New sentencing powers may overwhelm prisons

But government will have an emergency brake in case it all goes wrong

Magistrates in England and Wales will be allowed to pass prison sentences of up to 12 months under plans announced in the Daily Telegraph today by the justice secretary, Dominic Raab. At present, the maximum they sentence they can impose in a single case is six months.

In a piece that by-lined him as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, Raab said…