Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

If Parliament agrees a deal, having had one brought before this House, that fulfils one of the conditions that means that no extension has to be sought.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Hypothetically speaking, if the Government were seen to be breaking the law, who would arrest the Prime Minister? Would it be the Met?

Legal Advice: Prorogation

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Barry Sheerman

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

The Opposition want me to sit down, so I will gratify them and do so.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I came into the Chamber today thinking I felt sorry for the Attorney General—I did!—but every word he has uttered today shows no shame, no shame at all. The fact is that this Government cynically manipulated the Prorogation to shut down this House, so that it could not work as a democratic assembly. He knows that that is the truth, and to come here with his barrister’s bluster to obfuscate the truth, and for a man like him, a party like his, and a leader like this Prime Minister to talk about morals and morality is a disgrace.

[The Attorney General]

I am not sure I discerned a question in that marshmallow of rhetoric, but in so far as there was a question, there is an answer. If the hon. Gentleman thinks the Government should no longer be governing, he should tell his leader to bring a motion of no confidence this afternoon and to agree to a simple one-line statute that fixes the election by a simple majority. We would be delighted to meet the right hon. Gentleman wherever he chooses in front of the electorate, who will judge whether the machinations he supports and the devices to which he resorts to make sure that this dead Parliament continues are right or wrong.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 23rd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

I do agree, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. It is vital that everybody should have the courage and confidence to be able to come forward. The pack that was given to all Members of this House indicates how to report such cases and the process that will be followed, and that publication is a good guide, I hope, to the way in which both staff and Members should deal with the matter.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is deepest complacency. These are supposed to be topical questions. Lord Neuberger has said that the justice system is in crisis because of legal aid cuts. Does the Attorney General accept that the Crown Prosecution Service is so under-resourced that it cannot do its job?

A man drove into a bus queue in my constituency, killing a little girl and injuring two other people. The CPS did not even charge him with careless driving. Something is deeply wrong with the CPS, and the Attorney General should wake up to it.

[The Attorney General]

I admire the hon. Gentleman’s passion, and I am sure it is entirely well grounded and sincere. The Crown Prosecution Service applies the code of conduct for prosecutors. In those circumstances, it is completely right that it does so impartially. I do not know the case to which he refers but, if he writes to me, I am certainly willing to look into it. Question 6 is on the abuse and harassment of Members of this House and the other place, and I hope we can both agree that any such abuse and harassment is deplorable and contemptible, and is an attack upon democracy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 1st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

That is an excellent suggestion, and I shall look at it extremely carefully. It sounds like something we need to take forward.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is the Attorney General aware that a cross-party group of MPs has recently been told by senior police sources that the Crown Prosecution Service has not got the capacity to take on new cases involving dreadful crimes against children and that men who they know have committed such dreadful offences are not being pursued because the CPS does not have the resources? That is a very serious worry.

[The Attorney General]

If that were true, I would share the hon. Gentleman’s profound concern. I will look into the matter as a consequence of his having raised it this morning.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geoffrey Cox and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 6th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Question 2, Mr Speaker.

[The Attorney General (Mr Geoffrey Cox)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Serious Fraud Office.

[The Attorney General (Mr Geoffrey Cox)]

Serious fraud losses are estimated at over £190 billion a year. The SFO is an essential component of our national effort against financial crime. It is responsible for some of the largest and most complex cases. In the past five financial years, 25 out of 30 of its prosecutions resulted in convictions, which is a rate of 83%. I thank Sir David Green for his leadership and guidance in the last six years of momentous legislative change. The SFO is an important and central player, and it will remain so with the Government’s commitment. It is a vital part of our national effort against fraud.

[Mr Sheerman]

The Attorney General knows that I have a keen interest in this area and that I, like many Members on both sides of the House, want to see an effective and efficient Serious Fraud Office. We are still seriously concerned that if the SFO is not resourced well enough, and does not have enough staff and sufficient budget to do the job, it will increasingly become reliant on the big accountancy and legal firms. He knows the problem, so will he meet a few Members from across the parties to talk about this?

[The Attorney General]

I am always willing to have a constructive dialogue with the hon. Gentleman and any Opposition Member, but I must say that I do not recognise the problem. I have inquired into this issue with the SFO and there is no significant commissioning of the big four. We have increased the SFO’s core budget and we are still making available blockbuster funding for large cases. With the new director giving fresh energy and a fresh perspective to the leadership of the SFO, I hope that we shall see an already good performance much improved.