Prison Officers: Pension Age

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 4:30 pm on 8 October 2019.

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Photo of Gordon Henderson Gordon Henderson Conservative, Sittingbourne and Sheppey 4:30, 8 October 2019

The hon. Lady must have been listening to Justice questions this morning, when I said exactly that. Since she has a prison in her constituency, I urge her to join the Prison Service parliamentary scheme. If she will bear with me, I will come to the issue of violence in prisons later.

My first reason is that the state has a duty to protect the public. That is why it is the state that prosecutes those suspected of committing a crime, and the state—only the state—that locks up those who are found guilty. That being the case, I do not believe that the state can subcontract the incarceration of those prisoners to the private sector. That leads me to my second reason—