Oldham MP claims Government Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is poorly thought-out

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams

Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, has spoken in the Commons about her opposition to the Government’s Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, including poorly thought-out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest.

Debbie said: “The Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill is a missed opportunity. Some measures, such as the Police Covenant, doubling the sentence for assaulting emergency workers and toughening sentencing for death by dangerous driving, I support.  But several others including the proposed changes to the right to peaceful protest and on unauthorised encampments targeted at gypsy, Roma and other travelling communities, I have concerns about.

“And the absences in the Bill reveal the Government’s worrying priorities. The lack of prioritising of measures to protect and support women from violence in this Bill is a matter of deep regret.

“That the penalty for defacing a statue has been increased to 10 years, double the minimum tariff for someone convicted of rape, is offensive and I hope the Government will think again.”

Debbie also spoke about the absence of any measures to repeal the 1976 Bail Act and the impact this has on vulnerable women.  As co-Chair of the APPG on Women in the Penal System this is an issue Debbie recently raised with Justice Minister, Lucy Frazer QC.

She said, “Under this Act, the courts can remand an adult to prison for their own ‘protection’ without that person being convicted or sentenced, and even when a charge can’t result in a prison sentence.

Someone’s liberty can be removed without expert evidence or any formal investigation into their circumstances, and even without them having legal representation.

“Depriving a vulnerable adult or child of their liberty because of shortcomings in social security support or mental health or other local services is reprehensible. The shocking thing is that the scale of this scandal isn’t even known. The Government don’t collect data on the number of people detained under this legislation.”

Debbie will be voting against the Second Reading of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the Commons later today [16th March 2021].

She added, “I am calling on the government to drop its poorly thought-out proposals that fail to address issues of equity within our justice system including racial ‘disproportionality’ as described in the Lammy Review and tackling violence against women and girls which is forcing so many across the country to live in fear.”

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