Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Victims Code

Tuesday 19 May 2026 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Victims' Commissioner will deliver a new, strengthened victims code.
  • The Minister is willing to meet constituents to discuss measures to prevent retraumatising victims in civil courts.
  • The Minister thanked and paid tribute to Dr Birkett's daughter for her courage in continuing to engage with the case.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Patrick Hurley Lab Southport
Justice & Courts
Context

The Department is working on updating the victims' code to better support and protect victims of crime.

Question

What progress has the Department made on a new victims code? The MP inquired about updates to the current framework that will strengthen protections for victims and improve their experience within the criminal justice system.

Answer from Catherine Atkinson

The Victims' Commissioner will deliver a new, strengthened victims code. We have engaged with victims, support services and criminal justice professionals in a consultation that closed on 7 April, and we are now taking time to consider nearly 200 responses. We will issue a public response ahead of finalising the new code and bringing it into force.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timelines or commitments for finalising and implementing the updated victims' code were not provided.

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Q2 Patrick Hurley Lab Southport
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

A victim of violent crime in Southport is facing contributory negligence allegations in civil courts, which is causing further trauma and concern about natural justice.

Question

In my constituency, an acknowledged victim of violent crime is being alleged to be contributorily negligent in the civil courts. That is retraumatising, and appears to be contrary to natural justice. Will the Minister meet me and my constituents to discuss this further, and see what measures can be put in place to address concerns about how the civil law system deals with such cases?

Answer from Catherine Atkinson

The new victims code will ensure that victims know what services, support and information they are entitled to in the criminal justice system, but our civil and family courts should never be used to perpetuate the trauma that victims have suffered. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend, or to arrange a meeting with the relevant Minister, so that we can better understand the case that my hon. Friend raises, and what his constituent faces.

Answered
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Q3 Rishi Sunak Con Richmond and Northallerton
Justice & Courts
Context

Dr David Birkett, brutally murdered in Teesside in 1990, had his murderer released recently despite an ongoing judicial review. The MP is seeking support and understanding from the Ministry of Justice.

Question

In 1990, Dr David Birkett was brutally murdered in a crime that shocked the Teesside community. He was discovered by his young daughter, who is a constituent of mine. Despite the Deputy Prime Minister's very welcome opposition, the murderer was recently released. May I thank the Ministry of Justice for agreeing to a request from me and the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) for a meeting with my constituent to hear her concerns about the process, and about her interactions with the Parole Board leading up to the murderer's release? I know that the matter is subject to an ongoing judicial review, but I thank the Ministry of Justice for its continued attention to this case, and urge it to learn what we can do to support victims in the future.

Answer from Catherine Atkinson

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for raising this deeply distressing case. I pay tribute to Dr Birkett's daughter for her courage in continuing to engage, which is truly commendable. He is right that the Parole Board is independent of Government. The Deputy Prime Minister's application for reconsideration was not considered to have reached the threshold. He decided to seek permission not to set aside the Parole Board's decision, but for judicial review of the decision, and that has been filed. I await the response, and hope that permission is granted, but I reassure the right hon. Member and Dr Birkett's family that this Department will continue to seek to mitigate the hurt that they are feeling.

Answered
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