Lucy Rigby MP: speeches 2025

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Speeches

4 Sept 2025 · Criminal Justice System: Technology · Hansard source
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Unfortunately, my hon. Friend accurately describes the years of neglect of the justice system under the previous Government. She asks specifically about the Legal Aid Agency. The Government took immediate action to bolster the security of the agency’s systems and an injunction was put in place to prohibit the sharing of any breached data. We have put in place contingency plans to ensure that those most in need of legal support can continue to access the help that they need, and we are working at pace to restore services quickly and safely.
4 Sept 2025 · Criminal Justice System: Technology · Hansard source
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Better use of technology is key to reforming all our public services, including the criminal justice system, from the police and the CPS to our courts, prisons and probation services. This Government are absolutely determined to harness all the power and potential of new technology to the benefit of the public, those who work in our public services and, of course, the public purse.
19 Jun 2025 · People Smugglers: Prosecution · Hansard source
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The Government are taking the serious, robust and tough action needed to secure our borders. That is why we are giving the police counter-terror powers to deal with people-smuggling gangs. We have backed that with a funding boost to the CPS to enhance its capacity to prosecute cases involving these appalling cross-border smuggling networks.
19 Jun 2025 · People Smugglers: Prosecution · Hansard source
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International partnerships are an incredibly important part of our plan to smash the gangs. Our recent work with the French Government in particular is bearing a great deal of fruit. In fact, we hope that the French will soon be able to address the situation that they currently cannot: when would-be migrants are in shallow water.
19 Jun 2025 · People Smugglers: Prosecution · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is vital that police and prosecutors work together to bring people smugglers to justice, and that our criminal justice system sends a clear message that people smuggling will be met with hefty jail terms. I am pleased to tell him that an offender who played a leading role in an organised crime group that smuggled nearly 4,000 migrants was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment in May.
19 Jun 2025 · Hostile State Activity: Prosecution · Hansard source
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This Government will always make the country’s national security our No. 1 priority. That is why we take any attempted activity conducted by hostile states on British soil extremely seriously. The CPS’s special counter-terrorism division works closely with police at the investigation stage to build very strong cases from the outset. That approach delivers results: last year, 98% of those tried for terrorism-related offences in this country were convicted.
19 Jun 2025 · Hostile State Activity: Prosecution · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend rightly mentions Jonathan Hall KC’s recommendations. As the Home Secretary announced, we are committed to taking forward the suite of recommendations made in Jonathan Hall’s review to tackle state threats, including the creation of a new proscription-like power.
19 Jun 2025 · Hostile State Activity: Prosecution · Hansard source
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The hon. Member raises an important issue, and I will make sure that Home Office colleagues have heard the concerns he raises. Ministers have raised concerns of that nature with the authorities, including in Hong Kong and Beijing, and I want to be very clear: we will not tolerate any attempts by foreign Governments to harass or harm their critics on British soil.
19 Jun 2025 · Non-violent Drug-related Offences: Prosecution · Hansard source
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It is absolutely right that we ensure that those who fall into drug addiction are able to access adequate support, services and routes to rehabilitation. As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing said to the Scottish Affairs Committee recently, the Government do not have plans to amend the law to permit the introduction of drug-consumption facilities. We are clear, however, that drug deaths are avoidable, and we are committed to supporting more people into recovery so that they can live healthier and longer lives.
19 Jun 2025 · Non-violent Drug-related Offences: Prosecution · Hansard source
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As my hon. Friend knows, David Gauke has conducted a sentencing review that covers a wide range of these issues. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to have public confidence in community sentencing—that is important.
19 Jun 2025 · Non-violent Drug-related Offences: Prosecution · Hansard source
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In its recent report, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs highlighted the Government’s safer streets mission as a key vehicle to address the connection between drug use and criminality. The Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill will expand police powers to conduct more drug tests on more suspects upon arrest, which will help to direct more drug users into treatment and away from illegal drug use.
19 Jun 2025 · Immigration: Government Legal Advice · Hansard source
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As I said, the Law Officers’ convention prevents me from disclosing whether Lord Hermer advised on this issue or indeed any other. It does not, however, prevent me from saying that I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman wants to talk about illegal migration, given the abject mess the Conservatives left the country in.
19 Jun 2025 · Immigration: Government Legal Advice · Hansard source
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As the Lord Chancellor made very clear yesterday, the UK remains committed to the ECHR, but it is absolutely right that as the challenges facing modern democracies evolve, so must international law and, indeed, domestic interpretation of that law. This Government are taking a serious, considered and responsible approach, and we have a history of engaging constructively with the Court.
19 Jun 2025 · Immigration: Government Legal Advice · Hansard source
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The hon. Member will be aware that the Law Officers’ convention prevents me from disclosing whether advice has been sought from the Law Officers, whether advice has been given and, indeed, the content of any advice.
