Category: Criminal Justice

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Gang Violence in London

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Gang Violence in London

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 1 November 2022.

    The fact Black Londoners have less trust in the Met should concern us all. That is why the comprehensive overhaul of the Gang Violence Matrix is so important – increased scrutiny and transparency will help increase the degree of confidence all of London’s diverse communities can have in the Met.

    As a direct result of the police acting on the recommendations, the Matrix database is now more effective and more evidence-based than ever before.

    We know that gang-related violence still accounts for a significant proportion of the most serious crime in London and the Matrix is a necessary enforcement tool as well as a means to support and intervention, but it’s vitally important that the police continue to evaluate how it is used. It’s something the new Met Commissioner and I have committed to improving together in order to build a fairer and safer London for everyone.

  • Chris Philp – 2022 Speech on the HMI Report into the Police Service

    Chris Philp – 2022 Speech on the HMI Report into the Police Service

    The speech made by Chris Philp, the Minister of State at the Home Department, in the House of Commons on 3 November 2022.

    I thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Croydon Central (Sarah Jones), the shadow Minister, for her question on this extremely important topic. The report published yesterday by His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services makes for deeply troubling reading. The inspection was commissioned by the previous Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), following the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a then serving officer, as well as the emergence of wider concerns about policing culture.

    The report concludes that it has been far

    “too easy for the wrong people both to join and to stay in the police.”

    The inspectorate found that on too many occasions vetting was not thorough enough and that in some cases it was inadequate. The Government take the view, as I am sure Members from across the House do, that that is unacceptable. It is particularly unacceptable and disappointing to hear about these vetting failures given that the Government have provided very substantial additional funding to fund the extra 20,000 police officers and additional resources for the police more widely.

    The inspectorate concluded that, although the culture has improved in recent years, misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour towards female officers and staff members “still exists” and is too high in many forces. That is shameful and must act as a wake-up call. That sort of disgraceful conduct undermines the work of the thousands—the vast majority—of decent, hard-working police officers who perform their duties with the utmost professionalism. More damagingly, it undermines public trust. This matters a great deal to all of us, which is why my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has made it clear that things must change.

    Since the report was published yesterday, we have been studying it carefully; this has been my first week in this position, but I have been studying it carefully. It contains 43 recommendations: three for the National Police Chiefs’ Council; nine for the College of Policing; 28 for chief constables and three for the Home Office. The Home Office will most certainly be implementing those three recommendations. The NPCC said in a statement yesterday that it expects police to act on their recommendations urgently. That is most certainly my expectation as well: all of these recommendations will be acted on as a matter of urgency.

    We should keep it in mind that the vast majority of police officers are hard-working and dedicated. They put themselves at risk to keep us safe, and we should pay tribute to the work that the vast majority of officers do on our behalf. The report has uncovered obviously unacceptable behaviour and we expect the recommendations to be implemented urgently.

    Sarah Jones

    I welcome the Minister to his place. However, I have to say that I am disappointed that the Government are not taking more responsibility and leading from the front following such a grim report.

    Yesterday’s report is 160 pages of failure—failure to bar the wrong people from joining the police; failure to get rid of them; failure to protect female staff and officers, and failure to protect the public. A lack of proper action to root out racism, misogyny and serious misconduct means that some communities do not trust the police.

    This is by no means the first time that serious failings and horrific examples of unacceptable behaviour have been exposed. After the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer, the Opposition came to this place and called for change. After the horrific murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, we came to this place and called for leadership. After the shameful case of Child Q, we came to this place and called for reform. After the shocking Charing Cross station report, we came to this place and demanded action. After the Stephen Port inquiry, we came to this place and called for reform. If the Government had acted and led from the front, we could have stopped people being harmed. Leadership must come from the top.

    Yesterday, we learned that Metropolitan police officers had been sentenced to prison after sharing racist, homo- phobic and misogynistic WhatsApp messages. For years, there had been warnings—for example, from the independent inspectorate—about serious problems in the police misconduct system, including long delays, lack of disciplinary action, disturbing and systematic racial disparities and lack of monitoring.

    We have heard anecdotal evidence of forces expediting the vetting process to meet the Government’s recruitment targets. What does the Minister know about that? What is he doing to ensure that it does not happen? Will the Minister confirm that the roles of police staff, who do a lot of the vetting work and have been subject to cuts, will be protected so that forces can introduce the right systems? Will the Minister follow Labour’s lead and introduce mandatory safeguards and professional standards, led from the top, into every police force in the country to keep everybody safe?

    Chris Philp

    I thank the hon. Lady for her initial remarks and for her questions.

