Tories unveil plan to root out ‘activist’ judges, end ‘two-tier justice’ and axe the Sentencing Council

It comes after the body recommended courts consider differential treatment based on factors such as race and ethnicity.

Speaking ahead of his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he had uncovered a list that amounted to a “hidden network” of "activist judges subverting the independence of the judiciary”.

Under the plans, the Tories want to:

• Abolish the sentencing council and give the Lord Chancellor new power to issue sentencing guidance
• Reform the appointment of judges and create a vetting committee
• Reform how judges are investigated to tackle politicisation and bias
• Create a register of interests for judges

Mr Jenrick wants to reform the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) – giving it new powers to investigate inappropriate conduct, and remove any judge who engages in political activism.  

This means any judge caught campaigning for open borders would be automatically sacked.  

It comes months after it emerged the Attorney General Lord Hermer suggested promoting the ‘immense positives’ of immigration to counter the rise of Right-wing politics - in comments made prior to his appointment.

He said “fear of immigration” was used as a “recruiting sergeant” for movements like Brexit - in a podcast in 2022.

“The populist Right are very successful in using immigration and the fear of immigration as a recruitment sergeant or just generally in dominating the kind of political field,” he said.

Earlier this year Lord Hermer told of his 'regrets' after he likened calls to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to demands that led to the rise of Nazi Germany.

The Tories also highlighted the case of Tanwar Ikram, the Deputy Chief Magistrate, who was only issued a formal warning despite being found to have committed misconduct by ‘liking’ a LinkedIn post that incited violence and raised serious concerns about his impartiality.  

Yesterday, three men were jailed for their part in disorder outside a migrant hotel in Epping. They received longer sentences than the migrant who sexually assaulted a teenage girl in another so-called example of ‘two-tier justice’.

The Tories say they would also abolish the body responsible for appointing judges, the Judicial Appoints Commission. They would give this role back to the Lord Chancellor.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he had reported 11 judges to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office for breaching guiltiness on public commentary.

More than 30 sitting judges had offered free legal services for open border organisations, the Tories said.

A huge row erupted earlier this year after judges were told to seek extra information before deciding how to punish offenders from certain minority groups.

Magistrates and judges were asked to seek pre-sentence reports with details of an offender’s background, including their ethnicity or faith, alongside other groups including young adults, abuse survivors and pregnant women.

The plans were eventually abandoned with then Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood saying the guidelines risked creating “a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion.

"This differential treatment is unacceptable - equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system,” she said.