19 Jun 2025 · Immigration: Government Legal Advice · Hansard source
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If you come to this country, you play by our rules. That is why since we came into office, we have been taking action to ensure that foreign offenders can be deported at the earliest opportunity. In the period since we have been in office, we have deported nearly 30,000 foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers. That is the highest rate of returns for more than half a decade. It is the right thing to do, it will save prison capacity, and it will save taxpayers’ money.
19 Jun 2025 · Immigration: Government Legal Advice · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises an important point and refers to a critical part of the Government’s plan to secure our borders. The CPS has recently received new funding to step up surveillance and prosecutions, which will mean that those who commit horrible crimes in relation to people smuggling feel the full force of the law.
19 Jun 2025 · European Convention on Human Rights: UK Obligations · Hansard source
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This Government are fully committed to meeting our legal obligations. The rule of law is the bedrock of our parliamentary democracy. Not only does it underpin our legal and judicial systems; it provides the basis for the global success of our legal services sector.
19 Jun 2025 · European Convention on Human Rights: UK Obligations · Hansard source
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As to the steps that the Law Officers are taking, I am afraid that I have to refer to the Law Officers’ convention. With regard to the hon. Member’s wider point and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the For Women Scotland case, the Government have been very clear that we will continue to support single-sex spaces, while also affirming the important rights that trans people have and continue to have under the Equality Act.
19 Jun 2025 · European Convention on Human Rights: UK Obligations · Hansard source
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I will indeed meet my hon. Friend to discuss that issue. I believe that the Ministry of Justice has recently consulted on the single justice procedure, and I am more than happy to discuss it with him.
19 Jun 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. I know from meeting rape charities, and indeed from meeting CPS units right across the country, how long waits for justice harm victims and sometimes mean that they drop out of cases altogether. The Government and the CPS are taking action to reduce delays, including by increasing the number of Crown court sitting days and the number of counsel available to prosecute rape and serious sexual assault cases.
19 Jun 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises an important issue. The victims’ right to review scheme is an important pillar of the criminal justice system. Through the CPS pilot scheme to offer victims a review prior to a decision to offer no evidence, victims will be empowered to challenge more decisions. That is likely to lead to better decision making, more victims staying in the system and, ultimately, more offenders being put behind bars.
19 Jun 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution · Hansard source
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The hon. Member raises a very important issue. It is incredibly important that victims of abuse of any kind, and especially children, are supported through the criminal justice system, both by police and then by the CPS.
19 Jun 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution · Hansard source
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I am more than happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss that issue. He will be pleased to know—indeed, he may well already know—that we introduced a new offence for spiking and that we have included new spiking training for up to 10,000 staff in the night-time economy to ensure they have the skills to support victims and prevent such incidents.
19 Jun 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution · Hansard source
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This Government were elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Despite the challenges we inherited, we have recently secured a record funding settlement for the Crown Prosecution Service, which will allow it to hire more prosecutors and play its part in rebuilding a criminal justice system that truly delivers for victims.
4 Jun 2025 · Prosecutions for Violence against Women and Girls: West Midlands · Hansard source
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It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I start by commending my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) for securing this important debate, and indeed for contextualising its seriousness in our minds with his informative and very insightful opening remarks. He highlighted the gravity of violence against women and girls. I also extend my thanks to those who have contributed to this debate. This Government were elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we have been explicit in our prioritisation of tackling this deeply harmful form of offending. We have heard clearly in this debate about the wider issues in the criminal justice system, including the record court backlog and counsel shortages that we inherited from the previous Government. To effectively reduce violence against women and girls, it is important to apply a regional lens that takes into account the nuances specific to different areas across our country, as we are doing today. I am particularly aware of the challenges that my hon. Friend raises when it comes to the west midlands, for reasons I will go into. As my hon. Friend said, and as other hon. Members have made clear, the Crown Prosecution Service plays a vital role in helping to deliver this Government’s VAWG mission, through the prosecution of offenders and by securing justice for victims. As Solicitor General, it is my role to guard the CPS’s prosecutorial independence, so that it is wholly free to prosecute offences independently of any interference. It is also my duty to help to ensure that the CPS is delivering on our agenda to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. I will talk briefly about the specific actions that the CPS is taking in the west midlands, before I go on to cover, again relatively briefly, Government action on VAWG more broadly. The CPS has invested extensively in improving its response to VAWG through a number of initiatives, the impact of which is already visible in the west midlands. I recently met with Siobhan Blake, who is the chief Crown prosecutor and head of CPS West Midlands, as well