Contributions
1,118 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Lammy ReviewI am grateful to the hon. and learned Lady, for whom I also have a great deal of respect. In December 2017, the Government response to the Lammy review said, in paragraph 8: “We…30 Jun 2020HANSARDBlack Women: Domestic AbuseI thank my hon. Friend and commend him for the work that he is doing with Women’s Aid. He is absolutely right, because we hear of this stigma and what is so upsetting about that…30 Jun 2020HANSARD Lammy ReviewMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We need a diverse judiciary. Things have improved a bit—12% of magistrates were from BAME backgrounds as of April 2019, which was 4%…30 Jun 2020HANSARD Lammy ReviewI thank my right hon. and learned Friend, who makes a characteristically pertinent point. If we want people to have confidence in the criminal justice system, they need to have…30 Jun 2020HANSARDExpert Panel on Harm in the Family Courts and Implementation PlanIn May 2019, the Ministry of Justice established a panel of experts to lead a review into how the family courts deal with risk of harm to children and parents in private law…25 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)Because juries have to have a rough sex defence to consider. That is our job. Our job is to create the statute.17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)We have to be very clear about this. If an individual does not have that defence, considering the elements of section 76, we would be left with a person who is apparently being…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)Of course it might be the case, but the important thing is that this defence allows a proper opportunity for a tribunal of fact to consider that, and I think it is absolutely…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)This is the first of two debates on different aspects of the controlling or coercive behaviour offence in section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. As the hon. Member for Hove has…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)The hon. Lady loves a review, she says sotto voce. Although Home Office officials have made good progress with the review, I am afraid that it has been one of the casualties of…17 Jun 2020HANSARD Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]I do not suggest that any of the amendments are improper or immoderate, but not all of them would have the impact that my right hon. Friend calls for.17 Jun 2020HANSARD Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]If that is right—I do not suggest that the hon. Gentleman is wrong about the statistics, although I have not seen the study—surely if we are in favour of reconciliation, we should…17 Jun 2020HANSARD Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]It has been a genuine privilege to hear the speeches today. They have been powerful, poignant and humorous, but above all, on every single occasion, principled. From whichever…17 Jun 2020HANSARD Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]I am grateful to my hon. Friend. On that issue, though, the 2017 Nuffield study noted that for people who have come to the hard decision to divorce and have begun the legal…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Lady for her excellent and helpful representations. The context is that I entirely agree with the premise of her point. If I can crystallise it, she is in effect…17 Jun 2020HANSARD Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]My hon. Friend is another example of an extremely principled individual who I know has misgivings about this Bill. I can give him that assurance, but I want to deal with that…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)Hear, hear.17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)I grappled with this as a Back Bencher when we wanted to increase the maximum sentence, and for precisely that reason—would a police officer, or the CPS, think it was worth the…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)I am sure that hon. Gentleman does look at it. The 1997 Act was amended to include section 2A, which deals with the “Offence of stalking”. Section 2A says: “A person is guilty of…17 Jun 2020HANSARDDomestic Abuse Bill (Eleventh sitting)With respect, that is not a fair characterisation. Parliament had the opportunity to consider the Bill in 2015. It went through Committee stage in this House, and it went through…17 Jun 2020