Judges have been instructed to get tough on sex offenders.

The warning from the attorney general and Court of Appeal came after judges in a series of sex cases were accused of paying insufficient weight to the proper interests of victims and the public.

"If the courts do not impose sentences in line with guidelines, politicians will move in and impose minimum terms, eroding the discretion of judges. It is in their own interests to impose appropriate sentences," said former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe