A criminal barrister has sparked a heated row with GB News host Patrick Christys after claiming that harsh sentences on UK rioters are justified to “protect the public”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for his crackdown on those who took part in this summer’s riots after Peter Lynch died at HMP Moorland – following his imprisonment for ‘violent disorder’ in Rotherham.
According to police sources, 61-year-old Lynch is thought to have taken his own life after starting his prison sentence of two years and eight months.
Discussing Lynch’s death on GB News, criminal barrister Jeremy Dein claimed that the “disgusting state of our prison system” is to blame for the incident, and not his sentencing.
Patrick Christys hit out at Barrister Jeremy Dein for defending the sentencing of UK rioters
GB News
Dein told host Patrick Christys: “The sentence that was passed on Mr Lynch and others was entirely consistent with the sentencing guidelines which have existed in relation to violent disorder for some years.
“It’s very sad that Mr Lynch died of course, but his death is a further reflection on the disgusting state of our prison system, rather than the merits of the sentence. It’s the prison system that ought to be under the spotlight yet again.”
In disagreement with Dein, Patrick argued that the judge who passed the sentence on Lynch also handed a “suspended sentence to a lady who killed a cyclist, and an individual who was found to have committed sexual acts with a child under the age of 13”.
In defence of the judge, Dein explained: “Sentencing is a very complex exercise, there are different considerations. I don’t know whether the lady who killed the cyclist effectively killed that cyclist by accident, but that the act was sufficiently unlawful to be criminalised.
“I do need to stress that the judge who sentenced all three people you’ve mentioned is one of the most experienced judges in the country.
“He’s a former prosecutor, he’s a former defender. I know him, and he will have passed sentences which he believed to be fully appropriate in the circumstances.”
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Pressing Dein further on whether the judge, who he knows personally, is “as left-wing and woke behind the scenes”, Dein deemed it “inappropriate to comment”, but claimed that judges are “not subject to political influence” as they are “too professional for that”.
Offering a further defence of Lynch’s sentencing, Dein told Patrick that he had “understated” the “criminality of Peter Lynch”, and stated that the sentences given to the rioters of this summer are there to “protect the public”.
Dein claimed: “You have understated Mr Lynch’s criminality, because what he did was part and parcel of a wider riot, in a country which was plagued by riots at the time.
“And when that happens, sentences have to be harsh to protect the public – people like you and me.”
Jeremy Dein claimed that the ‘disgusting state of the prison system’ is to blame for Lynch’s death
GB News
When asked for his verdict on whether there could have been a case for Lynch to be handed a “suspended sentence” given his known existing health conditions, Dein agreed, adding: “The answer to your question is yes, but the judge could have contemplated the possibility of a suspended sentence.
“But I do not think there are many criminal practitioners in this country, including myself, and I’m a diehard defence counsel, who would have thought that a suspended sentence was appropriate for a man who participated in national riots which were taking place over a concerted period, which led to significant damage to property, significant injury to individuals, significant harm to the public.
“People who did that needed to be severely punished.”
