Contributions
2,005 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDJudges and Legal Professionals: AfghanistanLast month, soon after the Foreign Secretary was found topping up his suntan instead of doing his job, Labour worked with the Bar Council to send to the Foreign Office a list of…14 Sept 2021HANSARDThe Rule of LawThank you very much, Mr Speaker. In the middle of a pandemic, the Secretary of State’s Government are prioritising attacking the Human Rights Act and judicial review,…14 Sept 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsOn a point of order, Mr Speaker.14 Sept 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsYes, Mr Speaker. In oral questions, the whole House expressed tremendous concern about the situation that faces Afghan judges. In response to my question earlier, the Secretary of…14 Sept 2021HANSARD Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI will just make some progress, if I may. I think most people would be appalled to learn that rapists can be sentenced to as little as four years in prison—for one of the most…05 Jul 2021HANSARD Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillIt is a pleasure to follow the Chair of the Select Committee. This Bill presented the Government with an opportunity to enact measures that would end violence against women and…05 Jul 2021HANSARD Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI think the right hon. Gentleman is misreading what we did in office. The point is that today, he has an opportunity to vote for a minimum sentence. The question is: is he going…05 Jul 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsI have to say that the Secretary of State’s verbosity serves him well. In March, the Lord Chancellor told the Justice Committee that he had been “played for a fool” in relation to…29 Jun 2021HANSARDHuman Rights Act 1998 (Amendment)This week, the UN’s special rapporteur for human rights said that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021…29 Jun 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsBoth the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have apologised for the Government’s failure of rape victims resulting in record low prosecution and conviction rates. In…29 Jun 2021HANSARDEnd-to-end Rape ReviewLast week, the Secretary of State took the bold step of saying that he was “sorry” and “deeply ashamed” for how he and his Government had failed rape victims. “Sorry” is a word…21 Jun 2021HANSARD Hillsborough: Collapse of TrialsI am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle), who has been at these issues in this House for 24 years on behalf of her constituents and…10 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for seeking to assist his good friend the Secretary of State, but let me just say to him that all around the common law world—in Australia, in…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsI am grateful to the Secretary of State for that undertaking, and of course I will work with him on that. I am grateful that he paid tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hove…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsIn 2010, 152,791 Crown court cases took, on average, 391 days to complete. In 2019, 107,913 cases took an average of 511 days, meaning that 30% fewer cases took over 75% longer to…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsIt absolutely cannot say that it is tough on crime when victims of crime face watching their cases collapse. I recognise that this has been a very pressured time—it is a…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsNothing in the Bill is specific on crimes that disproportionately affect women; in 296 pages the Bill does not even mention women once. We need an increase in the minimum tariff…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsI said in terms, in Hansard , that nothing in the Bill increases the sentences for rape, and the Secretary of State gets to his feet and talks about time served, not what my party…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsI do not want to put the women I am talking about in any kind of political posture, but the Secretary of State knows that nothing in his Bill increases the sentence length for…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Protecting the Public and Justice for VictimsI am really grateful to my hon. Friend for conveying the seriousness of this. A young woman who has been subject to a rape is frightened, lonely, and confused, and feels all sorts…09 Jun 2021