Contributions
1,528 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI absolutely commit myself to working with the Victims Minister. The issue of consent, and the age of consent, was a huge part of Baroness Casey’s review, and a number of Members…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMy hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) mentioned the importance of drawing attention to the fact that, especially in the context of the online…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI thank my hon. Friend for his kind words, and I will certainly take that opportunity, because I have seen this with my own eyes in cases in which I have been involved. People…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseIt is not that victims like Joanna do not deserve justice; they absolutely do deserve justice. I do not know about Joanna’s case, but I should be more than happy to meet her and…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseAbsolutely. One of Baroness Casey’s recommendations was for a piece of research on exactly that: the “why” about things that were covered up and the “why” about communities but…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI did actually say in my statement that, as outlined in Baroness Casey’s review, the inquiry should take around two to three years and be time-sensitive. All I can say to the…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI stand here as a vessel of the victims who have spoken to me. They have not necessarily used the word “sectarian”, but they hate this issue being used as a political football.…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman—he is not a man I have fallen out with before. I heard from some whistleblowers this week that some of their testimony was not published…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseIt would be playing a very long game to say that I have been taken kicking or screaming into this issue. Sarah Rowbotham was one of the whistleblowers, and I wrote a book about…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseOf course I will meet the hon. Gentleman and, like I say, any colleagues who wish to take part in this work. As somebody who represents a large and diverse community, I have to…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Violence against Women and Girls: Pornography ProstitutionThank you, Sir Desmond, for thinking of the time that I might have to respond. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank and commend my hon. Friend the Member for…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI would like to update the House on the progress being made to deliver Baroness Casey’s recommendations following her national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI partially thank the shadow Home Secretary for his tone, but I will correct the record. I did not say that he had done nothing: I said that Baroness Casey said that there had…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseThere absolutely are. My hon. Friend is exactly right that there are differences, so it will be for the chair, a panel and a commission to do that work in localities and ensure…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseAbsolutely. Long before Baroness Casey was pointing out the safeguarding issues, I was being lobbied by decent, hard-working people about the failures of the taxi licensing system…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI met the Department for Transport on the issue of taxi licensing last week—this is about looking for a legislative vehicle. The Government have said that we will undo some of the…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI praise my hon. Friend for her long-term commitment in this space. The Government have given a number of updates on IICSA. I expect to come back to this House soon—one way or…02 Sept 2025HANSARD Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI pay tribute to Ann Cryer, a woman I am incredibly fond of—personally as well as professionally—for her immense bravery. I have no doubt that none of us would be sitting in the…02 Sept 2025HANSARDDirector of Labour Market Enforcement Annual Strategy 2025-26Alongside my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets (Justin Madders), I am publishing today the labour market…21 Jul 2025HANSARDIdentification of Victims of Modern Slavery: Call for EvidenceThe national referral mechanism is the framework used in the UK to formally identify and support victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, in line with the UK’s legal…16 Jul 2025