Topical Questions

Answer from The Home Secretary (Priti Patel)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. She will know from the discussions we had as recently as Friday the extent of the criminality, exposure and abuse undertaken by people traffickers, who are forcing mothers and children onto unseaworthy vessels, and the horrendous circumstances that they are put in. My hon. Friend the Immigration Minister earlier outlined the approach the Government are taking to tackle these abuses, and to go after the criminals and the facilitators of this crime. We will not stop pursuing this policy until we absolutely break the pathway that these criminal gangs are using.

Answer from The Home Secretary (Priti Patel)

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. We strongly support the right to protest peacefully, but that does not extend to the violent behaviour we have witnessed across the country throughout the weekend. Any assault on our brave police is completely unacceptable. Any perpetrator should be in absolutely no doubt that they will be arrested and prosecuted. Assaults on emergency workers must be handled with the appropriate severity by the entire criminal justice system in a consistent way, and this Government will go even further, as we have committed to consult shortly on doubling the minimum sentence for those who assault emergency workers, to ensure that the sentence truly fits the crime.

Answer from The Home Secretary (Priti Patel)

The hon. Lady is completely wrong in her categorisation. First, public health measures are available right now, in addition to the fact that this is a public health emergency, so it is wrong to assert that in the way she has done. Also, I have outlined the funds. Working across Government, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, vital funds and resources have been provided to local authorities to provide support to people who need that extra support. That is something the Government are committed to.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for raising a distressing and horrendous case. Too many young lives have been lost to knife crime, which is why we continue with our plans and determination to recruit 20,000 police officers—the Policing Minister has already outlined a way that is working and the funds allocated.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for raising a distressing and horrendous case. Too many young lives have been lost to knife crime, which is why we continue with our plans and determination to recruit 20,000 police officers—the Policing Minister has already outlined a way that is working and the funds allocated. Importantly, it is right that we have legislated to take more knives off our streets and that our serious violence Bill will place a new duty on public agencies to reduce serious violence.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and also for highlighting some of the most shocking aspects of serious violence. He mentions the violence reduction units, which play a phenomenal role in reducing violent crime at a local level. He also touched on drugs, and particularly county line drugs.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Of course, the rule of law applies to everybody. I particularly commend the work he has led, with his local council colleagues, on working with the chief constable to urge the police and crime commissioner to tackle this scourge.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

My hon. Friend will be well aware of my comments last week about travel corridors, and specifically international travel corridors. I have been working across Government, with Transport but also the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight that. A great deal of work has taken place with specialist domestic abuse organisations, particularly those that offer bilingual services.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Priti Patel)

We live in an open democracy where processes must be maintained for people to voice their opinions democratically, without resorting to violence or breaking the law.

Answer from The Prime Minister (Priti Patel)

We are in a democratic country with values entrenched in our constitution and rule-based system; there is no justification for violence, which can be addressed through local council engagement.