Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting)

David Burton-Sampson Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 24th April 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Dr Sullivan]

Today, with clause 73, we are saying clearly and finally that spiking is a crime. Spiking is a violation, and it will not be tolerated. For too long, this country has failed to name it for what we know it is. Until now, victims have had to navigate a patchwork of old laws dating back to the 19th century—sections 23 and 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. What is going on there?

Those provisions criminalised the behaviour, but they never used the word. They never gave victims the clarity or the recognition they deserved. This clause changes that. It repeals those outdated offences and replaces them with the single, modern offence of administering a harmful substance, including by spiking.

I cannot overstate how important naming the offence is; it draws a clear legal and cultural line in the sand. Spiking is not just some nuisance behaviour. It is not a prank. It is an act of control, violation and harm, and it comes in many forms. Whether it be drink spiking, needle spiking, vape spiking or even food spiking, it is a predatory act and it can happen to anyone.

Some of us may know someone who has been spiked—a friend, a colleague or someone we care about—and yet, how often is there justice? How often do we know who did it? The Home Office tells us that, between May 2022 and April 2023, the police received 6,732 reports of spiking, with nearly 1,000 involving needles. That is over 500 reports a month. However, Stamp Out Spiking, the UK’s leading anti-spiking charity, from which we heard in the evidence session, says that over 97% of victims do not even report it to the police. Why? They are not sure that the law will help, and for years there was no offence with the word “spiking” in it—that ends today.

I pay tribute to my local Gravesham street pastors who walk the streets of Gravesend town centre on Friday and Saturday nights, giving out anti-spiking devices, educating partygoers, looking after people and providing comfort and support.

[David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)]

I, too, welcome clause 73. Does my hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done to prevent spiking? The Government need to work with other partners, such as the police, venues and transport, as set out in their plans for spiking in November last year. Does my hon. Friend agree that that provides a more holistic approach, beyond just what is in clause 73?

[Dr Sullivan]

I absolutely agree. We must also work with the voluntary sector, including Stamp Out Spiking, and in education and youth services we must shout from the rooftops that this behaviour is not acceptable and is seriously damaging.

Let us be honest: in December 2022 the Conservative Government said that there was

“no gap in the existing law”

and refused to act. It was only after public pressure, and the publication of a damning report under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, that they changed course. It has now fallen to this Government to finish the job, and I am proud that we are doing so. The new offence will be triable either way, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, which applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For the first time, it sends a clear message: if an individual spikes someone and violates their autonomy, safety and night out, the law will hold them to account.

The Bill represents a broader cultural shift—one we have already seen in its response to stalking, intimate image abuse and violence against women and girls. With clause 73 we are putting our foot down and saying, “No more blurred lines, no more excuses and no more evasion. Spiking is illegal, full stop.”