Manchester Terrorism Attack

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

I agree with my hon. Friend and I hope that that message has been heard today. There is obviously much work for us to do, but the Government will not shy away from doing it.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

I thank the Home Secretary for her powerful statement and send my condolences to those grieving for their loved ones following the horrific terrorist attack, which realised the fears of those in our Jewish community across the country. A Stevenage constituent wrote to me straight after the attack to say how scared she was for her husband, who had gone to do security at Yom Kippur that evening. She also told me that classmates of her son’s had wished he had died in the Holocaust, and that other classmates had talked about antisemitic comments during lessons on the second world war. She also told me about not disclosing the fact that a party for her daughter was for her bat mitzvah because she was scared of the response. These are the fears that our Jewish community are facing. While I welcome all that the Government are doing in their deeds, in law and with resources, the harder thing is how we call out these so-called small acts of antisemitism. They start that way, but where do they end? How can we encourage everyone—all of us—to call them out?

[Shabana Mahmood]

No act of antisemitism, big or small, is acceptable, and we must all call it out and challenge it wherever we see it. The Government will act. We are already taking measures, and we will take more, to strengthen the response to rising antisemitism in our country. Let me assure my hon. Friend that the testimony from his constituent is devastating for all of us. It is a source of national shame that our fellow citizens feel that they have to hide who they are in this way. We must all commit ourselves to doing everything in our collective power to ensure that our Jewish community can live a full Jewish life here in Britain in the 21st century.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

17. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

18. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

19. What steps she is taking to help ensure the delivery of effective community policing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

As a fellow west midlands Member of Parliament, I of course hear my hon. Friend’s concerns, but she will understand that, as with previous years, decisions on police force funding allocations will be made via the police funding settlement, which is taking place later in the year.

[Kevin Bonavia]

I commend the Government for their commitment to neighbourhood policing, not least the proposed powers in the Crime and Policing Bill that will empower officers to stop antisocial and illegal e-scooter riding, which has been a dangerous blight across Stevenage town centre. However, does my right hon. Friend not agree that we should be giving police the legislation and guidance they need to keep our local neighbourhoods safe, rather than arresting individuals for posting on social media views that, while considered offensive by some, are nowhere near the bar for inciting criminal behaviour?

[Shabana Mahmood]

On the first part of my hon. Friend’s question, he is absolutely right about strengthening neighbourhood policing to deal with the concerns he raises. That is why we have brought forward new powers in the Crime and Policing Bill. I agree that it is important that the line between that which is perfectly legal fair comment, even if offensive, and that which is illegal is maintained as strongly as possible. I have already had conversations with senior police officers on this matter, and I am pleased to see statements from, for example, the chief of the Met police. I will be meeting them in more detail to make sure that that line is not crossed, so we can maintain confidence in our police.

Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I am happy to pass on that issue to the Immigration Minister.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

We have heard Conservative and Reform MPs decry legislation that they say is stopping the problem being fixed. They talk the talk, but they do not actually vote for legislation. The shadow Home Secretary, with an angry face, was going on about what is happening in hotels, but it was his Government’s policy that set up hotels as hostels for asylum seekers. This Government have said that they will end the policy. Can the Minister set out the Government’s sensible approach—not gimmicks—to end the use of hotels as hostels?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. It might help the shadow Home Secretary if I say that the number of hotels has gone down under this Labour Government. [Interruption.] Despite what the shadow Home Secretary says, the number of hotels has gone down since the Government came into power.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The hon. Member makes an important point. Often, particularly for older people, the way in which the bikes are used is just dangerous. The deliberate ramping up of the noise to intimidate and scare people is disgraceful antisocial behaviour. That is why we are increasing policing powers and why we want to work with policing on things like the drone use and other measures to tackle antisocial behaviour.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to tackle mobile phone theft.

[The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)]

Street theft increased by more than 40% in the last year of the previous Government, largely due to soaring rates of snatch theft involving mobile phones. There is clear evidence of organised criminality in those crimes—this is not just about petty criminals and opportunists. That is why the Home Secretary recently convened a mobile phone theft summit with tech companies, policing leaders and the National Crime Agency, and why our Crime and Policing Bill includes a new power enabling police to enter premises identified by electronic mapping if stolen items are believed to be there.

[Kevin Bonavia]

Mobile phone theft is a widespread concern in my constituency. Between 2019 and 2024, the spate of mobile phone thefts has risen by 22.3%. Can my hon. Friend reassure my constituents that this Government will take all steps to ensure their safety?

[Dan Jarvis]

I can give my hon. Friend that reassurance. Our recent mobile phone theft summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in collaboration to tackle mobile phone theft and the organised criminality driving it. That is also why our Crime and Policing Bill will give police the power, where it is not practical to wait for a warrant, to enter and search premises where stolen mobile phones are believed to be.

Asylum Seekers: Hotel Accommodation

Kevin Bonavia Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

No. The previous Government did not do that either, for safeguarding and public safety reasons, as the hon. Gentleman knows.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

It is rather galling for the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) to protest about a hotel in his constituency being used. That is clearly the result of a backlog created by the Conservatives when in government, as they wasted hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on gimmicks that they knew would never work. Surely my hon. Friend agrees that the right answer is better and faster processing. That is fairer for those seeking asylum, fairer for those in communities where hotels are being used for asylum accommodation, and fairer for the taxpayer.

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I agree. Of course, the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) knows only too well that the same hotel was open from 21 November 2022 to 8 February 2024, and he did not complain about it in the House then.