Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases
106,046 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 21 April 2026. The Government responded on 11 May 2026. A debate is scheduled for 19 October 2026.
The petition
Created by Paris Shears. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases
I want the Government to introduce legislation so that defendants charged with controlling or coercive behaviour cannot receive a sentencing reduction for a guilty plea entered after initially pleading not guilty. This should be known as Paris’s Law.
Victims of coercive control often wait months or years for trial, reliving trauma while preparing evidence. Defendants may plead not guilty, then change to guilty at the last moment and still receive a reduced sentence. This can feel like continued abuse, prolonging distress and undermining justice. I believe late guilty pleas in these cases should not receive sentence reductions, as it prolongs suffering, including the suffering I have personally experienced
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 11 May 2026; the petitions site lists the Ministry of Justice as responsible. Its summary:
Guilty pleas given later in the process can still benefit victims and the administration of justice but are reflected by a substantially lower reduction in sentence.
The opening 320 words of the 470-word response:
Controlling or coercive behaviour is a particularly insidious form of domestic abuse and we recognise the long-term emotional and psychological distress it can cause. In our manifesto, we committed to ensuring policing have the right skills and training to respond appropriately to victims of VAWG. In February 2025, the Home Office announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) to act on this. The Centre will improve the response to violence against women and girls, creating a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including controlling or coercive behaviour, and offer victims consistent protection.
As of 3 February 2025, offenders convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour, and sentenced to 12 months or longer, are now automatically managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). MAPPA requires cooperative working between the police, probation, and prison services to manage the risks posed by the most serious offenders. This change recognises the significant harm this kind of offending can cause by putting controlling or coercive behaviour, on par with other forms of domestic abuse.
We also recognise that understanding of controlling or coercive behaviour has evolved significantly since the statutory guidance was published in 2023. As part of the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy, the government has committed to updating the controlling or coercive behaviour statutory guidance by the end of 2026. This will reflect the latest policy and practice, as well as new and emerging issues.
In relation to reductions in sentencing, it has long been the practice of the courts to give a reduction in sentence where a defendant pleads guilty. A guilty plea avoids the need for a trial (enabling cases to be dealt with quickly), shortens the gap between charge and sentence, and, in the case of an early plea, saves victims and witnesses from the concern about having to give evidence.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Taunton and Wellington, with 9.2 signatures per 1,000 electors (720 in all).
105,611 of the signatures were from the UK and 435 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taunton and Wellington | 720 | 78,680 | 9.2 |
| Eastleigh | 623 | 69,965 | 8.9 |
| Havant | 635 | 72,323 | 8.8 |
| Isle of Wight East | 493 | 55,855 | 8.8 |
| Hamble Valley | 687 | 79,478 | 8.6 |
| Gosport | 595 | 73,261 | 8.1 |
| New Forest West | 558 | 68,644 | 8.1 |
| Dover and Deal | 602 | 76,406 | 7.9 |
| North Bedfordshire | 623 | 78,850 | 7.9 |
| Huntingdon | 614 | 79,074 | 7.8 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 26,197 |
| South West | 13,577 |
| East of England | 12,190 |
| North West | 10,561 |
| West Midlands | 7,472 |
| East Midlands | 7,164 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 6,911 |
| Wales | 5,267 |
| North East | 5,047 |
| Scotland | 4,854 |
| London | 4,760 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,240 |
Debate in Parliament
The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate for 19 October 2026.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764553.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
62899d303b70afe3… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.