Contributions
1,226 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way. Last year, the Government spoke about additional protection for war memorials. We all understand the value of war…16 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI will always bow to the right hon. Gentleman’s guidance on parliamentary procedure, but we took a final decision to vote against this Bill. Let me say to Government Members that…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillIn one moment, because I need to deal with the issue of the rape statistics that has been raised. We are seeing fewer people being prosecuted and convicted for rape than at any…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance that is being put on statues over women, and the Government should be ashamed. This comes at a time when—15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI asked the Home Secretary earlier in the statement to tell me how many people convicted of rape were actually sentenced to life imprisonment, and she could not answer the…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy hon. Friend is absolutely right and I will come on to that issue in a moment, when I have some proposals to put forward. Ministers risk sending out an awful message on the…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI am grateful for that, and when the Home Secretary returns to the Home Office, I would be grateful if she could dig out the letter and respond. That would be extremely useful—it…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillAbsolutely. The cancellation of that workstream is entirely wrong. I say to the Home Secretary that the offer is open on that. The letter has been sent to the Home Office; reply…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI will come to other concerning aspects of the Bill in a moment, but it says a great deal that when I am talking about the great British tradition of the right to protest, it is a…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Parts of the Bill could have been removed and we could have had a cross-party discussion on making the rest of it work. The Government have…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillBecause the existing laws deal with those issues. The Conservative party is not making the case for the additional powers. The right to protest to those in power—including the…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillThe House meets today in the shadow of the tragic loss of Sarah Everard, and I know the whole House will be united in sending our thoughts to her loved ones at this time of…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolicing and Prevention of Violence against WomenI thank the Home Secretary for coming to the House to make a statement and for advance sight of it. We come together at a time of national grief and what must now be a time of…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI think the hon. Member needs to reread the Bill on the scope of the provisions, frankly, because it is extraordinarily loosely drafted. Rights of access to the countryside were…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillThat is a wonderful intervention to take; I am sure we will all be delighted to hear that. The Government could do more on the issue I was discussing. For example, tutors and…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillLet me make some progress; I have taken a number of interventions. I come to the police covenant and frontline police officers across the country. Like the Home Secretary, I meet…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Having understood the attitude of the Government in 2018, perhaps it is not surprising how slow this has been.15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillAbsolutely. The Government could press pause on the Bill and bring the whole House together. Research has shown that, during the pandemic alone, one in six of our shop workers…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillYes, I was not aware of your position on the Bill, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have not finished my speech yet, so the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson) will…15 Mar 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillWith great respect, the hon. Gentleman identifies a complexity, but I think he agrees with me that that difference in the law—the 15 and 25-year tariffs—is not justifiable as it…15 Mar 2021