The Sentencing Council has published updated sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences in England and Wales following consultation.

The new guidelines, which will come into effect on 1 October 2022, update the current guidelines published in 2018 to reflect changes brought in by the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 and the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021.

The guidelines include:

• new guidance for judges sentencing offenders who meet the criteria for a ‘serious terrorism sentence’. This is a new type of sentence that carries a minimum penalty of 14 years’ custody unless exceptional circumstances apply; and
• new guidance and principles for judges to follow when considering whether there may be exceptional circumstances that justify a departure from that sentence.