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675 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Sentencing BillI agree with my right hon. Friend. This disgrace of a Bill will not be sending people to prison, and at the same time it will be letting people out of prison. Amendments 46, 47,…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillRehabilitation is key, but so is prison. Prison for people who have committed crimes is essential. Prisons are about removing a danger from society.21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing Bill“Shocking” actually is the word for this Bill. As the Minister did not offer any way forward and has not agreed to a sunset clause, I will push my amendment 46 to a vote. Question…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillIt might be helpful to give some of the numbers. Three prisons were built, with 8,500 places—they were delayed because of lockdown—and another three prisons are on the way.21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillWe all believe in second chances, and that is where rehabilitation comes into play. We are possibly dealing with continual offending here. People have come before the courts, been…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI will not. New clauses 48 and 49 would mean that offenders would not be eligible for a mandatory suspended sentence if they had previously been given a suspended sentence or an…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI am glad that the hon. Lady raised that point. When I was brought back into the Cabinet Office, people in the left-leaning civil service, in the Ministry of Justice, said, “Let’s…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillMy right hon. Friend is exactly right. That is why I pointed out that the Bill is all about ideology; it is not about logic. I mentioned the extra prisons that were started in…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillAnd did you?21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillMy right hon. Friend talks about the number of people who will be released from prison. I spoke earlier about the number of people who will not even be going to prison. All in all…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillMy right hon. Friend makes his point clear. The Minister was listening, and I hope that he will answer that question in his remarks. People cannot seriously think it is acceptable…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillDoes the hon. Lady agree that if there are not enough prison places, then we should build more of them, not let people out of prison? That is what we should be doing— […21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI thank the hon. Lady for making that point, although I would point out that under the last Government three prisons were built—HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way and HMP…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right that this Bill removes a deterrent. Repeat knife offenders are supposed to get a mandatory immediate custodial sentence of six months,…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI oppose the whole idea of forcing courts to give suspended sentences when they should be sending offenders to prison. We all know that it is hard to get sent to prison in the…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI beg to move amendment 46, in clause 1, page 1, line 14, leave out “not more” and insert “less”. The presumption for a suspended sentence would apply to sentences of less than 12…21 Oct 2025HANSARD Sentencing BillI am deeply dismayed by what the Minister had to say. This Bill will make the streets of our country less safe. It will both let thousands of criminals out of prison and stop…21 Oct 2025HANSARDKnife CrimeBefore I call the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) to open the debate, I wish to make a short statement about the sub judice resolution. I am sure Members will have…15 Oct 2025HANSARDKnife CrimeIs it a point of order? I remind Members that it is down to the Member speaking whether to accept interventions. I will listen to the hon. Gentleman’s point of order, and we will…15 Oct 2025HANSARDKnife CrimeThat was not a point of order—15 Oct 2025