Operation Soteria

Baroness Sugg Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, I am again grateful for that contribution from the noble Lord, who of course speaks from his professional insight and great experience in investigating and superintending police officers working on this. I am aware that there is objective data about jury responses to crimes available which is the result of meticulous study in England and Wales. I can also assure the noble Lord and the House that we as a Government are working with the Law Commissions in relation to that.

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, protection for victims is a key part of how we will see improvements here, and the Government’s end-to-end rape review action plan committed to reducing unnecessary and disproportionate requests for personal information. Can my noble and learned friend the Minister update me on progress in this area?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

Once again, my noble friend makes an exceptionally important point. Progress on the implementation of Operation Soteria has touched on matters such as the essential aspect of possession and use of a mobile phone. People nowadays are entirely dependent on their phones in all sorts of ways. As the noble Baroness and other noble Lords who have contributed will appreciate, mobile phones are often pivotal in the investigation and accumulation of sufficient evidence with which to bring a charge. We are taking steps, and the Soteria principles set out, so that phones will be away from people for one day at the most.

Offences Against the Person Act: Section 58

Baroness Sugg Excerpts

Thursday 15th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, the professional body which the noble Baroness chairs will no doubt promulgate correct information to its members as to their standing in law in relation to these complex and sensitive matters. As I said in answer to the previous question, the Government will work with the relevant professional bodies in relation to this.

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, the facts of this case are extremely distressing and highlight the need to continue to work to ensure that women, particularly vulnerable women, can access abortion as early and safely as possible. We have made recent progress in this area, ensuring the introduction of safe-access zones, which was supported by your Lordships in the Public Order Act. I appreciate that their implementation may be complicated, and I am grateful to the Government and civil servants for their work on this, but can my noble and learned friend the Minister tell me when they will be introduced?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

First, I am grateful to my noble friend for her courtesy in giving me advance notice of the point she wished to raise. It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated. The police and local authorities have powers to restrict harmful protests and we expect them to take action in such cases. I cannot answer her with a specific date, but I can tell her that we are working through the complexities of implementing border zones, and that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, speaking yesterday to the Home Affairs Select Committee, undertook to write to them to bring them fully up to date on the point raised.