England and Wales to Raise Minimum Sentence for Domestic Murders to 25 Years

Justice Secretary David Lammy announced that murders of current or former intimate partners will have a 25-year starting point in England and Wales, raising the minimum by 10 years from the previous 15-year baseline. The rule applies when a weapon is brought to the scene. The change awaits Sentencing Council consultation.

The Guardian

The sentencing follows a seven-year campaign by the mothers of three victims—Carole Gould, Julie Devey and Elaine Newborough—who argued domestic murders have been penalised less harshly because the weapon is often already present. Coordinated through the charity Killed Women, it highlighted that roughly 70 % of homicide victims in the home are women.

The Guardian

Key actors: Justice Secretary David Lammy; the three campaigning mothers; charities Killed Women and Refuge; Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs; and Mark Day, Prison Reform Trust.

The Guardian

Domestic murders account for over one-fifth of homicides; women comprise about 70 % of home-based homicide victims; 80 women were killed in the UK in 2024.

The Guardian

Lammy said the change corrects a historic sentencing gap and supports the goal of halving violence against women and girls. The Department for Justice noted the new minimum will follow the Sentencing Council’s consultation, with the 15-year starting point retained for victims who kill their abusers. Refuge and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomed the increase.

The Guardian

Refuge urged a review of partial defences that enable manslaughter pleas. Dame Nicole Jacobs said the reform excludes family-member killings, calling for equal treatment of honour-based abuse. Mark Day warned longer sentences could strain a pressured prison system.

The Guardian

The final guidelines are still subject to consultation, so the 25-year minimum may be altered. The Law Commission’s homicide review has not yet been applied, leaving uncertainty.

The Guardian

The Sentencing Council will publish a consultation paper in the coming weeks; stakeholder responses will inform the final sentencing guidelines.

The Guardian

> “Lammy, the deputy prime minister, said: “For centuries, the law failed to protect women from violence at the hands of their partner – whether from marital rape or from abuse behind closed doors.” — David Lammy, Justice Secretary

The Guardian

> “This change closes a long overdue gap and will ensure those who murder their partner face sentences that better reflect the devastating harm they cause.” — David Lammy, Justice Secretary

The Guardian

> “In a statement issued by the charity Killed Women on behalf of the three murdered women’s mothers, they thanked Lammy, adding: “At last, women’s lives are being valued as highly as men’s.” — Killed Women, charity representative

The Guardian

> “It’s no less heinous a crime when a parent is killed by their child or someone is a victim of so-called ‘honour’-based abuse by a relative,” — Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner

The Guardian

> “Mark Day, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said Lammy’s announcement had pre-empted the findings of the Law Commission’s detailed review of homicide offences, warning that it would add to pressure on a “prison system still struggling to cope with rising prison numbers, fuelled largely by the growth in sentence lengths for some of the most serious offences”.” — Mark Day, Deputy Director, Prison Reform Trust

The Guardian