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Tag: Steve Reed

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made by the UK Computer Emergency Response Team since its launch on 31 March 2014; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Cyber Security is one of the Government’s top four security priorities. CERT-UK is working closely with partners across industry, government, academia and internationally, to enhance the UK’s ability to prepare for and manage national cyber security incidents. It collaborates with law enforcement colleagues to support campaigns aimed at combating cyber-crime and cyber fraud.

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the Lord Chancellor on the introduction of section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in relation to data protection offences; and if she will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    I am not aware that any discussions have taken place between the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary on the introduction of s77 of the Criminal Justice Act 2008 (CJIA). The Ministry of Justice will liaise with all interested Government Departments before deciding whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commencing the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made by the Cyber Crime Reduction Partnership over the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The UK Cyber Security Strategy, which includes a commitment to develop a
    partnership group with industry on cyber crime, was published in November
    2011.
    My Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, gave the second annual
    report on progress against objectives set out in the strategy on 12 December
    2013 (Official Report, Columns 43 to 47 WS). The Minister for the Cabinet
    Office also placed before Parliament a list of achievements over the preceding
    year and a document that outlines its future plans. The documents can be found
    at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-security-strategy-2-ye
    ars-on
    The Partnership, one of a set of engagement points with industry on Cyber
    Security, provides an opportunity to raise awareness of cyber crime amongst
    members, helping them to become more resilient to the threat. To date, it has
    provided a forum for partners to share views on key changes to the law
    enforcement landscape on cyber and contribute to key actions in the Strategy.
    This includes work to coordinate cyber security messages to the private sector.

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to consult on the introduction of custodial sentences under section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 relating to data protection breaches; and if he will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government is currently reviewing the sanctions available for breaches under the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes considering whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commence the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what steps he is taking to advance equal rights for LGBT citizens in the EU; and if he will make a statement.

    Jenny Willott

    The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) continue to recognise the UK as the highest ranking country for human rights protection of LGBT people in Europe.

    The UK Government is a member of the European Network of Governmental LGBT Focal Points which enables us to disseminate good practice and insight from the UK. Other members include European Union member states.

    The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 will recognise legally valid marriages of same sex couples formed in other European countries as legal marriages in England and Wales. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in liaison with the Government Equalities Office, is also carrying out an exercise to gain recognition of marriages of same sex couples formed in England and Wales overseas, including in other European Union member states.

  • Steve Reed – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    Steve Reed – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

    The speech made by Steve Reed on 27 September 2022.

    Let me start by sharing some happy personal news with you.

    I might not be love’s young dream any more, but this summer, I got married.

    Thank you.

    Growing up gay, during a time of Tory-fuelled hate, I never thought I’d marry the man I love.

    Why did I get my chance?

    Because of this party and this movement.

    Because together we fought for justice.

    Because love trumps hate.

    In the 80s, I protested outside Parliament against Thatcher’s vicious anti-gay laws.

    In 2012, I voted in Parliament for equal marriage.

    And now, and here’s the ring on my finger!

    But, Conference, the fight for justice continues.

    We are meeting today in the great city of Liverpool.

    Thirty-three years ago, the gravest injustice befell this City when football fans followed their team to Hillsborough, and never came home.

    There were 97 victims on that terrible day.

    We all know what happened – a police cover-up. The gutter press smeared the dead. The establishment closed its ranks.

    The families were left alone to fight for justice – no funds allowed for lawyers to represent them.

    Margaret Aspinall lost her son James and she told me there can be no justice for those who died until we stop the same thing ever happening again.

    She’s right.

    That’s why Keir Starmer’s Labour Government will bring in a Hillsborough Law so victims of major tragedies get the same legal representation as the authorities that failed them.

    Conference families of the Hillsborough and other tragedies since are here with us today. This moment is for all of you who have campaigned so long for justice.

    Every victim of crime deserves justice.

    Yet under this Tory Government, justice is denied.

    They’ve taken thousands of police off our streets, closed hundreds of courts and trashed the probation system.

    Prosecutions are so low that crimes as serious as burglary and fraud have effectively been decriminalised.

    Under this Conservative Government only 1 in every 100 people accused of rape is ever prosecuted in court. Where’s the justice in that?

    A girl who was raped aged 13 was forced to wait two years for her case to come to trial. Four days before the start date, it was postponed for another 9 months. Delays of this length are the norm not the exception in Tory Britain. Liz Truss – that is a disgrace.

