Jail sentences for stepmum and dad who killed Arthur, 6, appealed for being 'too lenient'

The jail sentences handed to the twisted killers of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes have been referred to the Court of Appeal.

The Attorney General Suella Braverman has announced the jail terms are being looked into for being too lenient.

Emma Tustin and lover Thomas Hughes killed the six-year-old in a crime that horrified the nation.

Tragic Arthur was left with an unsurvivable brain injury while in the sole care of his father’s “evil” partner.

Tustin was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years at Coventry Crown Court on December 3.

Hughes - who was told his “infatuation” for Tustin had “obliterated” his love for his son – was jailed him for 21 years.

Referring the case to the Court of Appeal, Ms Braverman announced: “This is an extremely upsetting and disturbing case, involving a clearly vulnerable young child.

“Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes grossly abused their position of trust and subjected an innocent child, who they should have been protecting to continued emotional and physical abuse.

“I understand how distressing the public have found this case, but it is my job to decide if a sentence appears to be unduly lenient based on the facts of the case.

“I have carefully considered the details of this case, and I have decided to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal as I believe them to be too low.”

A date for the hearing at the Court of Appeal is yet to be set.

Warped Tustin was convicted of murder by assaulting little Arthur in the hallway of her Cranmore Road home in Solihull, near Birmingham, on June 16, 2020.

His beaten body was covered in 130 bruises and the boy died in hospital the next day.

She forced Arthur to sleep on the floor, poisoned him with salt and banged his head as part of a catalogue of abuse that disgusted the UK.

The stepmum is reportedly in prison isolation after being jailed for the murder.

She is now said to be in protective custody at HMP Peterborough.

The Mirror previously revealed how Tustin is being offered a parenting course in prison as part of her life sentence.

Birmingham Live revealed inmates tormented Tustin by throwing salt at her during her trial amid the accusation she poisoned the boy with it - a crime she was ultimately convicted of.