    The Government have taken action. Indeed, the report we are debating was commissioned by the former Home Secretary directly in response to the issues that were raised. The fact that those issues have seen the light of day is thanks to that Government response. The Angiolini inquiry is also under way for exactly the same reason. We work closely with operational policing colleagues to ensure that the issues are properly addressed. I discussed the issues with Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, a few days ago, before the report was published.

    As for ensuring that there are adequate resources for vetting and related purposes, the spending review settlement that the police currently receive has meant an additional £3.5 billion since 2019 over the three years of the police uplift programme, not just to pay the salaries of extra police officers but to provide the support and resources required to ensure that they are properly trained and integrated.

    The hon. Lady was right to ask about professional standards, which are extremely important. In 2017, national vetting standards were set out in statutory guidance, which the College of Policing published. The report recommends updating some elements of that. Misconduct procedures are set out in statute. We expect the recommendations about improving those areas to be implemented, and we expect police forces around the country to ensure that the report’s recommendations are fully implemented.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2022 Statement on Disorder on Greenwich Peninsula

    Matthew Pennycook – 2022 Statement on Disorder on Greenwich Peninsula

    The statement made by Matthew Pennycook, the Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, on Twitter on 1 November 2022.

    Yesterday evening saw significant disorder on the Greenwich Peninsula involving a large group of youths discharging fireworks. This was deeply distressing for residents and I will be having further discussions with the police, council and others about how we tackle the problem.

  • Roger Gale – 2022 Interview on Situation at Manston Asylum Processing Centre

    Roger Gale – 2022 Interview on Situation at Manston Asylum Processing Centre

    The interview broadcast by Sky News with Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP for North Thanet, on 31 October 2022.

    INTERVIEWER

    [Mentioned Sir Roger Gale visited Manston yesterday and asked him what the situation was like]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    It’s much worse than it was on my visit last Thursday when there were 2,500 people there. The increase is because of the transfers from Dover, partly as a result of the fire bombing yesterday. There are now 4,000 people in a facility that was designed to hold 1,500 and that is wholly unacceptable. The staff are doing a fantastic job, the home office staff, the civilian staff, the catering staff, the medics are all showing compassion and doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances. But these circumstances I believe now were a problem made in the Home Office.

    INTERVIEWER

    [Asked Sir Roger Gale why he had put down an urgent question in the House of Commons]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    Well, because I think this is something that has to be aired on the floor of the House. The Home Office Minister of State, Robert Jenrick, took the trouble to come and spend three hours with me with Home Office staff going around the facility yesterday, I’ve been before of course. I’m delighted that Robert did take the trouble to come because I think he understands now what really the problem is and I got the impression that he is determined to go away and deal at least with the immediate problem, because there are two issues. There is of course the longer term problem, and very real issue, of cross channel migrants which also has to be addressed in a grown up fashion and not by dog whistle politics.

    INTERVIEWER

    [Asked if Robert Jenrick would have spoken to Home Secretary]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    I am absolutely certain that Robert Jenrick would have spoken to the Home Secretary last night.

    INTERVIEWER

    [What would he have said?]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    Without breaking confidences, I think that Robert will be probably going back and saying not to book hotel accommodation as a matter of policy. Whether that policy was instigated by the previous Home Secretary or this one I’m not clear, but it clearly was a matter of Home Office policy. I think Robert will be saying that was a mistake, we’ve now got to get people out of Manston. So the job that it was doing very efficiently indeed of processing and moving people on can be done again. Until about five weeks ago probably the system was working as it was intended to very well indeed. It’s now broken and it’s got to be mended fast.

    INTERVIEWER

    [Asked if Suella Braverman the right Home Secretary to tackle the issue?]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    I’m not seeking to point fingers at the moment, but I do believe that whoever is responsible, and that is either the previous Home Secretary or this one, has to be held to account because a bad decision was taken. And it’s led to what I would regard as a breach of humane conditions.

    INTERVIEWER

    [Asked Sir Roger Gale if this might end up in the courts?]

    SIR ROGER GALE

    That’s a matter for the courts and not for me. I am concerned obviously with the people that I represent locally, who are concerned about what’s happening in Manston. I’m also concerned for the staff who are trying to do a good job under impossible circumstances and for the human beings including women and children. I saw a kid there yesterday who was younger than my youngest granddaughter who crossed the Channel in a rubber dinghy. It is appalling what has happened at that level, trafficking is appalling and that has got to be dealt with as well. But that’s got to be done on a Pan European basis and in bilateral cooperation with the French. That’s the only way we’re going to solve it. Not by dog whistle knee jerk policies that will not work.

