Law chief's warning: don't set burglars free by mistake
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The country's most senior judge has issued an "urgent" warning to judges and magistrates asking them to ignore media reports of his new guidance on sentences for burglars.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, is concerned that judges and magistrates might misinterpret his advice and release dangerous criminals during the holidays.
In letters e-mailed to courts across the country, Lord Woolf says if magistrates are unclear about his guidance then they should ignore it until they "receive further advice".
He defends himself against the vilification meted out by the press after he urged courts to jail fewer burglars. "There is no question of the court [of Appeal] underestimating the seriousness of offences of domestic burglary," he says.
The warning adds: "The approach is consistent with the repeated advice you have received [to] only resort to imprisonment when necessary and then to make the punishment as short as possible."
The new guidance, the Lord Chief Justice says, states that if "punishment in the community is not practical" then a custodial sentence should be imposed.
Newspaper columnists attacked Lord Woolf last week for the timing of his guidance, which they said was a green light for courts to go soft on burglars before Christmas.