'Special discounts' for people pleading guilty in police stations

People who plead guilty to crimes in police stations and save the taxpayer from the expense of trials will be offered additional discounts on their sentences, a national newspaper has reported.

Nicholas Green QC, chairman of the Bar Council, Keir Starmer QC, the DPP, and Lord Justice Leveson, the judge in charge of sentencing, are all said by The Times to be in favour of the scheme.

Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, is reported to have been forced to concentrate on cuts in court administration and legal aid after admitting he could not cut the cost of running prisons by 25 per cent.

Those who plead guilty at the earliest opportunity in court are currently offered a discount of up to a third on sentences, with progressively later pleas attracting smaller discounts.

'We are conducting a full assessment of sentencing and rehabilitation policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting re-offending,' a spokesman for the MoJ said.

'It would be premature to speculate on the outcome of this assessment. We will consult on any proposals for reform in the autumn.'