A committee of MPs has said it is "inappropriate" to send people who commit domestic violence to therapy classes instead of jail.

The Commons home affairs select committee said in a new report on Wednesday that new draft sentencing guidelines for domestic violence suggest that suspended sentences or community orders could be used where a short spell in prison is being considered and there is a realistic prospect of reform.

This would be on the condition that the offender attends a domestic violence programme.

But the committee said there was insufficient evidence that "perpetrator programmes" were a suitable alternative to prison.

And it argued it was "inappropriate" to reward remorse with non-custodial sentences given the frequency of relapses
by offenders.

"We recommend a cautious approach to domestic violence perpetrators' programmes until more evidence is available as to their effectiveness," the report concluded.

It added that perpetrators' programmes should not be seen as an alternative sentence to a custodial sentence but as an "additional sentencing option for both custodial and non-custodial sentences".

However the committee also concluded that the progress of offenders who plead guilty and take part voluntarily in a domestic violence programme could be considered in sentencing.

It also backed the move to treat domestic violence as seriously as other violent crime.

Shadow home secretary David Davis welcomed the findings in the report.

"We have previously warned that discretion as proposed by the Sentencing Guidelines Council should only ever be used with extreme caution as errors could lead to the most appalling circumstances," he said.