The independent sentencing review for England and Wales under David Gauke is a landmark response to both an immediate crisis in the prisons and to an endemic criminal justice policy failure going back decades. It creates the platform for penal policy to take a much-needed new direction. As Mr Gauke says, this will take bravery from government. Encouragingly, the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has accepted most recommendations in principle, though with some exceptions. The need now, though, is for sustained action, investment and results.

When the review was established in 2024, prisons for men had been at 99% of capacity for 18 months and a surge of further prison sentences was developing after the summer riots.

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