Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Clarke of Nottingham and Baroness Keeley

Tuesday 13th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Kenneth Clarke]

We intend to apply exactly the same policy in all sensible ways to the prison system generally as far as is practicable. We publish more figures all the time about reoffending rates and we will certainly be open about our success in extending the policy of providing more worthwhile working opportunities for prisoners, because getting them back into the habit of work is one way of getting them to live as responsible citizens in a normal society.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

T3. Using a restricted definition of domestic violence, as discussed a moment ago, will penalise victims of domestic violence, many of whom suffer for long periods before they begin to report incidents to the police. Will the Minister, given that he appears to be in some difficulty over this, consider meeting organisations working on domestic violence to work out how to make that definition work?

Justice

Debate between Lord Clarke of Nottingham and Baroness Keeley

Thursday 24th June 2010 Ministerial Corrections

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

T9. In a recent case, a Salford man had committed a rape and was bailed, but then committed a further rape, and the police believe that there are further victims of this man. Can the Secretary of State explain why the Government have committed in their coalition agreement to extending anonymity to such defendants before all the evidence is heard? Can he also say who will now be consulted for that evidence?

[Official Report, 15 June 2010, Vol. 511, c. 735-36.]

Letter of correction from Mr Kenneth Clarke:

An error has been identified in the oral answer given to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 15 June 2010. The answer given was as follows:

[Mr Kenneth Clarke]

With great respect, I find it very surprising that so many questions are being raised about a proposition that has been before the House, on and off, for the past 20 years and is not easily resolved. We will, of course, look at all arguments, including the experience of the case to which the hon. Lady has referred, but that is only one of the considerations to be taken into account. There will undoubtedly sometimes be cases where the publication of the name of the accused person gives rise to other people coming forward with well-founded complaints against that person. We will have to see whether there is any evidence that such cases are a significant proportion of the total cases of rape. We shall also have to consider the arguments on the other side, where a woman can make an anonymous complaint, the man can eventually be convicted, after going through a long and probably rather destructive ordeal, and the woman retains her anonymity as she walks away, with her ex-boyfriend or ex-husband left to live with the consequences.

The correct answer should have been: