Courts and Tribunals Bill

Part of Solicitor General – in the House of Commons at on 19 March 2026.

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Photo of Ellie Reeves Ellie Reeves Party Chair, Labour Party, The Solicitor-General

May I first pay tribute to the hon. Lady’s tireless campaigning on behalf of her constituents, Paula and Tony Hudgell? I am pleased that the Government have now announced a child cruelty register.

In relation to the points made by the hon. Lady, Sir Brian Leveson—an incredibly well regarded and experienced lawyer—took months on his two reports, which set out a huge number of recommendations. The hon. Lady talks about choices. Well, we inherited a court system on its knees, with rape victims waiting three years—more, in some cases—for their cases to get to court. It was a dereliction of duty by the previous Government not to tackle that court backlog, but we are getting on with the job. That is the choice that this Government have made.