Killer Crewe van driver's sentence will not be reviewed

A van driver who killed a pedestrian will not have his sentence reviewed, despite calls from an MP.

William Bratton was jailed for just over six years in May after he admitted killing 23-year-old Joshua Spender by driving dangerously in Crewe.

Crewe's Conservative MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, had called for Bratton's jail term to be reviewed as unduly lenient.

However the attorney general said the case did not meet the threshold to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Bratton, 30, formerly of Market Drayton in Shropshire, struck Mr Spender as he made his away across a pedestrian crossing on Macon Way on 5 November 2021.

The Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme enables people to ask for a review in cases where they believe the sentence given is too low.

In a letter to the attorney general, Dr Mullan said the community had been left deeply upset by the sentence handed to Bratton.

A spokesperson from the attorney general's office said: "After careful consideration the solicitor general has concluded that this case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.

"A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

"The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case."

Dr Mullan said he was "disappointed but not surprised" by the government's response.

"The harsh reality is that our justice system simply does not deliver sentences worthy of the word justice often enough," he said.

"Sentences should reflect the devastation for families people like Bratton cause.

"Some of the most serious offenders are spending longer in prison now but it's not enough."

Mr Spender's mother, Sarah Shenton, thanked Dr Mullan, and the community of Crewe for the support they had shown the family.

Although she said she was "disappointed" by the decision "deep down as a family we knew it wouldn't really succeed".

"Nothing will ever bring Josh back, but it is lovely to know such a lot of people have been outraged by the sentence... [the] amount of people who have offered us support and love has been incredible really," she said.

"Josh was just a lovely, lovely lad, we absolutely adored him.

"Every day we talk about him, we just miss so much, we wish he was here with us.

"We have got to learn to live without him, it is like losing a leg, we have got to learn to walk without him."

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