Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
1 July 2026
Engagements
This afternoon we are joined in the Gallery by Lisa Phillips, a British survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific and despicable trafficking and abuse. Lisa’s bravery is to be commended, and her determination for justice and accountability on behalf of all UK survivors should be put on record. I want t…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
4 contributions
Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Carry-over)
I beg to move,
That if, at the conclusion of this Session of Parliament, proceedings on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill have not been completed, they shall be resumed in the next Session.
This motion is purely procedural, to allow the Bill to be carried over to the next Session and for the…
I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman. He is fundamentally correct that the Bill is about much more than just the duty of candour. This is about rebuilding the trust between the public and the state. It is about ensuring that there is accountability, transparency, openness and parity, and t…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
8 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendments 4B and 4C.
I am grateful once again to have the opportunity to speak on the Victims and Courts Bill. As I have said previously in this House, this is fundamentally a Bill for victims. Throughout the Bill’s passage, we have heard the experiences and views of victims and bereaved families and we have listened. I…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
25 March 2026
13 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.
I am grateful for the opportunity to once again be speaking on the Victims and Courts Bill as it returns to this House. This is fundamentally a Bill for victims. At its core, the measures seek to ensure that victims are treated with dignity, compassion and respect throughout the entire justice proce…
+11 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Reproductive Coercion
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) for bringing forward this really important debate. To echo the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), she always uses her voice in this place to amplify the voices of those who…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the distinction in the sentencing for this crime in Northern Ireland. In England and Wales, the sentence is a maximum of five years, but as I have said, the crime normally comes alongside other forms of abuse, for which the CPS will look to charge and seek the …
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
I am so sorry to hear of the experience that Simon has endured. Sadly, so many others like him, fathers in particular, have similar experiences while going through the family court. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister has announced today the national roll-out of a child-focused model—formerly know…
I thank the hon. Lady for bringing that horrific case to the attention of the House. She is right to draw attention to the impact of social media and online abuse on violence against women and girls. It is why we are working across jurisdictions to try to tackle some of these crimes. We are bringing…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
3 contributions
Justice System: Victim Confidence
We are putting victims first with a record £550 million investment in victim support services over the next three years. Our measures in the Courts and Tribunals Bill aim to deliver faster, fairer justice to improve victim confidence across the whole system. We are also consulting, as I have previou…
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. I hope that I can also respond to the comments made by the Father of the House in the previous question; I, too, want to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) for her brave testimony in the debate last we…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
3 contributions
Victims’ Rights
The victims code sets out exactly the rights that victims can expect to receive. We have now launched a consultation on a new victims code to ensure that it is fit for purpose for 2026 and that we get the foundations right for victims. We are also raising awareness of the victims code through an “Un…
I want all victims to have as much information as possible in a timely and appropriate fashion. That is exactly the type of information that we need to include in a new victims code. This is why we are consulting. I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady and her constituents to hear about their experi…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
7 contributions
Violence against Women and Girls
Our violence against women and girls strategy, which the Government published before Christmas, sets out exactly how we will achieve our mission to halve the number of these terrible crimes. The Ministry of Justice is investing more than half a billion pounds in victim support services over the next…
The funding of £6 million over two years will enable us to introduce independent legal advisers for all adult rape victims, and that is alongside the support package we are introducing in our courts system. We are expanding on Operation Soteria to ensure that rape victims get the support they need. …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
6 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this very important issue on the Floor of the House. All my thoughts are with the victims and survivors of this horrific situation in Scotland at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. The Bill’s duty of candour will create a powerful new obligation on all public…
I thank my hon. Friend for that vital question about putting victims back at the heart of our criminal justice system. That is exactly what this Government are doing by providing free court transcripts for criminal cases, introducing new restriction zones in the Sentencing Act 2026, and consulting o…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
5 contributions
Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System
As I have stated, the Ministry of Justice is investing over £550 million in victim support services, the biggest investment in that service to date. In December, we published our violence against women and girls strategy. That strategy sets out how we will achieve our mission to halve these terrible…
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. Ensuring that witnesses and victims can give their best evidence in court is vital if we are to achieve prosecution of these awful crimes. We are introducing legislation to improve access to special measures for witnesses and victims, i…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
4 contributions
Victim Support Services: Funding
We will be increasing funding for victim support services year on year from 2026 to 2029, recognising the need to meet the rising cost pressure of delivery and the need for long-term funding for our support services. In total, the Ministry of Justice will be investing over £550 million in victim sup…
I commend my hon. Friend as a fantastic constituency MP and Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid for all the brilliant work it does in supporting victims of abuse and violence. He is right to highlight that victims are now coming forward with much more complex needs—not just physical violence, but coer…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
19 contributions
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the next steps for the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, also known as the Hillsborough law.
As Members will be aware, the Bill was due to return to the Chamber today for its remaining Commons stages. From the very beginning …
I do not know how the Opposition dare. It is utterly shameful. I know that the shadow Secretary of State knows how complex this all is and how much it means to everyone involved. His party did nothing to solve this issue—the Conservatives did nothing for the families or to bring forward a duty of ca…
+17 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
16 contributions
HMP Leyhill: Offender Abscondments
A happy new year to you and to all in the House, Madam Deputy Speaker.
