Teen Rapists Face Custody After Appeal Overturns "Lenient" Sentence
7/2/202642 min
Today, two teenage boys who raped girls in Hampshire have been given four years' detention after the Court of Appeal changed their sentences. A third boy’s youth rehabilitation order was left unchanged.
UK correspondent, Daniel Sandford was at the court and explains the reasoning behind the judges’ decision.
Plus, Morgan McSweeney, the elusive former chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer has given his first ever media interview. He spoke to Political Thinking’s Nick Robinson about Labour’s lack of preparation for government and his response to allegations of a boys club in Number 10.
Nick joins Alex and James to unpack what we learned.
Information and support for the issues raised in this podcast can be found on BBC Action Line: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord
Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were James Cook and Alex Forsyth. It was made by Miranda Slade with Shiler Mahmoudi and Anna Harris. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJames Cook· Host0:00
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
Speaker 20:03
[news jingle] The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.
James Cook· Host0:10
And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe.
Daniel Sandford0:21
We have this ability to export our story, and, uh, a lot of people have bought it.
James Cook· Host0:26
I feel like the American Dream is alive but not well.
Speaker 20:28
From the BBC, it's The United States at 250.
James Cook· Host0:31
Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts. [news jingle] So two 15-year-old boys who were spared prison after raping two girls in Hampshire have now been sentenced to four years in youth detention after the Court of Appeal in London ruled that their original sentence was unduly lenient.
Alex Forsyth· Host0:53
Mm. This is a case which has just prompted an enormous amount of reaction and response, and in fact, we're gonna talk about exactly that on today's episode of Newscast.
Speaker 21:02
[news jingle] Newscast from the BBC.
James Cook· Host1:04
Hello, it's James in the studio.
Alex Forsyth· Host1:15
And it's Alex in the studio. And just to warn you, as we discuss this ruling today by the Court of Appeal, we are gonna talk about some upsetting details. So, so if you'd like to avoid listening to that, completely understandably, then you can skip ahead to the second half

