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747 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDraft Judicial Appointments Commission (Amendment) Regulations 2025I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Judicial Appointments Commission (Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John.…01 Dec 2025HANSARDCriminal Legal Aid Solicitor Fees Consultation: Government ResponseToday I am laying before Parliament the Government’s response to the consultation “Criminal Legal Aid: proposals for solicitor fee scheme reform”. Criminal legal aid lawyers play…01 Dec 2025HANSARDDraft Judicial Appointments Commission (Amendment) Regulations 2025I thank the shadow Minister for his contribution. He will know that the JAC was created under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to be an independent body to ensure that judicial…01 Dec 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe hon. Member will know that I regularly engage with the Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association and a range of other stakeholders. In fact, they agree with me that the system…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Domestic Abuse: ChildrenIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) on securing a debate on this important…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe hon. Gentleman puts his question very well, as is typical of him. I agree that the British public have confidence in jury trials, and rightly so—they are a cornerstone of…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryNo way. The context we are in is fundamentally different: we have record and rising backlogs, which are now hitting 80,000 cases. I say to Conservative Members, many of whom have…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe constitutional right that British people have is the right to a fair trial. People are waiting years for their day in court and seeing some defendants whose trial could be…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe hon. Gentleman is right to say that this decision has been prompted by a crisis, and the crisis we inherited from the previous Government is acute indeed. As we speak, day on…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryAs the hon. Gentleman knows, the cases and appeals of asylum seekers are heard in the immigration and asylum tribunal, not in our criminal courts. We are not only making…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryI pay particular attention to the regional disparities in the Crown court crisis and in the delays. We have to look at different regions and see what the right solutions are for…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe hon. Gentleman is right to quote back to me the headlines of the arguments that I am making in response to the urgent question about the backlogs in our criminal courts in…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryAs the hon. Gentleman knows, I am not going to comment on leaks or the circumstances of leaks. I can say, however, that no one was more irritated by the timing of this leak than I…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryI thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, and I know that we both look forward to the reopening of Harrow Crown court in Harrow. I would push back on the suggestion that the…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Rape and serious sexual offences are one of the most poignant and difficult areas, and it is in our minds in these 16 days of activism against…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryNothing could be further from the truth. The way in which I approach this question is about protecting people’s rights—the right to a fair trial. There is no right in our…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryI could not put it better myself. It is those victims that I have in mind every day when I come into work, flip open the virtual or real ministerial red box, and think about what…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryThe hon. Gentleman is right that we need to focus on efficiencies and the use of technology, which is why the Ministry of Justice is looking at greater use of artificial…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JurySo do I. I spoke to a victim of child sexual abuse who had waited years for his day in court. A couple of weeks before his trial date, he was given the devastating news that the…27 Nov 2025HANSARD Right to Trial by JuryMy hon. Friend is spot on. I met with a victim of child sexual abuse just the other day. He described to me the long wait for his very serious matter— [ Interruption. ] They…27 Nov 2025