Oral Answers to Questions
Helen Grant Excerpts(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)
The independent review of the Southport attacks condemns the CPS and police’s “near-silence” following the attacks and establishes silence as a catalyst for media disinformation and public distrust. It states that silence
“in the face of horrific events of major public interest is no longer an option.”
Does the Solicitor General accept that Government secrecy fuelled conspiracy theories and thus eroded confidence in our justice system, or is the independent King’s Counsel wrong?
The Solicitor General
Madam Deputy Speaker, you will not be surprised to hear that I completely reject the allegation of Government secrecy. Certainly, when it comes to Southport, those murders were some of the most harrowing in our country’s history and it was absolutely right that due process was followed to allow for the successful conviction. It was vital that justice was done in those cases.
The shadow Solicitor General will know that there are issues around contempt, which the Law Commission is looking at. The Law Commission has agreed to a request from the Home Secretary to speed up that review and it is vital that we get the results of that review as soon as possible.
Helen Grant
The independent review warned that government silence
“risked far more prejudice to any trial”
than transparency. Indeed, as is often said, the truth can be the best disinfectant. Will the Solicitor General therefore agree to greater transparency around major events in future and to implement Jonathan Hall’s recommendations on the provision of information to the public to ensure that that never happens again?
The Solicitor General
The shadow Solicitor General refers to Jonathan Hall and the terrorism review. Terrorism is, of course, something that the Government take extremely seriously. Jonathan Hall’s review has now concluded and it is right that his report—coupled with the contempt review—is considered in full by the Home Secretary, as an important step in addressing all those questions.
Oral Answers to Questions
Helen Grant Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)
The Attorney General has admitted to recusing himself from certain matters; he has also maintained absolute silence about which matters those may be. In these circumstances, we must ask ourselves: is that the level of transparency that our democracy demands? What safeguards exist when the Attorney General’s past clients and present duties overlap? Who, independent of the Attorney General himself, scrutinises those critical decisions on recusal, or do we face the concerning spectacle of the Government’s chief legal adviser marking his own homework?
The Solicitor General
As I have outlined, the Attorney General’s Office has rigorous and long-standing processes in place. Upon appointment, the AGO compiles a list of matters in which the Law Officer has previously been involved, by searching cases, cross-referencing with information obtained by the Law Officer’s chambers or firm and working through the list with the Law Officer themselves. The Office works with the Government Legal Department, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office to obtain additional information and compile the final list of conflicts and actions associated with each case. As the shadow Solicitor General knows, the Attorney General cannot publish a list of his former clients due to client confidentiality. [Interruption.] Opposition Members groan, but client confidentiality is a fundamental principle. Absolutely ridiculous.
The shadow Solicitor General mentioned recusal. The Attorney General has already indicated in the other place that he has recused himself from matters. The Law Officers’ convention prohibits me from listing those matters. No other Law Officer has ever published a list of the cases that they are recused from
Helen Grant
The Solicitor General, her predecessor and every Conservative Law Officer from the previous Administration rightly and properly understood their duty to declare previous earnings. Why does the Attorney General refuse to declare moneys received from his practice as a barrister? Why does he not acknowledge whether he continues to receive such payments when his predecessors routinely declared both? Why does this Attorney General think that there is one rule for him and another rule for everyone else?
The Solicitor General
The Attorney General is in the House of Lords, so the rules that apply are different from those that apply in the House of Commons. That is the difference between the Attorney General and the previous Solicitor General and me. Those requirements are the same for all peers, including the Attorney General, and they apply just as much to the shadow Attorney General. The Lords Commissioners for Standards said that they considered the complaints made by the shadow Justice Secretary about the peers code of conduct, and dismissed them.
Oral Answers to Questions
Helen Grant Excerpts(3 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I wish you and the team a very happy Christmas indeed. I congratulate the Solicitor General on her position and welcome her to her place. I hope to work constructively and effectively with her on this challenging and very important part of Government.
As the Solicitor General knows, rape victims need action now, urgently, given that many rape cases take more than two years to come to trial. There has been much talk from Ministers about opening specialist fast-track rape courts, but disappointingly there has been very little detail to date. How will the Government achieve that fast-tracking if they do not use all potential court sitting days, as requested by the Lady Chief Justice but refused by the Lord Chancellor?
The Solicitor General
I am grateful to the shadow Solicitor General for her kind words. She brings an awful lot of experience and expertise to her role, and I look forward to working constructively with her. She raises the issue of violence against women and girls, and refers to Crown court sitting days. I said earlier that I am very pleased that an additional 2,000 Crown court sitting days were added by the Lord Chancellor yesterday. That is very important, because it will allow the fast-tracking that she refers to of the backlog in our courts.
Helen Grant
I fully support the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade, but how will the Government’s progress be measured to ensure that they deliver against their target? What assessment has been made of the definition of violence against women and girls?
The Solicitor General
Timeliness is clearly key, and the hon. Lady is absolutely right to refer to our commitment to halving violence against women and girls within a decade. We will take urgent action, building on the urgent action we have already taken. In November, for example, pilots of the new domestic abuse protection orders began with three police forces, enabling them to provide additional protection to victims.
The hon. Lady will know that the police and the CPS have launched their domestic abuse joint justice plan. Improvements in partnership working under the plan have already led to a modest increase in referrals of domestic abuse cases from the police to the CPS, setting a strong foundation for future improvements.
Oral Answers to Questions
Helen Grant Excerpts(5 months ago)
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Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)
Thank you very much indeed, Mr Speaker. It is an honour to stand at the Dispatch Box again, albeit on the other side of this great Chamber. I hope to work constructively with the hon. and learned Lady on this challenging and very intricate part of Government.
Violence against women and children is abhorrent and inexcusable. It crushes self-confidence and self-esteem in victims, wrecks families and ruins lives. As someone who was a family lawyer for 23 years before coming to this place, I welcome the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade. To achieve that important goal, what action are the Government taking on prevention and early intervention, and when will the specialist rape courts be introduced?
The Solicitor General
I welcome the shadow Solicitor General to her place. She brings enormous experience, not only in legal matters but specifically in relation to violence against women and girls, and I look forward to working constructively with her in this area. I also take the opportunity to welcome the appointment of the new shadow Attorney General, and send my best wishes to the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) as he departs his role.
In answer to the hon. Lady’s question, she is right that the commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade is a cross-Government initiative. Prevention and early intervention are a core part of that; that is why when the VAWG mission board met earlier, there was a real focus on education—how we educate about consent and early intervention, so that we can prevent these cases from entering the criminal justice process.
Helen Grant
The Government have announced an extra £49 million in funding to support victims of crime and say that the funding will enable additional staff recruitment at the specialist rape and serious sexual offence unit of the Crown Prosecution Service. Can the Solicitor General confirm to the House the number of additional staff to be taken on? When will they be in place?
The Solicitor General
The hon. Lady is right to welcome the additional £49 million, which will be invested in those specialist rape and serious sexual violence units in every CPS area, but it is important that the CPS has discretion over how that money is spent and makes sure that resources are directed and targeted at areas where they are most needed, so that we can deliver for the victims of these most serious crimes.