Bid to get tough on perpetrators of acid attacks

Home secretary outlines plans to ensure legal powers are sufficient

The home secretary has indicated acid attack convictions could soon carry life sentences in England and Wales as a crackdown on corrosive substances was unveiled by the Government.

Amber Rudd warned that an overhaul of current guidelines would ensure those who use noxious liquids as a weapon “feel the full force of the law”.

“I am clear that life sentences must not be reserved for acid attack survivors,” she wrote in the Sunday Times.

The Government aims to put in place measures which restrict the sale of such substances by retailers, Ms Rudd said.

The move is part of a new strategy to crack down on acid attacks following a recent spate of high-profile incidents, including five assaults that were linked in London on Thursday.

The Home Office said it will work with police and the Ministry of Justice to assess whether powers available to the courts are sufficient.

Mrs Rudd wrote: “We will seek to ensure that everyone working within the criminal justice system ... has the powers they need to punish severely those who commit these appalling crimes.”

New guidance will also be issued to police officers on preventing attacks, searching potential attackers for harmful substances and responding to victims at the scene.

More than corrosive substance attacks were carried out in the six months up to April 2017, according to figures from 39 forces in England and Wales.

Sarah Newton, minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability, will outline the Government’s strategy on acid attacks in the Commons today.