Offenders who refuse to face their victims’ families in court for sentencing could be stripped of privileges or kept in cells for weeks under government changes granting wider powers to judges in England and Wales.

The imposition of new prison sanctions, coming into effect next year, builds on existing laws that order offenders to attend sentencing or face a fine or be jailed for a further two years for contempt of court.

“Criminals should not be able to pick and choose when they face justice. Refusing to turn up to sentencing is an insult to victims and their families, and offenders must face the consequences,” said the prisons minister, Catherine McKinnell.

The new rules, to be laid before parliament on Thursday, will grant judges new powers to impose a loss of prison privileges for 84 days, cell confinement for 21 days, a loss of social visits for 27 days and a restriction on visits to once every four weeks, for 84 days.…