Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill Debate

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Department: Ministry of Justice

Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

Chris Elmore Excerpts
2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 20th October 2017

(6 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 View all Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Chris Elmore Portrait Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)
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Will my hon. Friend give way?

Chris Bryant Portrait Chris Bryant
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More Wales!

Chris Elmore Portrait Chris Elmore
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You can never get enough Wales, as I am sure my hon. Friend would agree. In recent years there has been an increase in assaults on first responders to ambulance calls who are treating patients at the side of the road and being attacked by somebody who was attacking the person they were treating. Are first responders included in the Bill, or will they need to be included in Committee?

Chris Bryant Portrait Chris Bryant
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The legal advice that I have had is that they would be included, but we need to make sure of that in Committee.

I think every single one of us will feel it is inconceivable—incomprehensible—that, when somebody comes to save a life, they can be physically attacked for doing so. How does that happen? There is a cry of outrage at the heart of this Bill. It is an attempt to give an extra tool to the prosecuting authorities to make sure that we can stem the tide of these assaults.