A PAEDOPHILE who arranged to meet an “11-year-old girl” for sex is due to have his prison sentence reviewed at the Court of Appeal.

Matthew Millen travelled to Southampton to have sex with a young girl called Grace.

The 44-year-old took out £350 to pay for the horrific act which he planned to film.

Without realising it, Millen had been to an undercover police officer and Grace did not exist.

He was arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant in Westquay Shopping Centre in March 2019.

The former Bank of England cyber-security expert was convicted of attempting to pay for the sexual services of a child following a trial at Southampton Crown Court in December.

Judge Gary Burrell jailed him for three years.

But now, his sentence has been referred to the court of appeal because the Solicitor General Michael Ellis QC, considers it “too low”.

Millen is the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will have to register as a sex offender for life.

His case was referred to the Attorney General under the Unduly Lenient Scheme which allows crime victims, their families, prosecutors or the public to ask for a review of sentences they believe are too low.

The Attorney General, Suella Braverman can only ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence she considers to be “unduly lenient”.

This is usually in cases where the judge is believed to have made a mistake or imposed a sentence outside the range of what is reasonable.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “The Solicitor General has referred the sentence of Matthew Millen to the Court of Appeal under the ULS scheme as he considers it to be too low. It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.”

A hearing date at the Court of Appeal is still to be set.

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