Contributions
1,118 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Prison CapacityThe right hon. Lady is right when she says it is important to try to reduce the period of time that people are waiting. I absolutely get that point, but in the interests of…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. Dangerous driving shatters lives and families, which is why we thought it was right, in recognition of the sheer harm…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityMy right hon. Friend makes two excellent points. It is worth reflecting on the fact that since 2019, we have deported around 15,000 foreign national offenders. A huge amount of…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityOf course I will—what an appalling case. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend. On the changes to whole life orders that we have introduced following the dreadful Sarah…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison Capacityl pay tribute to my right hon. and learned Friend. I talked about tough decisions being made in the white heat of the pandemic, and he is the one who said that we will not get rid…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityThe first part of the hon. Gentleman’s question, on IPPs, was absolutely right, and I am delighted to hear that he agrees. However, he is making a bad political point on the…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityThat is an excellent question. In appropriate cases, pre-sentence reports are vital because the probation service can provide the sentencing judge or magistrate with all the…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityAs is so often the case, the hon, Gentleman is absolutely right. We have to ensure that victims are not spectators in the criminal justice process, but participants in it. That is…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityI know that the hon. Gentleman cares passionately about joint enterprise, but I must tell him this: joint enterprise is the legal doctrine that means that the getaway driver is…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityThe hon. Gentleman is right, and I remember when IPPs came in; they were created by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. I was a barrister at the time and I remember that under the…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityMay I first put it on the record that no one could be a more doughty defender of the interests of the people of Buckingham than my hon. Friend, who raises with me time and again…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityI am very glad the right hon. Member has mentioned Berwyn. I went to Berwyn, and she is right that we always want to recruit more prison staff, but let us pause for a second just…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityMy hon. Friend is completely correct. We in this Chamber all know that the context for offending—not an excuse, but the context—can be deep-seated problems of addiction,…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityTo take the second point first, I am so pleased to hear my right hon. Friend say that. There are certain things that really are important in our jurisdiction: first, we do not do…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityThe hon. Gentleman made some fair points, and I will get back to him.16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityMore than many people in this place, my hon. Friend combines compassion with clarity of thought. She absolutely demonstrated that. It is incumbent on all of us to advocate for…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityI thank the hon. Gentleman. In fairness, that was quite a good joke; it was not bad—16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityWhat an excellent point to end on. It is critical that where a community is offended against, the offenders make that community whole—in other words, that they do the work,…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityAs always, my hon. Friend makes a robust point. It is not right that the British people, having suffered the crime in the first place, should then have to pay for the privilege of…16 Oct 2023HANSARD Prison CapacityI thank my hon. Friend for his typically thoughtful and considered response. He is absolutely right that we have to make choices about what we do in respect of the custodial…16 Oct 2023