  • Gerry Kelly – 2022 Comments on Loyalist Paramilitaries

    Gerry Kelly – 2022 Comments on Loyalist Paramilitaries

    The comments made by Gerry Kelly, Sinn Fein’s policing spokesperson in Northern Ireland, on 28 October 2022.

    Threats issued to Irish government ministers by loyalist paramilitary gangs under the cover of the Loyalist Communities Council are outrageous.

    Threatening further loyalist violence to the public at large with reference to the ceasefires of 1994 in the words ‘dire consequences for the progress made from 1994 onwards’ is a dangerous and despicable development.

    This is just the latest threat to our democratic process by these loyalist gangs who are intent on dragging society backwards.

    They must desist from these reckless threats and disband now.

    It is a matter of disgrace that almost 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, that loyalist paramilitary gangs are still involved in murder, intimidation, extortion and threats.

    There is an onus on political leaders to call out this intimidation and the continued existence of armed criminal gangs in our society.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 20 October 2022.

    I notice that the Home Secretary is not in his place this morning, unless the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith), has been appointed Home Secretary in the last few hours. To be honest, nothing would surprise us at the moment, because this is total chaos. We have a third Home Secretary in seven weeks. The Cabinet was appointed only six weeks ago, but the Home Secretary was sacked, the Chancellor was sacked and the Chief Whip was sacked and then unsacked. We then had the unedifying scenes last night of Conservative MPs fighting like rats in a sack. This is a disgrace.

    The former Home Secretary circulated a letter, and that seems to contradict what the Minister said. She said that the document was

    “a draft Written Ministerial Statement…due for publication imminently”

    that had already been briefed to MPs. Is that not true? Will he explain the answer to that? At what time did the former Home Secretary inform the Cabinet Secretary of the breach? Has a check been made of whether she sent other documents through personal emails, putting security at risk? Was there a 90-minute row about policy between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary? Given the huge disagreements we have seen in the last few weeks between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary on drugs policy, Rwanda, the India trade deal, seasonal agriculture, small boats—and with a bit of tofu thrown in over the lettuce for good measure—is anything about home affairs agreed on in the Cabinet?

    What we know is that the former Home Secretary has been running her ongoing leadership campaign while the current one is too busy to come to the House because he is doing his spreadsheets on the numbers for whoever he is backing to come next. But who is taking decisions on our national security? It is not the Prime Minister, nor the past or current Home Secretaries. Borders, security and policing are too important for that instability, just as people’s livelihoods are too important for the economic instability that the Conservative party has created. It is not fair on people. To quote the former Home Secretary, this is indeed a total “coalition of chaos”. Why should the country have to put up with this for a single extra day?

    Brendan Clarke-Smith

    I am sure that the right hon. Member is aware that breaches of the ministerial code are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office, and that is why I, not the Home Secretary, am here to answer the urgent question. The Prime Minister took advice from the Cabinet Secretary, as we saw from her letter, and she is clear that it is important that the ministerial code is upheld and Cabinet responsibility is respected. The Prime Minister expects Ministers to uphold the highest standards. We have seen her act consistently in that regard.

    These were breaches of the code. The Prime Minister expects her Ministers to uphold the ministerial code, as the public also rightly expect, and she took the requisite advice from the Cabinet Secretary before taking the decision.

    I am mindful that it is not usual policy to comment in detail on such matters, but, if some background would be helpful—I appreciate that much of this is already in the public domain—the documents in question contained draft Government policy, which remained subject to Cabinet Committee agreement. Having such documents on a personal email account and sharing them outside of Government constituted clear breaches of the code—under sections 2.14 and 2.3, if that is helpful to look at. The Prime Minister is clear that the security of Government business is paramount, as is Cabinet responsibility, and Ministers must be held to the highest standards.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Casey Report

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Casey Report

    The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.

    When I asked the Met to establish this independent review a year ago following a series of shocking scandals involving serving police officers, I was concerned that a serious cultural problem had developed within the Met which was allowing racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour to be downplayed or left unchallenged. The interim findings of this review not only confirm my concerns, but reveal a situation even worse than feared.

    It’s clear the Met’s misconduct system is simply not fit for purpose. I now expect nothing less than every single recommendation of this review to be implemented in full, and quickly. All misconduct allegations must be acted upon, cases must be resolved much faster and the disproportionality in the way allegations are dealt with must be eliminated. The majority of those serving in the Met will be appalled by these latest findings and the decent officers who want to speak out – who have clearly been let down for far too long – must be properly supported.

    As Mayor, I’ve ensured the Met is now set on a path of far-reaching systematic and cultural reform, with the appointment of a new Commissioner who acknowledges the scale of the problems within the Met. I want to assure Londoners that I will continue to hold the Met to account as I support Sir Mark in taking urgent action to reform the culture and systems of the Met and to root out all police officers found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying or harassment.

  • Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Casey Review

    Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Casey Review

    The statement made by Jeremy Quin, the Minister of State at the Home Office on 18 October 2022.

    In September we saw the very best of British policing, in the planning, handling and delivery of the operation following the death of Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It showed that, at the top of its game, British policing is world-class and I commend all of the thousands of officers and staff who made that happen. But in recent years there have been several high-profile failings. These failings substantially diminished public trust in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and undermine the incredible work of the overwhelming majority of decent, hard-working, and professional, frontline police officers.

    The Metropolitan Police Service commissioned a review by Baroness Louise Casey into the culture and standards of the Metropolitan Police Service. Interim findings have now been reported to the MPS and are highly concerning. They set out a failure of the MPS to operate within the existing misconduct framework, and failures to adequately tackle instances of sexual misconduct and discrimination.

    The impetus and action to deliver change must come from within the MPS first and foremost—and the Government welcome Sir Mark Rowley’s determination to take a systematic approach to act on the findings through both robust enforcement and long-term prevention. Where there is a role for Government to support this, we will not hesitate to act. That is why I am announcing an internal review into the process of police dismissals to raise standards and confidence in policing across England and Wales.

    The Government will work closely with key policing stakeholders to examine evidence of the effectiveness of the system to remove those who are not fit to serve the public. As well as examining the overall effectiveness of dismissal arrangements, I expect the review to consider:

    the impact of the introduction of legally qualified chairs to decide misconduct cases;

    whether decisions made by misconduct panels are consistent across all 43 forces in England and Wales;

    and whether forces are making effective use of their powers to dismiss officers on probation.

    This focused review will be launched shortly and will be conducted swiftly. It will focus on key issues and will support those in policing who act with utmost professionalism, giving them confidence that their hard work and commitment will not be undone by those who bring their profession into disrepute.

  • Suella Braverman – 2022 Statement on Standards in Policing

    Suella Braverman – 2022 Statement on Standards in Policing

    The statement made by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, on 17 October 2022.

    The public rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from police officers and the vast majority meet this expectation.

    But recently too many high-profile incidents and reports, especially in London, have damaged trust.

    This cannot continue.

    It’s unfair on the public and lets down other serving officers.

    Culture and standards in the police must improve.

    And where an officer has fallen seriously short of these expectations, demonstrable, public action must be taken.

    It’s absolutely vital that the police act to restore trust, return to common sense policing and treat the public and victims with the respect they deserve.

    I welcome the Met Police’s commitment to tackling the issues raised in the Baroness Casey report and hope this review will also help to address underlying concerns.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Criminal Legal Aid

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Statement on Criminal Legal Aid

    The statement made by Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Justice, in the House of Commons on 12 October 2022.

    Since I became Lord Chancellor, I have been keen to resolve the dispute with the Criminal Bar Association, in order get the criminal justice system working again. To that end, my officials and I have been holding constructive discussions on a package of proposals with the Bar Council and the CBA. This package was agreed as part of our overall response to the criminal legal aid independent review consultation.

    I am pleased to announce that the CBA membership has now voted in favour of my offer on criminal legal aid, and has agreed to come back to work.

    As a result, my Department laid a statutory instrument on 11 October which will mean the recent fee uplift for new cases claimable by litigators and advocates will also now apply to the vast majority of existing cases in the backlog where the main hearing takes place after the commencement of the instrument on 31 October 2022. This equates to an additional investment of £28 million in the fee scheme for advocates and £14 million in the fee scheme for litigators over the spending review period.

    My Department will also make an additional £3 million of funding available for case preparation, such as written work and special preparation, as well as a further £4 million for defence barristers involved in pre-recorded cross-examinations, which are used to reduce the trauma of a trial for vulnerable victims and witnesses by early 2023.

    The Ministry of Justice is proposing a further £5 million uplift per year for fees in the youth court, from the 2024-25 financial year, which is expected to particularly benefit both solicitors and some junior barristers.

    A new criminal legal aid advisory board on criminal legal aid reform will also be created and hold its first meeting in October. This board will discuss the operation of the criminal legal aid system and make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor.

    In addition to this, the Government will respond to the remaining elements of the above consultation by the end of November, including further reforms directed at solicitors. As was made clear by Lord Bellamy in his review, the profession of criminal legal aid solicitors requires immediate attention, and I am keen to work to provide further reforms and support.

    I look forward to working constructively with criminal legal aid practitioners on criminal justice issues, including working to drive down court backlogs and resolve cases sooner.

    After all, we share the same aim: putting the criminal justice system on a more sustainable footing for the future, to support victims and everyone who relies on our justice system.