
| Lucy Letby |