Criminals not attending sentencing is ‘final insult’ to victims, says Mahmood

Shabana Mahmood said: ‘The victims and courts bill marks an important step forward in our mission to rebuild our justice system.’ Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Defendants who refuse to appear in court for sentencing are giving a “final insult to victims and their families”, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said, as an impact statement from the mother of a murdered girl was read to MPs.

During the second reading of the victims and courts bill, the Labour MP Anneliese Midgley read a statement on behalf of Cheryl Korbel, the mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her Liverpool home in 2022.