Alex Belfield could have been given longer prison term but legal technicality makes it too late to change
The judge who sentenced Jeremy Vine’s stalker to five and a half years in prison made a mistake and could have given Alex Belfield a higher sentence, one of the UK government’s most senior legal advisers has said.
Yet a legal technicality means the court of appeal will not consider whether Belfield’s sentence should be increased, the Guardian has learned. Belfield is appealing for a lower jail term, prompting calls for a reform in the law to give victims more time to appeal under the “unduly lenient scheme” (ULS).
