This week, Richard spoke in the debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill that will deliver a fair justice system that aims to restore public confidence and keeps our communities safe.
It includes measures that protect emergency workers from assault, gives greater powers to remove illegal encampments that often disrupt town and country life, imposes tougher sentences for sex offenders and child murderers and cracks down on knife and violent crime. More information on the Bill can be found here.
MP for North East Bedfordshire, Richard Fuller, said:
This Government is working to deliver a fair justice system that aims to restore public confidence and keeps our communities safe. That is the intention of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that was voted on this week.
I am shocked that the Labour Party tried to block new laws to keep people safe, including many vital measures to protect women from violent criminals, by voting against it.
By opposing this Bill, Labour are standing in the way of important changes I think the people of North East Bedfordshire will welcome such as protecting emergency workers like paramedics from assault, extending the law of trespass to give greater powers to remove illegal encampments that often disrupt town and country life and increasing the maximum penalty for criminal damage of a memorial from 3 months to 10 years.
The Bill also covers tougher sentences for child murderers; tougher sentences for sex offenders; dozens of measures to crack down on knife and violent crime and Kay’s Law, which will provide better protection for victims and witnesses in cases of violent and sexual offences.
I particularly welcome measures that enshrine a Police Covenant in law, recognising the obligations and sacrifices of police officers and Clause 164 which could amend the law to permit British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters in jury deliberation rooms to enable profoundly deaf people who use sign language to serve as jurors.
I can’t understand why Labour opposed this,
There is currently a common law rule against a ‘13th person’ on a jury or in the deliberation room which effectively prohibits deaf people reliant on sign language from serving as jurors as there is no way of legally accounting for the presence of an interpreter in the jury room. The impact of this change will be that profoundly deaf individuals will not be excluded from completing jury service simply because they require the assistance of a BSL interpreter.
Richard had limited time to speak in the debate, but his full contribution can be watched here.
Home office fact sheets on the measures contained within the Bill can be read here.
The Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee which will scrutinise the Bill line by line and is expected to report to the House by Thursday 24 June 2021.
