Rishi Sunak’s first king’s speech will include a series of hardline criminal justice measures promising tougher sentences for rapists and killers in the run-up to a general election.
With crime and punishment a major point of contention with Keir Starmer’s Labour, the prime minister will confirm the introduction of a new sentencing bill under which murderers whose crimes involved sadistic or sexual conduct will face spending the rest of their lives in jail.
The change in the law will mean that a whole life order must be handed down in certain cases, with judges able to choose not to impose one only in exceptional circumstances.
Criminals who commit rape and other serious sexual offences will spend every day of their sentence behind bars, the government will say, up from 50% of their sentence when the government came to power in 2010.
Judges will also be given powers to order newly convicted prisoners to attend sentencing hearings, after high-profile offenders failed to appear for their sentencing.
Through the criminal justice bill, the government will make clear in law that “reasonable force” can be used to make criminals appear in the dock. If offenders still refuse, they will face a further two years in prison.
The measures are being introduced after Lucy Letby, the nurse who was found guilty of murdering seven babies, and Thomas Cashman, the murderer of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, refused to attend their sentencing hearings, leaving relatives of their victims distraught.
Sunak’s first king’s speech is not expected to contain many surprises, with potentially less than a year for the government to pass legislation before the next general election.
Instead, there are likely to be a series of measures that the Conservatives hope will open up clear dividing lines with Labour on issues such as the green agenda.
Tory insiders said the prime minister wanted to concentrate on winning back voters who had turned against the party since the last election, and so was planning to offer them some policy “red meat”.
Prison reform groups have pointed out that many of the new measures come in the face of a capacity crisis that has bought the system dangerously close to breaking point.
It also comes weeks after the government announced that hundreds of prisoners, some of whom have been convicted for violent crimes, would be released 18 days early to ease the pressure on the prison service.
Ministers have announced they will legislate to allow the government to rent prison places abroad, in order to help alleviate overcrowding in UK jails.
The government is under pressure to outline plans for a “Martyn’s law” – UK-wide legislation that will place a requirement on those responsible for venues to consider the threat from terrorism.
Named after Martyn Hett, 29, one of 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, the legislation was proposed by the government in December but has yet to be formally introduced into parliament.
Hett’s mother, Figen Murray, has been promised by Sunak that it will be on the statute before the summer recess so that it is not delayed by a general election campaign, sources said.
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The criminal justice bill is also expected to create a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing to ensure grooming gang members and their ringleaders receive tougher sentences.
Murdering a partner at the end of a relationship will also become a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing, the government has said.
Ministers are also expected to take new powers to block the parole of offenders and to stop them marrying in prison.
Other measures include giving police the power to enter a property without a warrant to seize stolen goods, such as phones, when they have reasonable proof that a specific stolen item is inside.
That could mean using a device’s GPS tracking capability to lead police to where it has been hidden.
In a statement, Sunak said: “I want everyone across the country to have the pride and peace of mind that comes with knowing your community, where you are raising your family and taking your children to school, is safe. That is my vision of what a better Britain looks like.”
Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, said: “What further proof do we need that the Tories have completely run out of ideas than witnessing them using the most significant event in the parliamentary calendar to simply repackage ideas they’ve announced multiple times?
“The government should be focusing on delivering the prison places we actually need to keep criminals behind bars. They have utterly failed to manage the prison estate and the best they could come up with to fix it was letting criminals out early. Labour will rebuild public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system, and we’ll restore the rule of law on Britain’s streets.”
Starmer said: “A government acting in the national interest would deliver a big build programme to kickstart growth in every region and begin to turn around 13 years of decline with a plan for a decade of national renewal.”
