Shadow Minister (Justice)
Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle
I thank the Secretary of State for explaining, and I am sure that people are glad to hear about the involvement of a sponsoring Department and a sponsoring Minister in a public appointment. In answering my question, she need not revisit the points made about her role—we all understand them, and she has explained them clearly. She will know that when a Secretary of State has made a...
Last week, when told by my hon. Friend the Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) that the Sentencing Bill would cut prison time for rapists and child groomers, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), said she that would have to “go away and check” whether that was true—the time to check was before she...
Yet again, we have a Government and a Victims Minister who cannot tell the House basic facts about the implications of their Bill. I will tell her: 60% of rapists and 90% child groomers sent to prison will have their prison time cut. That is appalling. We also know that knives are all too often a feature of violence against women and girls. The House will have seen the tragic news that Katie...
Today is the day that, first and foremost, at the front of our minds will be one group of people, some of whom join us in the Gallery: those harmed by the state, those misled by the state, those lied to by the state. But those same people refused to accept that and would not take no for an answer. Those people knew the truth—the truth of what happened to them and to their relatives—and...
With the leave of the House, I will finish by explaining again that whatever good this Bill may do, the consequences for victims and their families’ sense of justice in this country are grave—the very same victims who want to see prosecution rates improve, who want to see court waiting times reduced, and who want to have a criminal justice system that works better for them in so many...
I note the interest of the hon. Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) in domestic abuse and other offences. Will the Minister confirm for her that the vast majority of offenders convicted of offences related to domestic abuse will get out of prison much earlier as a result of this Bill?
The Minister is perfectly capable of legislating on this issue and letting the homicide work continue. He says that that would be “wrong”, but it is not wrong—it is just his choice, and it is the wrong choice.
Does the Minister accept that he is legislating to let those people out automatically? He expects Labour Members to accept the promise that later, at some point, he might introduce legislation so that some of those people—a small proportion—do not get out, but whatever he says at the Dispatch Box, he is legislating to let them out automatically. That is the consequence of this legislation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional number of offenders will be entitled to release from prison on each day of the 28 days and then each month of the subsequent 11 months following the day of enactment of the Sentencing Bill alterations to automatic release points, broken down by offence.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Wealden District Council and (b) Wealden District Council's (i) leadership and (ii) councillors have made legal challenges to (i) prevent or (ii) delay the use of Crowborough Training Camp as accommodation for asylum seekers.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide the prison population figures by (a) offence type and (b) sentence length in the most recent period for which data is available.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) people and (b) full-time equivalent staff are employed in the Murder and Manslaughter Team in the latest period for which data is available.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many in-person meetings the Murder and Manslaughter Team have had with clients in each of the last three years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any Ministers in her Department met with Sir Brian Leveson in relation to the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with Serco on electronic tagging.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason she has increased legal aid for immigration cases.
