Robert Jenrick has been accused of “Trumpism” after the Tory frontbencher claimed new sentencing guidelines discriminate against “straight, white men”.

The shadow justice secretary is complaining about the independent Sentencing Council, which sets out recommendations for courts in England and Wales.

The Council’s latest guidelines, set to take effect from April, suggest that – for certain types of offenders – a pre-sentence report “will normally be considered necessary”.

The independent Council says this would make sure courts have “the most comprehensive information available” for each sentence, and could help reduce disadvantages in the justice system.

Official figures from the government show offenders from ethnic minorities consistently receive longer sentences than others when it comes to indictable offences.

But Jenrick told Sky News this was evidence of “two-tier justice” and will be “very corrosive to public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system”.

He added: “To me, this seems like blatant bias, particularly against Christians, and against straight white men.

“Either this was the policy of the justice secretary – she’s changed her mind, but this was her policy – or she was asleep at the wheel.”

The Conservative Party has called for Labour to change the law so the government can overrule the Sentencing Council.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on social media: “Ministers should decide not quangos. Labour need to grip this.”

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has also criticised the new guidelines, saying to Jenrick yesterday in the Commons: “As somebody from an ethnic minority background, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law for anyone. There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch or under this Labour government.”

She wrote to the Council on Wednesday to “register my displeasure” and “recommend reversing this change to the guidance”.

But Jenrick’s claims of “two-tier justice” were slammed by Labour peer and prominent KC Helena Kennedy on Thursday morning.

She told Radio 4′s Today programme: “All the evidence shows that [the system] is disproportionately doing unfairness to certain sections of our society.

“Women are certainly in that category, young people from ethnic minorities are in that category. So a court knowing more about them is a good thing.”

She said the independent Sentencing Council is made up of “skilled people” from different backgrounds who rely on research and evidence. 

“This is Jenrick introducing Trumpism into our system,” she claimed.

Kennedy added that she was “very disappointed to hear there seemed to be a step back” after it was pointed out to her that Mahmood supported Jenrick’s criticisms of the Council yesterday.

Kennedy continued: “This is about wokeness, they want to say this is about being woke. It’s not. It’s about basing the system on real evidence where there are failures, and knowing more helps get better outcomes.”