    Conference, Labour will put rape survivors first.

    We will open specialist rape courts across the country to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls
    and get the courts backlog down.

    But we’ll go further.

    The majority of men who kill their female partners have a history of domestic violence. Neither women, nor the police, have any way of knowing if a new partner has attacked women before.

    And by the time they find out, it can be too late.

    Campaigners, survivors, women’s groups have all told us the same thing – we need eyes on these violent men.

    We’ve listened.

    The next Labour Government will force convicted abusers to sign a Domestic Violence Register so they are no longer free to seek out fresh victims and abuse again.

    The next Labour government will come down hard on criminals.

    That’s a promise.

    But we will also tackle the root causes of crime,

    No child is not born bad.

    Things happen in some young lives that lead them into crime.

    All the evidence shows that tackling trauma from childhood can break the cycle and prevent a child from becoming a criminal or stop a criminal from reoffending.

    Labour will use this understanding to reshape our criminal justice system – to stop crime at source.

    Our old slogan ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ is about to meet the future.

    Conference, Britain needs a fresh start to tackling crime.

    Prosecute, yes. Punish, yes.

    But never forget the need to prevent crime in the first place.

    And never forget the victims.

    This wedding band on my finger proves that together we can deliver justice.

    But the fight for justice never ends – legal justice, climate justice, economic justice, social justice.

    Justice for the family of little Olivia Pratt-Korbel

    Justice for everyone who grieves.

    The Labour Party is the party of justice.

    We are led by a man who has dedicated his whole working life to justice.

    And in Government, justice is what we will deliver.

    Thank you.

  • Steve Reed – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Steve Reed – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Steve Reed, the Labour MP for Croydon North, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

    We have heard some really wonderful anecdotes and stories of Members’ meetings with Her late Majesty the Queen. For most people who met her, those moments would have been more fleeting, but they lodge in the memory because of the huge importance the Queen has played in our life as a nation and our sense of who we are.

    I first saw the Queen as a schoolboy during a silver jubilee walkabout in Windsor, feeling so excited, as so many other children would have done over the years, simply to snatch a photograph of her with my little plastic camera; it would be an iPhone today, of course. Another time was when she came to open the Lambeth Academy in Clapham. The students were beside themselves with excitement that the Queen had come to visit their school.

    It is through these little moments that the Queen has been a constant presence that lit up our lives for as long as most of us have been alive. The stability of her presence eased our country through periods of drastic change as Britain moved from being the centre of an empire to becoming the modern, diverse and more inclusive country that we know and love today.

    She really was, in T. S. Eliot’s words,

    “the still point of a turning world…where past and future are gathered.”

    My constituency of Croydon North is one of the country’s most diverse, and people who have come to it from the Commonwealth feel a special bond with Her late Majesty, as a connection between their past and their future. Many others who arrived from outside the Commonwealth would consider their citizenship ceremony, in which they swore allegiance to Her late Majesty, to be among the most important moments of their lives.

    During the platinum jubilee celebrations, we saw a great outpouring of love for Her late Majesty in Croydon North, as elsewhere, when our diverse communities came together to celebrate a woman who united us as a community and as a country as nothing and no one else could do. Her loss will be felt keenly and personally.

    Three months ago, my father died. The next day, a rainbow appeared over his house, which we took as a sign that he was at peace. I take the rainbow that appeared over Windsor castle in the same way: a sign that Her late Majesty has been taken into the arms of God and found her eternal peace. On behalf of the people of Croydon North, I offer my deepest thanks to Her late Majesty for a lifetime of service, my condolences to the royal family on their loss and my loyalty to our new King, Charles III, as he ascends the throne to meet his destiny and ours.

  • Steve Reed – 2022 Speech on the Parole System

    Steve Reed – 2022 Speech on the Parole System

    The speech made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, in the House of Commons on 30 March 2022.

    I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement earlier today. It is hugely timely, given the disturbing news about the potential release of Baby P’s killer. I fully support the Secretary of State in seeking a review of that. In broad terms, I welcome his statement too. It is crucial that public protection is paramount and that victims are right at the heart of the criminal justice system. Currently, too many victims feel that their views are not taken sufficiently into account, either in parole decisions or in sentencing, and that leads directly to public safety concerns, which must be taken more seriously. Labour will put public safety at the core of our contract with the British people. Sadly, the same cannot be said of this Government.

