Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on use of the charge of treason; and what is his Department’s guidance on sentencing those charged and convicted of that offence.

Robert Buckland

In all cases referred for a charging decision, the Crown Prosecution Service uses whichever offence is appropriate to the facts of the case. Modern criminal offences, including terrorism offences, usually offer a better chance of a successful conviction than a prosecution for treason would. Prosecutions for treason are therefore extremely rare and there is no applicable guidance from the Sentencing Council. The maximum sentence for treason is life imprisonment and it would be for the Courts to determine the appropriate sentence in an individual case, having regard to any analogous case law.