Rolf Harris jail sentence will not be referred to Court of Appeal

Rolf Harris's prison sentence will not be referred to the Court of Appeal, as the Attorney General does not think the court would find it ‘unduly lenient’.

Harris, 84, of Fishery Road, Bray, was sentenced to five years and nine months for indecently assaulting four girls between 1968 and 1986.

The sentenced was referred to then Attorney General Dominic Grieve after complaints it was too soft.

Mr Grieve was replaced by Jeremy Wright in a cabinet reshuffle on July 14.

A statement from the Attorney General’s office says:

"After very careful consideration the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP has decided not to refer the five year and nine month sentence given to Rolf Harris to the Court of Appeal, as he did not think they would find it to be unduly lenient and increase it.

"The sentencing judge was bound by the maximum sentence in force at the time of the offending. The judge made some of the sentences consecutive to reach the total sentence, but he could not simply add up sentences on individual counts; the overall sentence had to be just and proportionate to the overall offending. The judge was also required to take into account the age of the offender.

"The Attorney General understands that his decision not to refer the case may be a disappointment to some people; however, he did give extremely careful consideration to this sentence and he concluded that he could not refer it."