Debate over potential sentencing disparities in the UK legal system.
Robert Jenrick, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice of the United Kingdom, has called for the scrapping of planned changes which would make the background of offenders from minority groups a bigger factor when deciding whether to jail them.
In a social media post, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the new guidelines were biased "against straight white men".
"Under Two-Tier Keir [Starmer] our justice system is set to have an anti-white and anti-Christian bias," he said.
Pre-sentence reports were "the first step to avoiding a prison sentence", he argued.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jenrick told the House of Commons the changes were an "inversion of the rule of law" and would make "custodial sentence less likely for those 'from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, or faith minority community'".
This move is seen by some as institutionalized discrimination in the name of "equity."
The updated sentencing guidance, which is due to come into force from April, places a greater emphasis on the need for pre-sentence reports for judges.
Pre-sentence reports give judges details on the offender's background, motives and personal life before sentencing - then recommend a punishment and what would work best for rehabilitation.
New law to be implemented in Britain?
Under this new law, the ethnic, cultural, or religious background of offenders, as well as their transgender status, will be taken into account when determining sentences. As a result, some groups may receive lighter sentences, while others may face harsher penalties.
