Contributions
410 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDVictims and Courts BillIn a week when the Government have been reprimanded for letting foreign criminals out of prison without proper checks or safeguards, have been found to have done absolutely…25 Mar 2026HANSARDVictims and Courts BillThat is a good point. The Minister has her side of the argument, but on the other side is the Justice Committee, pretty much every journalist involved in crime and court…25 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI join the Justice Secretary in sending condolences to the family of Jeff Blair. I also pay tribute to the shadow Solicitor General, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and…17 Mar 2026HANSARDJury TrialsThe Prime Minister, we learned this weekend, once said that trials without juries mean evidence is not properly tested and can lead to wrongful convictions. Was he wrong?17 Mar 2026HANSARDJury TrialsI think the public will be disappointed by this behaviour. The Justice Secretary cannot get his story straight. Like the Prime Minister, he once said: “Criminal trials without…17 Mar 2026HANSARDJury TrialsThank you, Mr Speaker— [ Interruption. ]17 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI completely—10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI give way.10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillThe Institute for Government has made it absolutely clear that the figures that the Government have produced are based on assumptions that are not necessarily shared by anybody…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillMagistrates have their place in the system, but jury trials are fundamental to our inheritance, and to public confidence in the criminal justice system. If the reason is not…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillCrown court waiting times were actually lower under the Conservatives until the pandemic. It is true that the backlog grew during the pandemic, but the pandemic came before the…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI will not give way. Of course, when the Justice Secretary’s predecessor, the Home Secretary, commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of the criminal courts, she knew…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI do not accept that characterisation of magistrates courts. If that were a true cause for concern for the hon. Lady, this Bill would perhaps try to address what she says, yet it…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillMy right hon. and learned Friend is exactly right. I was planning to turn to that point, because the Bill creates a problem not only in the burden of time it creates, but in the…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI will make some progress. This opens up new risks. The publication of judges’ reasons is likely to lead to more appeals and more court time being taken up. As questions are posed…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI will not. It is not difficult to see how this, too, will undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system and put judges in an impossible situation.10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI totally understand what the hon. Lady says, and we are all interested in the best interests of victims. [ Interruption. ] To suggest otherwise is absolutely appalling, and the…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI will not give way again. We are talking about a fundamental change in the way that we try criminal cases, and the cases in scope are not minor; they are cases where the likely…10 Mar 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals BillI beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “That” to the end of the Question and add: “this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Courts and Tribunals Bill because…10 Mar 2026HANSARDSeparation Centres ReviewI thank the Justice Secretary for advance sight of his statement, and I welcome the publication of this important review. The Government commissioned Jonathan Hall to produce his…03 Feb 2026