Since the last Justice questions, the Victims and Courts Act 2026 and the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which both put victims at the heart of the justice system, have received Royal Assent. In the Gracious Speech, His Majesty the King confirmed that we will proceed with the Courts and Tribunals Bill to turn the tide on the Crown court backlog and deliver swifter justice for victims, and that we remain committed to a Hillsborough law to bring in a duty of candour for public service and rebuild confidence in the justice system. Those are yet more examples of this Government getting on with delivering justice for the British people.
Cornwall continues to face some of the UK’s worst legal aid deserts, with rurality and lack of transport adding to the postcode lottery. According to the Law Society, a third of domestic abuse survivors were forced to represent themselves in court, as even when advice is available, eligibility criteria often stand in their way. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss raising the income threshold for the legal aid means test in line with inflation and removing the capital assets requirement altogether to ensure that victims of economic abuse can access justice?
It is of course important that those who need legal aid can access it, including those in rural communities and victims of domestic abuse. We work with the market to mitigate localised pressures where they exist, by supporting a mix of face-to-face, telephone and remote advice provision. I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman gets a meeting with the Minister.
T2. Last Friday I met a constituent whose child was fatally stabbed five years ago. As a parent myself, I cannot begin to imagine what the family have gone through and the trauma they have faced since. Concerningly, the killer of that child has repeatedly accessed social media while in prison to cruelly taunt the victim’s family. I have spoken with other constituents and their families who have unfortunately had similar experiences. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is completely unacceptable, and will he look at my constituent’s case so that we can ensure that violent offenders cannot continue to taunt victims from behind bars?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Let me be absolutely clear: prisoners are not permitted to have access to social media in any circumstances and face punishment if they do so. All cases are investigated by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service if they are discovered. A few weeks ago I visited our state-of-the-art digital forensics lab, which interrogates any phones found and provides evidence to bring successful prosecutions in court. I hope that reassures his constituent.
This weekend, two marches came to London: one was condemned by the Justice Secretary; about the other—yet another anti-Israel march—there was not a word. Once again we heard crowds of people demanding intifada revolution and other coded calls for attacks on British Jews. If the Crown Prosecution Service refuses to prosecute the thugs who chant “Globalise the intifada” and other calls for violence, why will the Justice Secretary not change the law so that these people get what they deserve?
I want to reassure the hon. Gentleman that everyone inciting violence against Jewish communities in our country must face the full force of the law. I know he will recognise that I represent the Stamford Hill area of London, with its significant Orthodox Jewish community, and I am grateful that he has raised this. Can I just remind him that the CPS updated its guidance on hate crimes on 5 May, to ensure that people face the law as they should?
T3. I have concerns about recent reports that the Society of Media Lawyers, which opposes the reform of strategic lawsuits against public participation, has had significant access to Ministers and civil servants while lobbying against stronger protections for journalists, whistleblowers and campaigners. SLAPPs continue to be used by the super-wealthy and super-powerful to silence investigative reporting and public interest speech. Will the Government bring forward meaningful and undiluted anti-SLAPP legislation?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We cannot allow the rich and powerful to use their resources to stop proper investigation, and I will be bringing forward legislation as soon as time allows.
T4. I have heard from victims of domestic abuse and stalking about the harrowing journey they face in rebuilding their lives. For many, the one thing that gives them comfort is the knowledge that their abuser cannot reach them from behind bars, but Government changes to category D prisons can now allow these offenders to be moved to open conditions much earlier than before, despite their crimes being exempt from standard determinate sentence 40—SDS 40—because of their recognised higher risk. Will the Minister meet me to discuss excluding domestic abusers and stalkers from early transfer to open prisons, so that the victims’ peace of mind can be retained?
As I said earlier, all prisoners, including those convicted of domestic violence and stalking offences, will be allowed to move to an open prison only when they have been assessed and risk assessed. I am very happy to organise a meeting between the hon. Gentleman and the relevant Minister to discuss this case.
T6. I welcome the youth justice White Paper and its focus on tackling the root causes of offending. Like many of my colleagues, I have seen tragic cases of vulnerable young people being clearly exploited by adults and drawn into crime. May I urge the Minister to ensure that the new offence of child criminal exploitation is brought forward swiftly and that it is robust enough to go after those responsible?
There is nothing more tragic than seeing young people, often from deprived backgrounds, preyed on by adults to run drugs and all sorts of contraband across the country. We will be bringing that offence forward as soon as possible.
T5. Kendal magistrates court was outrageously closed in 2017, on the promise that sittings would continue in other public buildings in Kendal, yet there has not been a single sitting in Kendal since 2020. Will the Justice Secretary put this right urgently, so that that promise can be kept and local people can have reasonable access to justice?
The hon. Gentleman knows that the Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising caseload. He also knows that the last Government closed courts right across the country. We are legislating for structural reform. We are investing £2.78 billion to bring down the backlog. We will continue to look closely at the needs in Kendal, but he recognises that it will take some time to address what we inherited.
T9. The latest Women’s Aid annual audit highlights that nearly 80% of domestic abuse survivors now face devastating tech-facilitated abuse and online stalking. How will the Ministry of Justice collaborate across Government to ensure that our courts and prosecutors are fully equipped to tackle digital violence?
I thank my hon. Friend for her consistent efforts to raise the issue of online harms. Whether it is physical, verbal or online, abuse is abuse, and this Government are determined to tackle violence against women and girls online as well as off. We are making it illegal to take or make intimate images without consent, including deepfakes. Our new deletion orders will ensure that courts can require offenders convicted of intimate image offences to delete images of their victims. The VAWG strategy sets out our plan across Government to tackle digitally facilitated violence.