as CPS national lead on rape and serious sexual offences, to discuss exactly that. I will see her again on Friday this week. Last year, CPS West Midlands rolled out the joint national action plan and complementary national operating models with policing to improve outcomes for victims of rape. The impact of that is visible in the west midlands, where there has been an increase in the volume of adult rape-flagged cases resulting in a charge. In 2022-23, there were 168 charges for adult rape-flagged cases in the west midlands, and in 2023-24, there were 204 charges. In the rolling year to date, we are again seeing increases. Although we are pleased to see more cases in the system, this clearly has a knock-on effect on caseloads, which have grown significantly in recent years, despite the CPS increasing resourcing in its RASSO units by around 100 prosecutors over the past five years. I am personally aware of the pressure that this can place on staff, and I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West will be aware of that, too. The CPS national operating model has provided the framework to respond to this workload issue, and includes a wellbeing offer for all RASSO staff to ensure that they get the support they need. I have talked about rape, but I turn now to domestic abuse. The CPS launched the joint justice plan, which similarly focuses on improving working relationships between police and Crown prosecutors. Just weeks ago, West Midlands police and the local CPS met to continue discussing this shared commitment to better joint working, and again the impact on local performance is already visible. In the west midlands, the plan has led to a 7% increase in the volume of domestic abuse-flagged prosecutions, and from quarter 2 to quarter 3 2024-25, there was a 12% increase in convictions. Timeliness is a key priority under the joint justice plan, as we recognise the importance of domestic abuse victims and their families being able to get their lives back on track, without a trial and its associated pressures, as quickly as possible. The CPS continues to look for innovative ways to improve timeliness. A pilot is now under way across three CPS areas to improve the timeliness of investigations and the efficiency of charging decisions in domestic abuse cases. The impact of that is being monitored closely. I want to explicitly acknowledge honour-based abuse. The CPS held a multi-agency conference in Birmingham—the very first of its kind—that I attended alongside the Minister for safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips). We engaged directly with local and national groups to set clear directions for combating these extremely harmful practices. At the conference, I shared my experience of overturning an unduly lenient sentence of a perpetrator in the east midlands—the first person in the country to be convicted of conspiracy to commit female genital mutilation. Having reviewed the facts of the case, I referred it to the Court of Appeal, which then increased the offender’s sentence to a total of seven years. The CPS’s ongoing work across different aspects of violence against women and girls will be unified through its forthcoming VAWG strategy, which is to be launched internally. Work has already begun to deliver that activity from 2025 through to 2030. Our cross-Government VAWG strategy will set out the blueprint for halving VAWG, encompassing prevention, early intervention, responding to offences and supporting victims. Prevention and education are fundamental to this approach, and we will tackle those crimes at their root, including by supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent. I am especially dedicated to that as a member of the Government’s Young Futures board, chaired by the Department for Education, where I have raised the growing prevalence of child perpetrators in sexual offences. Our cross-Government strategy will unify work to address offending that disproportionately impacts women and girls, together with the existing changes that the Government are driving to strengthen the law and the criminal justice system to improve the prosecution of these crimes. In the limited time I have left, I want to focus specifically on victims and the work being led across Government by some of my esteemed colleagues, such as the Minister for safeguarding and the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice—both are Members for the west midlands. As my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West rightly pointed out, earlier this year, West Midlands police became one of five forces to pilot Raneem’s law—a new Government-led initiative established in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother, who were murdered by Raneem’s ex-husband. It embeds domestic abuse specialists within 999 control rooms, who will be on hand to provide expert advice, specialist support and to identify missed opportunities to properly safeguard victims. Last year, pilots of new domestic abuse protection orders began in three police forces, enabling them to provide longer-term protection for victims. There have since been multiple convictions for breaches of those orders, with some perpetrators already behind bars. We are also taking action on stalking by extending the reach of stalking protection orders so that they can be imposed by the courts upon conviction as well as acquittal. That will be backed by other measures, including statutory guidance to empower the police to release the identities of online stalkers, and conducting a wider review of stalking legislation to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Those are just some of the actions being taken by the Government to help protect women and girls from violence and abuse, and to deliver on our commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. I should say, in closing, that it is very important to be frank, as all contributors to this debate have been, about the challenges facing the criminal justice system. Court backlogs across the country, after a lack of action by the previous Government, mean that victims are waiting far too long to see justice, which is leading to rising levels of attrition when it comes to victims, as has been adequately covered. We must strain every sinew to improve victim support. It is important that we respect victims’ wishes, and we must also ensure that, where they feel able to, victims remain engaged in the criminal justice process. Ultimately, our success will be measured by more victims coming forward and a sustained reduction in VAWG offending. To achieve that, we need more reporting, more cases being seen through to trial, better support for victims and improved public confidence in the criminal justice system as a whole. Question put and agreed to.

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