Sharlotte Naglis: MP in appeals rethink call after drink-drive case

Jonathan Gullis told the Commons he thought the current appeals rules were "far too simplistic"

An MP has called for changes to the courts' appeals system, after a bid to extend the jail term of a drink-driver who killed a six-year-old girl failed.

John Owen, 46, was jailed for just over six years after he drove into Sharlotte Naglis and her father when he mounted a pavement in Stoke-on-Trent, in 2021.

Sharlotte's family's bid last month to get his sentence increased was rejected by the Attorney General's office.

But Jonathan Gullis MP said Owen's jail term was a "miscarriage of justice".

The Attorney General's office said an appeal could only be made if a sentence was "not just lenient, but unduly so".

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

Sharlotte was walking with her father on Endon Road, Norton Green when she was struck by the car

Speaking in the House of Commons Mr Gullis, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said: "Things must be adapted in response to such an emotive case."

He said he was told by the solicitor general "the case could not be referred to the Court of Appeal because no gross error had been made" in the sentencing.

But he argued that was "far too simplistic, and fails to consider that a category one sentence can range from eight to 14 years."

Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson, paid tribute to Mr Gullis and to Sharlotte's family for their campaign.

He said: "I acknowledge their courage in allowing Sharlotte's case to be highlighted."

A petition calling for the sentence to be reviewed was signed by 5,000 after a campaign by Sharlotte's family.

Speaking after the appeal was rejected Claire Reynolds, Sharlotte's mother, said: "We are continuing to fight and we are trying to overturn their decision."

Mr Tomlinson said the government had increased the maximum penalties for serious driving offences in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.