Keir Starmer urged to 'lead debate' on 'state of Britain's justice system' after teen rapists fined just £26 each

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to "lead the debate" alongside MPs on the "state of Britain's justice system" after three teenage rapists avoided jail.

Speaking to GB News, Partner at Keystone Law James Tumbridge argued that too often, sentencing conversations are "done in vacuums".

The three teenage boys were found guilty of rape and serious sexual assault against girls as young as 14, and also received rehabilitation orders, prompting outrage from victims and campaigners demanding urgent reform of youth sentencing.

One survivor, who was raped aged 15, said: "It feels like he just got away with it."

Reacting to the sentencing on GB News, Mr Tumbridge said the case "exposes a need for proper conversation" about the "state of Britain's justice system".

He said: "What this exposes is a need for politicians to have a proper conversation with the public about the state of our justice system and sentencing.

"I think too often, the sentencing conversations are done in a vacuum. Judges have genuine concern that there are very stringent guidelines, and they don't always have the latitude to make the decisions that they think are right."

Mr Tumbridge laid blame on the "politicians" for not "leading the debate" on the issue.

He argued: "You've got politicians often rather making glib comments without understanding about the level of sentencing. You've got the public outrage when they hear a story like this that's just so terrible, and you can't imagine not hearing a custodial sentence, but you've got to disconnect.

"No one's talking to each other. Now that I think is the fault of politicians, because they're the ones that need to lead that debate and tell us what they're going to do to make us all feel that the justice system works."

Asked by host Charlie Peters whether he believes the system is being "too lenient for under-18 offenders", the lawyer disagreed.

He responded: "I don't think our system is necessarily too lenient to under-18 offenders, but I do think this exposes something that the public may not be paying attention to.

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"The current Government is talking about changing the age of responsibility. If you were to engage with the public, many people might say that the age of responsibility is fine.

"And when the new Labour Government came in in 2024, the first thing they did was release lots of prisoners because the prisons couldn't take any more.

"If we don't provide the prisons and we have sentences like this, it's not entirely surprising because it may well be sentencing guidelines are discouraging custodial sentences, because you haven't got anywhere to put them."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice neither condemned nor justified the sentences, telling GB News they "cannot comment on individual cases".

The spokesman added: "We are clear that punishments must fit the severity of the crime, and custody should always be considered for serious offences.

"This Government is determined to do all we can to make sure victims have confidence they will get justice."

Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board, said: "The overwhelming majority of children do not commit offences of this seriousness.

"But where they do, the response must balance accountability, public protection, victim harm, deterrence and the long-term goal of preventing future violence."