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Sir David Amess

Asked by Suella BravermanReform UKMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 27 October 2025UIN 82349

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) judicial process and (b) sentencing in the case of Sir David Amess's murder.

Answered by Jake Richards

Sentencing is a matter for the independent judiciary. In the case of Sir David Amess’s tragic murder, the judge imposed a life sentence with a whole life order. A whole life order is the most severe form of punishment the courts can impose. Such sentences have no minimum term and no possibility of Parole Board release, and as such they are reserved for the most heinous cases of murder. Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Sir David’s family.

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