No 10 happy to dip its toe into culture wars in row with Sentencing Council

Concerns over sentencing guidelines are genuine but government also hopes to win admirers with tough attitude

• Starmer ‘disappointed’ as Sentencing Council rejects calls to review ‘two-tier’ justice rules

From one perspective, having a stand-up row with an organisation meant to advise the government on a key policy area is a bit unseemly. But it is fair to say that Downing Street is ready – you could even say happy – to take on the Sentencing Council.

The row over a review of sentencing guidelines for England and Wales escalated on Friday after the Sentencing Council rejected government demands that it U-turn over a plan for judges to take account of pre-sentence reports before jailing people from ethnic or religious minorities.