Each week, ministers decide which cases submitted to the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme should be referred to the Court of Appeal. It’s the last chance many victims and families have for true justice. Nationally, from 2020-22, around 1 in 5 eligible cases were referred.

But my research shows that’s not the full picture. Compared to the national average of 1 in 5, the rate for Manchester and Birmingham was not even 1 in 7. For Liverpool and Sheffield, it was 1 in 10. For Wales, it was 1 in 12.