Top judge attacks Government's bid to keep criminals out of crowded jails

Sir Igor Judge, President of the Queen's Bench, criticised Justice Secretary Jack Straw's decision to prevent judges jailing some offenders if prisons are full.

Scroll down for more...

In a withering attack, Sir Igor claimed it meant the standard sentence for rape could be cut from eight years to five when prisons are full, then increased to eight again when the number of inmates has dropped.

"The injustices are so obvious," he said. "That simply cannot work."

Sir Igor, 67, who is also Head of Criminal Justice, made the comments to the Commons Justice Committee, which is probing Mr Straw's decision to establish a Sentencing Commission to tell judges to spare offenders jail if prisons are full.

The emergency move, first revealed in The Mail on Sunday, has provoked outrage, with experts warning that tens of thousands of serial burglars, muggers and drug-dealers would escape jail.

Sir Igor's comments will be regarded as a pre-emptive strike against the Commission, expected to get the green light next week.

"It would be absolutely catastrophic," Sir Igor said. He cast doubt on how the Commission could issue "one-size-fits-all" instructions.

"No framework, no Act of Parliament can address the ultimate question, which is that a judge or magistrate has X in front of him.

"No guidance can tell you whether X is bad, sad, pathetic, sorry, remorseful for having committed the crime, or just sorry he has been caught.

"All these things impinge on how a judge or magistrate would think the right sentence would be."

The Government will next week embark on a campaign to persuade the judiciary to use community sentences for low-level offenders to control the prison population, which is close to capacity at 80,778.

According to sources, the Ministry of Justice will also announce the creation of a new Department of Corrections to run the prison and probation services.