Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London, WC2A 2LL
B e f o r e:
LORD JUSTICE DYSON
MRS JUSTICE SWIFT DBE
R E G I N A
v
ANDREW PILKINGTON
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Non-Counsel Application
J U D G M E N T
LORD JUSTICE DYSON: On 4th June 2009 at Manchester Crown Court the applicant pleaded guilty to manslaughter. On 17th July he was sentenced to five years four months' imprisonment. The judge indicated that that sentence should run consecutively to the sentence of imprisonment that the applicant was already serving in respect of a count of burglary for which, while on licence, he had been recalled to prison. That sentence was due to expire on 20th October 2009.
The Registrar has referred the application for an extension of time of six weeks and for leave to appeal against sentence to the full court on the papers only. The ground of appeal is that the sentence for the substantive offence was unlawful in that it ought to have been ordered to run concurrently and not consecutively to the sentence the applicant was serving following his recall on licence. We give leave to appeal.
It is clear, in the light of section 265 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, that the judge could not order the sentence he imposed to run consecutively to the sentence that the appellant was already serving - see R v Smith [2009] EWCA Crim. 1779.
Accordingly, we vary the sentence passed so that the sentence of five years four months' imprisonment runs concurrently with the existing sentence. To that extent the appeal is allowed.