    It is less than two months since the convicted sex abuser Paul Robson walked out of a low-category open prison in Lincolnshire. After he escaped, the public were warned that Robson was a serious danger to women and children. He clearly should never have been in a low-security prison in the first place. The Parole Board made that recommendation, but it was the Secretary of State who approved it. He or his predecessors already had the necessary powers, they just did not use them. So what will stop him making serious mistakes like that again when he exercises his new check and oversight powers in, potentially, hundreds more cases? Labour wants victims to have the right to make a new personal statement saying how they would feel if the prisoner is released. We would like any assessment of the risk to the public to include the risk of re-traumatising the victim, and to prevent released prisoners from living near their victim if that is against the victim’s wishes. Will the Secretary of State consider those additional proposals?

    The appalling decision to release the multiple rapist John Worboys was only stopped after the Centre for Women’s Justice sued the Government, using rights established by the last Labour Government. Sir Peter Gross’s review made sensible proposals to improve these rights, including the UK’s margin of appreciation over interpretations we would all object to. But the Secretary of State will be throwing the baby out with the bathwater if he uses that concern as an excuse to take away British rights that protect British people from dangerous criminals, as they did in that case. Too many victims of crime do not get a say over what happens to criminals because those criminals are never prosecuted in the first place. That is because this Conservative Government cut 21,000 police officers and still have not replaced them, despite imposing the highest rates of personal taxation for 70 years—that is 21,000 people with law enforcement experience that his party sacked, whom he might now approach to sit on parole boards, as he suggests.

    The Secretary of State spoke about rape cases in this statement, but only 1.5% of reported rape cases ever make it to court. Those that do now take more than 1,000 days, on average, before the trial starts—these are the longest delays in British legal history. What message does he think that sends about public safety and public protection? Under this Government, prosecution rates for crimes including burglary, robbery, car crime and fraud are so low that they have, in effect, been decriminalised. There are so few police left that victims are told to fill in a form online and hardly any of them ever hear anything again. It is no wonder that the Government stand accused of going soft on these crimes. Does he recognise that letting criminals get away with crime damages public safety and erodes confidence in the justice system, which is something he is telling us this afternoon that he wants to strengthen? The Victims’ Commissioner has called on the Government to establish a new victims’ right to review. That would give victims the power to challenge decisions by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute or to drop prosecutions. The Secretary of State did not mention that in his statement, so will he tell us whether he intends to introduce proposals along those lines in future?

    Public protection requires victims to be active participants throughout the criminal justice process, including in parole decisions. Their insights strengthen public safety and public confidence in the system. Today’s statement is a step forward and it recognises some of the Government’s mistakes, but it could have been bigger.

  • Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Dominic Raab Defending Rule Breaking

    Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Dominic Raab Defending Rule Breaking

    The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Justice Secretary, on 21 December 2021.

    Dominic Raab has spent hours this month taking the public for fools instead of dealing with the massive problems the Conservatives have created in the justice system.

    Raab and this high-tax, soft-on-crime Conservative Government should be tackling the courts backlog and raising the pitifully low conviction rate for rape in this country.

    It is yet another slap in the face of the British public, who will rightly think that it is one rule for Boris Johnson and this Government, and another rule for everyone else.

    Raab needs to stop wasting time defending the indefensible and start doing his job.

  • Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Personal Conduct of Joy Morrissey After Attack on Public Servant

    Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Personal Conduct of Joy Morrissey After Attack on Public Servant

    The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Justice Secretary, on 16 December 2021.

    It is vital, especially during this pandemic, that our leading scientists have the freedom to give public health advice to the public and to offer their expertise without fear of reprisal.

    As the Omicron variant spreads rapidly through Britain, there must not be any sign of the Government censoring or intimidating our leading scientific experts.

    [the press release in full below]

    Labour has called on the Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, to force his PPS, Joy Morrissey, to apologise or face the sack over her attack on the Chief Medical Officer.

    In response to Chris Whitty’s comment made yesterday that “people should be prioritising the things that really matter to them”, Morrisey posted an attack on him on social media, suggesting Whitty should “defer to what our ELECTED Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have decided.”

    Morrissey’s attack on the Chief Medical Officer was followed in the House of Commons by Conservative MPs Steve Baker, Greg Smith and former Health Minister Steve Brine, in a further indication that Boris Johnson’s waning authority over his party is enabling Conservative MPs to undermine crucial public health messaging.

    In response, Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, has written to Raab calling the comments “unacceptable and dangerous”.