“In principle, in historic or cold cases, a defendant had to be sentenced in accordance with the sentencing regime applicable at the date of sentence. Nevertheless, as the offence which he had committed years earlier contravened the criminal law in force at the date when it was committed a defendant was liable to be convicted of that offence and no other and therefore the sentence was limited to the maximum sentence then available for the offence of which he had been convicted.”
WLR Daily, 24th November 2011
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
