Duncan Hames
Main Page: Duncan Hames (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)Department Debates - View all Duncan Hames's debates with the Home Office
(9 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Damian Green
I am sure that the whole House will echo my hon. Friend’s sentiment about those officers. Damien McAlister and Karen Kenworthy showed the bravery that we get from officers all over the country in the most difficult of situations. Such bravery is essential, particularly in tragic situations such as the one he mentions, and it should never go without being noticed.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)
7. What steps she has taken to co-ordinate lessons learnt across Government from investigations into organised sexual abuse of children.
The Minister for Crime Prevention (Norman Baker)
The national group on sexual violence against children and vulnerable people, which I chair, is already delivering a number of significant improvements to our response to child sex abuse, including addressing lessons learned from the investigations and inquiries into historical and organised child sexual abuse. The Home Secretary will make a statement on child abuse immediately after this session.
Duncan Hames
I appreciate the Minister’s efforts in this regard. When the Prime Minister said in answer to my question last month that he was happy to look at the case for an independent inquiry, I was optimistic. We may not have long to wait now. The Government set great store by the police investigations. Does the Minister share my dismay at reports that the Metropolitan police has assigned only seven officers to Operation Fernbridge?
Norman Baker
That is an operational matter for the police, rather than a matter for Ministers. However, we take these matters extremely seriously and all Ministers have made it plain that we expect the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to take all the necessary steps to bring those who are responsible for heinous crimes to justice.