The sentencing guidelines at the centre of a "two-tier justice" row were based on a report written by David Lammy, it has emerged.
New guidance issued by the Sentencing Council, coming in on April 1, tells judges to consider factors like ethnicity and religion in a pre-sentencing background report when deciding convicted criminals' fates.
The council said its new guidance was influenced by several pieces of research - including a 2017 review by Lammy, a new report by The Times has revealed.
The future Foreign Secretary found "widespread" racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and put forward changes to improve outcomes for "black, Asian and minority ethnic" offenders.
The sentencing guidelines at the centre of a 'two-tier justice' row were based on a report written by David Lammy
PA
In his review, Lammy called for more scrutiny of sentencing decisions - and said judges must be equipped with more information about offenders' backgrounds.
The Tottenham MP also urged for more use of pre-sentence reports, which are compiled by the Probation Service to give judges extra information about offenders' character and circumstances.
Lammy wrote: "These reports 'assist the court in determining the most suitable method of dealing with an offender' and may be particularly important for shedding light on individuals from backgrounds unfamiliar to the judge.
"This is vital considering the gap between the difference in backgrounds, both in social class and ethnicity, between the magistrates, judges and many of those offenders who come before them."
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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to overrule the Sentencing Council if it fails to reverse the guidelines
PAJustice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to overrule the Sentencing Council if it fails to reverse the guidelines "as soon as possible", and has requested an urgent meeting to discuss the controversy.
She has also pledged to change the law through the Sentencing Bill later this year "if necessary" after writing to council chairman Lord Justice William Davis to register her "displeasure" with the guidance.
Mahmood said she would consider stripping the council of its power to set sentencing guidelines entirely - and has raised the prospect of Ministers taking an active role in setting the guidance.
Top Tories Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are both seeking to axe the guidelines - the former in Parliament, and the latter through a judicial review
PA
But her shadow counterpart Robert Jenrick has kicked off legal proceedings in an attempt to axe the advice through a judicial review - calling the guidelines "anti-white and anti-Christian".
He later added: "Labour's fingerprints are all over this two-tier sentencing guidance. Lammy's report failed to establish conclusive evidence of direct discrimination in sentencing decisions.
"Now it's being used to justify abandoning the foundational principle of equal treatment under the law."
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, meanwhile, has said her party would attempt to amend the Government's Crime and Policing Bill - currently making its way through Parliament - to reverse the guidelines.
