cases

They argue the changes will discourage companies hiring "particularly those at the margins of the labour market" as business will not want to risk costly tribunal cases.

"But those are just the ones that know about us and are able to pay the price, because these cases can take up to six months to sort."

It follows an earlier ban of similar products from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria after rising cases of the cattle disease in those countries.

While unable to comment on individual cases, the Guild of Students said support was available to students involved in disciplinary processes through its trained Advice team.

The sentence can be considered in exceptional cases such as those where two or more people have been killed with a significant degree of pre-meditation, or where one child is killed with similar pre-planning.