There may not be many cases which justify a whole life order - that is, no prospect of parole - but Hashem Abedi, the Manchester bomber, is one.

He should spend the rest of his life in prison, and it is a failing of the law that the judge was prevented from passing that sentence

In the sentencing remarks below at para 17, Mr Justice Baker explains that he is prevented, by the legislation passed by Parliament, from imposing a whole life order on a defendant aged under 21.

His remarks make clear that this would otherwise have been the sentence. https://twitter.com/judiciaryuk/status/1296417821694537728

This is an example of why politicians seeking to tie the hands of sentencing judges is rarely a good thing. Removing judicial discretion means there is no wiggle room in difficult cases.

There’s a lot of anger about the sentence - but the fault is Parliament’s, not the judge’s.