Attorney General Responds To Sadiq Khan Over Zombie Knife Sentence

This is the Attorney General's response to the letter the Mayor of London wrote asking for a review of the suspended sentence for Joshua Gardner.

The 18-year-old avoided jail back in November, despite being filmed attacking a car in Croydon with a zombie knife.

After the man avoided a prison sentence, the Mayor told LBC that he would be writing to the Attorney General to ask him to review the overly-lenient sentence.

The letter was subsequently published by LBC.

Today, LBC can reveal what was in that response. The Attorney general writes:

"Thank you for your letter of 28th November 2018.

When I received your letter, my office obtained the papers in this case from the CPS. Having looked into the case, I agree with you that this sentence seems to be unduly lenient; I have therefore decided to refer it to the Court of Appeal so that this sentence can be considered again by the judges there."

The Attorney General's Response to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Picture: Attorney General's Office

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am pleased the Attorney General agrees with me that Joshua Gardner’s sentence appears unduly lenient and has now decided to refer it to the Court of Appeal after I wrote to him last month.

“I am clear that we will not be able to tackle rising violence on our streets without effective and proportionate punishments for offenders.”