Sir Keir Starmer said the rape case which saw two teenage boys who raped two girls spared jail was “appalling”, and it was “right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences”.
The Prime Minister’s comments come as Labour launched an urgent review after the attackers avoided jail.
Three boys, aged between 13 and 14 at the time, sexually assaulted two teenage girls and “laughed” while filming the attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
They then shared the content online, Southampton Crown Court heard, with the first attack taking place on November 26, 2024 and the second on January 17, 2025.
The two older boys were handed three-year youth rehabilitation orders and 180 days of intensive surveillance and supervision.
In a social media post responding to an interview with one of the victims, Sir Keir said: “This is a harrowing and brave testimony.
“The girls at the heart of this case have shown extraordinary bravery and strength in heinous circumstances.
“This is an appalling case and it is right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences.”
‘The girls at the heart of this case have shown extraordinary bravery’, Sir Keir said | GETTY
During the sentencing, Judge Nicholas Rowland said: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The judge stressed the boys were “very young” and had low intelligence – with the decision met with fierce backlash, sparking the case review.
Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan and safeguarding minister Alicia Kearns referred the sentences to Lord Hermer under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme for the “horrific premeditated offences”.
They argued the sentences failed to reflect the gravity of the offences, the impact on the victims’ lives and fell short of maintaining public confidence in the justice system.
A Government spokesman said the Attorney General’s office had received “multiple” requests for the sentences to be reviewed under the unduly lenient scheme.
He said: “We share the public’s shock at the details of this horrific case, and our thoughts are with the young victims during this distressing time.
“The law officers are urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention.”
Meanwhile, The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister told the BBC: “Those girls deserve justice, as do their families, both for them, but also for other girls that are put in that position.
“And quite frankly, other boys need to know that they can’t behave in that way and get away with it.”
He suggested a review of the sentences by the Attorney General under the unduly lenient scheme would be completed quickly, adding: “We all want to look at this urgently, and the Attorney General’s made that commitment.”
Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer has 28 days from the date of the sentencing hearing, or until June 18, to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.