Stuart Hall faces new claims The sentence of the former It's A Knockout presenter has been doubled at the Court of Appeal after the initial jail term was criticised as "unduly lenient." When Hall's sentence was increased to 30 months, judges criticised his public denials of his victims' claims when he knew he was guilty. Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said the court regarded his original denials - describing the claims against him as "cruel, pernicious and spurious" in a statement made from the steps of a court - as a "seriously aggravating" feature in the case. He said that when Hall attacked his victims' claims, he knew the truth and, as an expert in the use of the media, was fully alert to the possible advantages of manipulating it. The case was referred to the Court of Appeal by Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who argued that Hall's sentence failed to adequately reflect the gravity of his offending and the public concern about such crimes.