On 1 January 2026, three prisoners absconded from HMP Leyhill, an open prison: Mr Thomas, Mr Washbourne and Mr Armstrong. This was discovered during routine roll checks, and their absence was followed up immediately. On 3 Januar…
I am afraid that it is a new year but the same sad, old Jenrick. The right hon. Gentleman clearly has not done his homework. He does not seem to know the difference between releases in error and absconds. This is a Member who wants to be the Lord Chancellor and the next Leader of the Opposition, and…
+14 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
3 contributions
Criminal Justice System: Wales
I thank the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) for bringing this important debate to the House this evening. She will know that I am a proud Justice Minister, but I am also a very proud Welsh MP. I therefore recognise everything she said as a constituency MP. All my thoug…
I would like to see the information that the right hon. Lady has, because the information I have had is that our court system in Wales has quite a severe backlog. Victims and survivors who I speak to in Wales daily have told me that they are waiting years for their case to get to trial. That backlog…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
6 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. I will, of course, be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and Micala, and I thank her for her tireless campaigning on this issue. I share the concerns about abuse in teenage relationships, and I am pleased to say that we are conducting a scoping review of…
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. It was an honour to meet him, victims and bereaved families who have been affected by this horrific situation. Our thoughts remain with those grieving families, who rightly expect their babies and the deceased to be treated with dignity and respect…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
2 contributions
International Child Abduction: Domestic Abuse
The Government take seriously concerns about the operation of this Hague convention in situations where domestic abuse is present. Internationally, the UK continues to work with other parties of the convention to ensure that it operates effectively, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. We…
I welcome the hon. Lady’s question and her continued engagement on this really important issue. The Government are now considering initiating further qualitative research on the operation of the 1980 Hague convention in cases relating to domestic abuse. I can confirm that this research will inform a…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
3 contributions
Online Misogyny: Victims
All misogyny is abhorrent, but we know that online misogyny is becoming increasingly pervasive. We have criminalised the creation of intimate deepfakes without consent, and we are creating new offences in the Crime and Policing Bill that will mean that perpetrators who take intimate images without c…
I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Online misogyny radicalises our boys, pressures our girls, and fuels harmful attitudes. It must be tackled in order to protect all our children. The Government are acting through tougher laws, including the Online Safety Act 2023, and our upcoming violence agains…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Family Court: Reform
I welcome the hon. Lady’s question. The Government are committed to reforming the family court to improve support for adult and child victims of domestic abuse. The pathfinder model provides expert support to victims and doubles the proportion of children seen by social workers. A quarter of all rel…
The hon. Lady is right; the delays in our family court are untenable, and families, children particularly, are waiting too long for resolution. That is why we are determined to go further by rolling out our pathfinder model to ensure a child-centric approach to the family court. She will be aware th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
10 December 2025
6 contributions
Tackling Violence against Women and Girls
Our work to halve violence against women and girls in a decade started the day we entered government. We have already announced a series of cross-Government measures to tackle these crimes, including launching our domestic abuse protection orders, which have protected over 1,000 victims of domestic …
I thank my hon. Friend for that really important question. Making the online environment a safer place for women and girls is a priority for this Government. It is this Government who are outlawing depictions of strangulation in pornography. It is this Government who are taking action to tackle viol…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
24 November 2025
11 contributions
HMP Downview: Female Prisoners
I congratulate the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) on securing this debate. This is an important issue that inspires much emotion from both sides of the debate, and it is vital that we handle it sensitively and with care.
Women make up only a very small proportion of those in custody, yet, a…
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention—it is important to put on record the nuance in this area. It is also important to recognise that levels of violence in prison are untenable and need addressing, whoever is committing that violence. The level of violence in the male estate is incredibly hi…
+9 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
12 contributions
Separation Centres: Terrorist Offenders
The right hon. Gentleman raises a very important question. Separation centres are a vital part of our strategy to manage those who pose the most significant terrorist risk. Following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland in April this year, we took immediate action to ensure safety in our separation …
The right hon. Gentleman will be well aware that I am unable to pre-empt decisions that are yet to be taken by the courts. The Government will always ensure that taxpayer money is used responsibly and effectively. On the most recent judicial review, announced just yesterday, the Government are consi…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Draft Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Permitted Disclosures) Regulations 2025
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Permitted Disclosures) Regulations 2025.
With your permission, Mr Dowd, I will make a brief statement on the sudden and tragic passing of Baroness Helen Newlove, the Victims’ Commissioner. Baroness Newlove w…
I welcome the contribution from the right hon. Member for Melton and Syston, who did sterling cross-party work on the original legislation. I look forward to debating further measures relating to this issue when we look at the Victims and Courts Bill. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
8 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for that question. She will be aware that this Government have announced that we will repeal the presumption of parental contact when parliamentary time allows—that is a priority. It is also a priority for this Government that we do all we can to protect vic…
The hon. Member will know that this Government have made it a priority to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system, and we are looking specifically at crimes committed against women and girls. We are working across Government with the Home Office, the police, the Crown Prosecution Ser…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
7 contributions
Violence against Women and Girls
The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable. The Ministry of Justice has already taken action by: launching a pilot of domestic abuse protection orders in selected areas; introducing new criminal offences that capture creating sexually explicit deepfakes, and spiking;…
I thank my hon. Friend for that question and for her service on the Public Accounts Committee looking at this issue. The Government are committed to better supporting adult and child victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Pathfinder model already provides access to expert support for vi…
+5 more contributions in this session