David Williams
Main Page: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)Department Debates - View all David Williams's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 days, 22 hours ago)
Commons ChamberI call David Williams, who is permitted to leave early so that he can deal with his cough.
David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
That is really kind of you, after a full morning in the Chamber, Madam Deputy Speaker.
I warmly welcome the road safety strategy, which will save the lives of thousands of people across the next decade. As the Minister knows, because we have had countless meetings, I have been campaigning alongside Claire, the incredibly brave mother of six-year-old Sharlotte-Sky Naglis, who was so tragically killed by a motorist in my constituency. Under the current law, police are unable to test the blood of unconscious suspects until they are in a position to give consent, and in their deepest moments of grief, Sharlotte’s family could not get the answers they needed. Does the Minister agree that through consultation we now have an opportunity to change that, and to bring justice and a lasting legacy for Sharlotte and her family, so that no other families have to face such pain and anguish?
I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and for the work that he has done to ensure that that case was brought to my attention. Claire’s voice, and those of many bereaved families, have been in my mind as we have been devising this road safety strategy. My hon. Friend will have seen that in the consultation on offences we are looking to introduce Sharlotte’s law, to ensure that no other family suffers what they suffered.