Criminal Justice Reform

Ashley Fox Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I recognise his service; he knows of what he speaks in this area. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean, I am well aware that the eyes of the policing family are on us. I ask them, as I ask my hon. Friend, to judge us by our actions. We want to get to the same place as them, which is a criminal justice system that is not running so hot, which means they will not have to be dragged away in all sorts of places, particularly on recall. We have lots of work to do, but my commitment is to do it with them.

[Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)]

The Lord Chancellor will know that a substantial proportion of criminals released under Labour’s previous early release scheme have reoffended and are now back in prison, yet his Department refuses to release the exact numbers. Will he commit to releasing that data and, going forward, to release data on the new cohort of early release criminals who reoffend, so that this House can judge the success, or otherwise, of his policies?

[Alex Norris]

I always enjoy a thorough debate on the statistics. The hon. Gentleman will know that the MOJ produces a wide range of statistics quarterly, and it will continue to do so. I will, of course, have a look at the important suggestion that he makes. It is really important that the public have the fullest amount of information in order to have the best public conversation.