Protections for Emergency Service Workers Debate
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Chris Clarkson
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Protections for Emergency Service Workers
Chris Clarkson Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Chris Clarkson (Heywood and Middleton) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Murray. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton South (Matt Vickers) for securing this important debate.
This year more than most we are relying absolutely on the work of our emergency services, as we work to tackle the impact of covid-19. We are forever indebted to the people who put themselves between us and harm, whether that is the 7,300 police officers, with 194 new colleagues on the way, the 19,000 frontline NHS staff or the 2,100 firefighters who serve my constituency, Heywood and Middleton, and the wider Greater Manchester community. It is our duty in this place to ensure that we look after the people who look after us.
Eight years after the event, Greater Manchester still remembers the loss of Greater Manchester police officers Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone. The then Prime Minister David Cameron rightly called their murders by Dale Cregan a despicable act of pure evil. On that occasion, their killer received a whole-life tariff, and rightly so, but that should never be in question. Criminals should know the consequences of taking the life of one of our bravest. I do not believe in the death penalty for a number of reasons, legal and moral, but there should be no just opposition to the idea that someone who takes the life of one of our emergency workers should be removed from decent society permanently.
I support calls led by the families of fallen frontline workers—Lissie Harper in particular—for a review of how the law works in such cases. There should either be a new law relating specifically to the killing of people in frontline service positions or reform of existing laws on homicide. The Law Commission already recommended introducing degrees of murder, along with other reforms, just over 10 years ago. While some of those changes were adopted, I feel there is an opportunity to complete the reforms and bring our legal system into line with the society it serves.
I will not speak for much longer, as I know this is a popular debate. Support for our frontline personnel is an area on which we can all broadly agree. I will conclude with an extract from the police oath, in which they promise to serve
“with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all people”.
We owe them nothing less from this place.