Angiolini Inquiry Report

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The Government have announced a number of measures following the Angiolini report. How does the Minister respond to criticisms that these measures are too little, too late?

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The report mentions the existence of a WhatsApp group where misogynistic views were shared. How does the Minister plan to address such issues within police forces?

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What specific actions is the Government taking to prevent another officer like Couzens from entering or remaining within police forces?

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The report highlights failures in investigating indecent exposure allegations. What specific measures will be taken to improve this area?

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I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of the statement. Three years ago this Sunday, a young woman walking home was abducted and brutally killed by a serving police officer who she should have been able to trust to keep her safe. Today we think of Sarah Everard and her parents, family and friends, who have to live with the shattering consequences of what happened.

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I join everybody in the House in paying tribute to Sarah Everard’s family. Having spent time with them, I hope the report will at least give them some sense of the facts and circumstances around what happened to their beautiful daughter, as they requested.

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I am grateful for advance sight of the statement, and to Dame Elish Angiolini for the careful and thorough way she has worked through this task. I would like to hear more about how those currently in the force who show tell-tale signs will be dealt with. What does the Home Secretary mean by “automated systems”, and how will they work? Will additional funding be made available to tackle institutional misogyny within the Met, and will Barnett consequentials be available so that the Scottish Government can similarly look at the threat of violence against women and girls?

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Can we also hear more about an issue that we have raised previously, which is where those reviews of standards are undertaken by other members of the police force. Surely there is a case for bringing in greater independence by using other agencies and institutions, such as the military, to help with these investigations.

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I wish to ask the Home Secretary again about this issue of indecent exposure, which is highlighted in the report and which he has talked about a little. In my constituency, we had the horrific case of Libby Squire, who was raped and murdered by a man who had been stalking women and roaming the streets of Hull for 18 months prior to murdering her. He had been exposing himself and committing acts of voyeurism.

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I would like to associate myself with the remarks of others—my thoughts are also with the Everard family. This report tells us that the environment did nothing—nothing—to discourage Couzens’ misogynistic view of women. We know that not every flasher becomes a rapist, but we also know that every rapist starts somewhere. I respectfully say to my right hon. Friend that, of course, there have been good changes with regard to criminal justice and longer sentences for the most violent and the most serious offences, but that is too late. We have to intervene in the offending journey. Last week, my Committee heard from Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy, a man who has taken on a really difficult job, overturning those stones in the Metropolitan police and turning up at 1,600 instances of officers with at least one allegation of a sexual offence or domestic violence—1. Can my right hon. Friend give us an assurance today that he will give more power to Stuart Cundy’s elbow, so that we get rid of these individuals from our police service?

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I associate myself with the comments for the Everard family and with Lady Elish Angiolini. Her report today is a continuation of her reports that have highlighted failures in our criminal justice system. In the Home Secretary’s statement, I noticed mention of funding for the National Police Chiefs’ Council for the flagging of police officers in the vetting system. My own experience in the police service is that IT system improvements take a long time and are complex, so I suppose my first question for him is: what timescales do we have in mind for those improvements? Secondly, what engagement is happening with Police Scotland, because police officers transfer to forces in and outwith the UK? Finally, if today a serving police officer were found in a concerning situation that requires input into the intelligence system and they do not identify themselves as a police officer, are we confident that they would be dealt with accordingly?

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I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. He will be clear that the overwhelming number of Metropolitan police officers are brave individuals who frequently put their life on the line to protect us all. That is key: such individuals want to see the bad apples rooted out and, indeed, never come into the police service in the first place. However, there are two aspects to the problems of the Metropolitan police: they are the one force in the country that failed to meet their recruitment targets in the past year; and the Mayor has yet to provide the funding from his budget to enable the cultural change that we need to see in the Metropolitan police. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we have to ensure that standards do not slip in recruitment—they should be enforced—and that the funding needs to be provided to change the culture of the Metropolitan police, as we would all like to see?

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I put it on the record that my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy), in whose constituency Sarah Everard lived and from where she was abducted, then murdered, is on an overseas visit with the Joint Committee on Human Rights and is very sorry not to be in the Chamber for this important statement. Sarah Everard’s abduction and murder had a profound impact on women across south London. Like so many young people, she had moved to London for work and made her home in our diverse community in Lambeth. She was one of us. But both before this appalling murder and afterwards, residents in south London and further afield who expressed concerns about police behaviour that was misogynistic, racist or homophobic were told repeatedly that this was just “a few bad apples”, an offensive phrase that diminishes and denies people’s experience and belies what have been shown to be structural, cultural and widespread problems in policing. Will the Secretary of State, in the light of the report’s findings, apologise to everyone whose experiences of unacceptable behaviour by police officers has been diminished and denied in that way? Had they been listened to when they reported their experiences, action could have been taken that might have prevented Sarah’s appalling and tragic murder from taking place.

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I pay tribute to Lady Elish Angiolini for her thoughtful and considered report. The Home Affairs Committee took significant evidence on this issue, and her findings chime with what we heard about police standards and the culture within policing. It is worth saying that the vast majority of police officers join with good intentions, and they serve their communities well and with honour, and they serve the public well, but that core of rotten behaviour that she so well addresses in this report does exist. That is what we have to address, because at the heart of this issue is trust in policing. We need to get back to a place where women trust police officers and where they trust that when they report things, those reports will be listened to. Does my right hon. Friend have confidence not just in what the Metropolitan police are doing, but in what forces around the country are doing—I have Cumbrian women who are concerned about their walks home at night—to look at the people in their forces and ensure that they root out bad behaviour and get the culture right?

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Asked the Home Secretary about discrepancies in funding between counter-terrorism units and units dealing with violence against women and girls, highlighting that £50 million was spent on Prevent referrals while only £18 million was allocated to domestic abuse reports. Also questioned why family court findings of rape are not accessible for police vetting when considering someone for a role as a police officer or social worker.

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Asked if police officers accused of domestic abuse or sexual assault should be suspended immediately.

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Highlighted the importance of police confidence for women to come forward, questioning if officers should be suspended immediately upon allegations.

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Asked about recommendation 11 for information sharing between police forces, highlighting the need to address perpetrators moving from force to force.

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Questioned the Government's approach to changing male attitudes towards women and girls.

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My thoughts today are with Sarah Everard’s family. Lady Angiolini's report mentions serious issues such as reports not being taken seriously, officers not being properly trained, and failures of culture within police forces. I welcome the Secretary of State's comments on societal change and men's behaviour but ask if he agrees that recognising misogyny as a hate crime is vital for making women feel better protected by law.

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Further to the Secretary of State's response, I suspect his words will come as news to the right hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells. The Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 was designed to recognise where women are targeted on our streets and give them additional protections but has not been mentioned by the Home Secretary. Will he ask the Met to abide by this law, sign the statutory instrument, and implement that piece of legislation?

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Dame Angiolini’s finding that there is nothing to stop another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight worries me because he had been operating since 2002. The Home Secretary has used many words today: “systemic issues in policing”, “trust in policing”, “attitudinal change is needed”. Actions speak louder than words, so will he meet me to discuss the Police (Declaration) Bill and how a register of memberships of secret societies should be publicly available?