U.K.: Release of 53 "lifers" under fire

A total of 53 people sentenced to life since 2000 in England and Wales have already been released on licence, ministers have disclosed. The release of the lifers, including rapists and murderers, was "absolutely disgraceful" Tory MP David Davies said.

The news comes amid a row over sentencing after paedophile Craig Sweeney was given a life sentence which could see him serve just five years. Home Secretary John Reid described that sentence as "unduly lenient". On the release of lifers, Mr Davies, MP for Monmouth, said: "Life should mean life in prison. These criminals should not be released before they have served their sentence that they were given in a court of law. "Members of the public are being led to believe that once caught and found guilty, these criminals are being sent to prison to serve out the whole of their sentence. They are being misled."

But a Home Office spokesman said: "Tariffs are set by judges and release is by order of the parole board. "The most common offence represented among the 53 is grievous bodily harm." The spokesman added that 500 people a year had received life sentences since 2000. Mr Reid's intervention in the Sweeney case caused controversy, with Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said to be unhappy about it. A spokesman insisted Lord Goldsmith would not bow to political pressure when deciding whether to appeal the sentence. Tony Blair's spokesman said it was right for the home secretary "to articulate the concern the public has".

The spokesman rejected suggestions that Mr Reid may have jeopardised any appeal to increase Sweeney's sentence through his intervention. He said Mr Blair would not comment on any individual case but would often express his determination to re-balance the judicial system in favour of victims of crime. The Sentencing Guidelines Council is already carrying out a review of the amount of "discount" sex offenders should receive on their sentences for pleading guilty. The attorney general's spokesman said: "The attorney has called for the file in Craig Sweeney's case in order to consider whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient."

A Home Office spokesman had earlier said Mr Reid "is concerned that the tariff Craig Sweeney has been given does not reflect the seriousness of this crime and is writing to the attorney general to ask him to consider referring the sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient".

Commenting on the release of lifers, Lib Dem Nick Clegg said it was "vital" that the decisions of parole boards held public confidence. He added: "Public confidence is vital to the operation of the criminal justice system, and releasing inappropriate prisoners could be another blow to an already beleaguered system." However, Judge John Griffith Williams QC was acting in accordance with guidelines in sentencing Sweeney, 24, at Cardiff Crown Court.

Sweeney - who was known to the family - had snatched the girl from her home after she had returned home from a shopping trip and while her mother made a telephone call. He drove her to his Newport flat where he was living after being released early from a three-year sentence for indecently assaulting a girl aged six. There she was sexually assaulted. Earlier this month, five judges at the Court of Appeal increased the minimum jail sentence on Alan Webster, convicted of raping a 12-week-old baby, after the case was referred to them by the attorney general.

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