[2025] EWCA Crim 1115

On 7 February 2024 the appellants, who we shall refer to as Mr Sami and Mr Salem, were convicted by a jury at St Albans Crown Court of an offence of conspiracy to steal. The trial judge was His Honour Judge Roques. On 12 December 2024, each appellant was sentenced to 51 months' imprisonment. Each now appeals against that sentence with the leave of the single judge.

At the same time as being sentenced for the offence with which we are concerned, Mr Salem also fell to be sentenced for a series of drug offences to which he had pleaded guilty in November 2023. Those offences had been committed in July 2019. There is no appeal against the sentence imposed for the drug offences. There was at the time of sentencing some uncertainty whether Mr Salem had been on bail or released under investigation when he committed the offence of conspiracy to steal. We agree with the sentencing judge that it makes little or no difference whether he was on bail or under investigation; in either event he went ahead and committed the offence with which we are primarily concerned.