In this article, first published on the Halsbury’s Law Exchange blog, Felicity Gerry looks at the furore surrounding Ken Clarke’s comments on rape sentencing

This week, a proposed consultation on raising credit for a guilty plea to 50% was overshadowed by comments made by the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, on a radio programme. Asked how such a proposal would affect rape cases, he replied that there were different categories of rape from teen sex to serious rape and ended up apologising for insulting rape victims.