Police: Professional Standards

Debate between Jim Shannon and Ben Maguire

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ben Maguire]

I completely agree that it is essential we have police officers with the experience, skills and knowledge, to ensure that people have proper trust and confidence in our police and confidence that complaints will be dealt with properly.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Jim Shannon]

I was holding my breath on this one. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. He has given three examples of things that have happened. Does he agree that in a world of grey, it is imperative that the conduct and professionalism of our police forces is black and white and that officers understand that once they put the application form in, their conduct must be of the highest standards, and this will be enforced at the highest level?

[Ben Maguire]

I completely agree we must hold our police officer to the highest standards, particularly when it comes to complaints. If those standards do not meet the threshold that we all rightly expect, we need to have a robust complaints system, in which we can have proper trust and confidence.

I will quickly mention one more constituent case—that of another teenage girl, who was sexually assaulted by a close neighbour and has had to move away from the family home while the investigation continues for months and months, without any updates at all from the police. I am afraid that the list goes on.

I am sure that other Members will agree that one of the greatest privileges of being a Member in this place is meeting some really inspiring constituents. The bravery of those young girls, and Lisa’s relentless campaigning on behalf of her son, have inspired me. I am proud to bring their cases before this House.

To conclude, I ask the Minister to please clarify some of the following questions. What can my constituents do when they have legitimate concerns that have not been properly addressed by the complaints process? Clearly, a judicial review is completely out of reach for most of our constituents.

Sewage Discharges: South West

Debate between Jim Shannon and Ben Maguire

Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ben Maguire]

I agree that we need one reliable source of data, and I will come on to address that slightly later in my speech.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Member for bringing forward this matter. He referred to the fact that his mum and dad live in a farm building, and it is clear what the issues are there. Does he have the same problems as my constituents when it comes to single houses with septic tanks? The removal of sludge can be done only once a year. For disabled people and big families it is important to have it done twice a year. Has he experienced that issue in his own constituency?

[Ben Maguire]

Having grown up in a very rural area in North Cornwall, I know that many of my constituents face that issue, so I thank the hon. Member for raising it.

To look beyond the shocking statistics for a moment, and properly understand the real impact that the issue is having on coastal communities such as mine, I refer to three-year-old Finley from Widemouth bay. This time last year, Finley’s mum took her son to Widemouth bay to play on the north Cornish beach. Later that day, Finley became extremely unwell, and a friend’s child who had been on the same beach at the same time had similar symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting, which lasted for weeks. Just last week, there were three sewage dumps in Widemouth bay. Tragically, in just the few months since my election, I have lost count of the number of constituents who have written to me or stopped me in the street to explain how they have stopped swimming or surfing in our oceans for fear of getting sick from the contaminated water.