Victims of crimes will no longer have to pay to obtain copies of judges’ sentencing remarks in their case, in what the government said is its latest move to ‘remove barriers to justice and provide transparency’.

While some sentencing remarks are already freely published on the HM Judiciary website, others are available only from commercial transcription services - at a cost of 'hundreds of pounds for some’, the government said. 

In his 2017 independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System, David Lammy, now lord chancellor, called for the publication of all sentencing remarks, in both audio and written form. 'This would provide a clear record for victims and offenders of the rationale for sentencing decisions.’

The late Baroness Newlove, then victims’ commission for England and Wales, wrote to Sir Brian Leveson, in September 2025, asking that victims have access to sentencing remarks ‘so that they can absorb the sentence and ask for clarification in their own time’.

David Lammy

Lammy: 'End of a trial does not mean the end of a victims’ journey'

Source: NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Read more

Speaking this week, Lammy said: ‘The end of a trial does not mean the end of a victims’ journey – for many, it’s just the beginning. Free access to sentencing remarks will embolden victims to look back on their bravery and process their experience at their own pace.’

The victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman, welcomed the announcement. She said: ‘For too long, victims have been left in the dark about what happened in their own cases, facing unnecessary hurdles and unfair costs just to understand how the sentence was reached. This barrier has compounded trauma and delayed closure for far too many.

‘It is now crucial the Ministry of Justice puts in place the right infrastructure, supporting the judiciary by shouldering the administrative burden. We must also go further: I want open justice for all victims - including free access to judges’ summing-up in acquittals and an extension to magistrates’ courts - so that every survivor can get the closure they deserve.’