A GANG member who armed the killer of schoolboy Rhys Jones is to have his sentence reviewed to determine if it is "unduly lenient", it was announced today.

The seven-year term handed down to James Yates at Liverpool Crown Court last month has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, Vera Baird QC.

A statement issued by the office of the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, announced the move today.

It stated: "The Solicitor General, Vera Baird QC, has decided to refer the sentence given to James Yates to the Court of Appeal.

"It will now be for the Court of Appeal, at a future hearing, to review the sentence to determine whether it is unduly lenient.

"If the Court of Appeal decides that the sentence is unduly lenient they have the power to increase the length of the sentence."

Croxteth Crew gang member Yates, now 21, was given a total of seven years’ detention for possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender.

Rhys’s parents, Stephen and Melanie Jones, later described the sentence, passed on January 29, as a "disgrace".

As well as the firearm charge Yates was convicted of assisting murderer Sean Mercer, 18, by helping dump the gun and his clothing.

If his sentence is not increased Yates, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, will serve just two years and nine months after time on remand is deducted.

Rhys' killer Sean Mercer, 18, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years before he can apply for parole, after being convicted of murder by a Liverpool Crown Court jury in December.