Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19: Emergency Worker Assault Cases

Thursday 4 June 2020 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Lee Anderson questioned the effectiveness of the CPS in handling emergency workers' assault cases during the covid-19 outbreak, to which the Minister responded positively about the CPS's robust approach, prosecuting over 300 cases in the first month of lockdown.
  • Lee Anderson suggested restorative justice as a method for tackling crimes against emergency workers after custodial sentences, a suggestion the Minister supported in principle, emphasizing the operational independence of police forces.
  • Ellie Reeves questioned the Attorney General's impartiality regarding a tweet supporting Dominic Cummings, to which the response was that the tweet did not provide a public legal view and was not a legal opinion.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lee Anderson Reform Ashfield
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

The question arises due to concerns about the increase in assaults on emergency workers during the pandemic, leading to public scrutiny over how such incidents are handled by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Question

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the handling by the CPS of emergency workers' assault cases during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer from Suella Braverman

A disappointing feature of this pandemic is the number of assaults on emergency workers, but I am reassured by the robust approach that the Crown Prosecution Service has taken. During the first month of lockdown, the CPS prosecuted more than 300 cases of assaults against emergency workers.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a detailed assessment or analysis of the effectiveness of handling these cases beyond noting that 300 cases were prosecuted in the first month of lockdown.

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Q2 Craig Whittaker Con
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The question stems from recent disturbing incidents involving disregard of social distancing rules and safety concerns for emergency workers, prompting inquiries into how the CPS handles such cases.

Question

What changes have been made to our CPS arrangements for charging offences against emergency workers?

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend raises an important point. I know people out there are feeling pain and anger. They must know that their lives matter—all lives matter—but violence and aggression are not the way forward. We are living through an unprecedented pandemic. The police are doing a heroic job in difficult circumstances and I urge people to follow the social distancing guidelines so that lives are saved. The Crown Prosecution Service issued an interim charging protocol earlier this year, which made it clear that covid-related offences are to be prioritised with an immediate charging decision.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer includes a statement about the importance of following social distancing guidelines and does not provide detailed information on specific changes in CPS arrangements.

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Q3 Lee Anderson Reform Ashfield
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Concerns have been raised about the increase in assault cases against emergency workers, leading to proposals on how to address these crimes post-sentencing.

Question

Does the Minister agree that an effective method of tackling these crimes once the individual has served their custodial sentence would be restorative justice, whereby the CPS works locally with the police to ensure they use restorative justice? For minor crimes that do not carry a custodial sentence, out of court disposals could be used.

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend is right that those scenes of people attacking our heroic police officers were frankly sickening. It is obviously a matter for operationally independent police forces to use their flexibility and discretion as they see fit. My hon. Friend is right that out of court disposals can allow police to deal with low-level offending and first-time offending swiftly and efficiently. Whether that would be appropriate in those cases, I am not so sure personally: assaults on emergency workers are particularly callous.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a clear stance or agreement regarding the use of restorative justice and out-of-court disposals for minor crimes involving assaults against emergency workers.

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Q4 Ellie Reeves Lab Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Justice & Courts Standards & Ethics
Context

There is a concern over whether the Attorney General's public support for Dominic Cummings undermines her impartiality in providing legal views on cases involving assault on emergency workers.

Question

Can the Attorney General confirm that in assault cases, as in all other covid-related offences, the law should apply equally to all, and that as superintendent of the CPS by tweeting her support for Dominic Cummings, she undermined the impartiality of her role and the rule of law?

Answer from Suella Braverman

It is plain for any reasonable observer to see that there was no question whatever of my having provided any public legal view on the matter to which the hon. Lady refers. To suggest that that was somehow a legal opinion is simply absurd.

Not addressed: The Attorney General's response completely sidesteps the issue of impartiality and instead focuses on refuting the accusation as 'absurd'.

How: Deflecting

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Q5 Bob Neill Con
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Concerns have been raised over inconsistencies in how police charge individuals with covid-related offences, prompting questions about ensuring proper guidance is provided to the police.

Question

Will she ensure that CPS advice is made available to the police for all charging decisions for all covid-related cases under the regulations or otherwise, to ensure that we do not get a repetition of that unfortunate state of affairs?

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend makes me an invitation I simply cannot refuse, and I look forward to appearing before his Committee in due course. He will know that the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the associated regulations were brand new pieces of legislation introduced at pace and at a challenging time.

Not addressed: The Attorney General's response sidesteps the question about providing CPS advice for charging decisions, instead focusing on accepting an invitation to appear before the Justice Committee.

How: Deflecting

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Q6 Bambos Charalambous Lab Southgate and Wood Green
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The death of a transport worker named Belly Mujinga due to an incident at Victoria station has raised concerns about the decision not to refer the case to the CPS.

Question

Can the Attorney General demand the investigation be reopened and demand swift action, so that there can be justice for Belly Mujinga's family?

Answer from Suella Braverman

This was a tragic incident and it was appalling, frankly, that Belly Mujinga was abused for doing her job at Victoria station. My thoughts are with her friends and her family. British Transport police did conduct an investigation following reports that a man claiming to have covid-19 coughed and spat at Ms Mujinga and a colleague.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Attorney General's response does not explicitly address the demand for reopening the investigation or demanding swift action, instead focusing on confirming an existing investigation was conducted.

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