Prisoner Releases in Error

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, because she emphasises punishment that works, and that has to mean skills, education and employment so that people do not go on to reoffend. We have inherited a system where recidivism rates are beyond 60%, which means that the system is not working even though it is overheated. We have to look at those issues in time. The Sentencing Bill is the beginning of the story, but we will have to return to those issues if we are serious about reducing reoffending.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

Recent events and today’s court ruling again bring to the surface anxiety in our Epping community. My thoughts remain with the victims, including the 14-year-old Epping schoolgirl. Appallingly, they and their families heard about the wrongful prisoner release from the media instead of the Government. It is frankly astonishing that the Government are only using their levers of power in the courts to overturn the case brought by the council, but are not using their powers to address these issues on the frontline: the illegal immigration crisis, mistaken release of convicted prisoners and serious management and safeguarding issues associated with the Bell Hotel, which needs urgently to close. When will the Government get a grip, realise that they are not political commentators but players on the pitch, and use their powers to tackle those issues once and for all?

[Mr Lammy]

I recognise the sensitivity of this issue in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and that many will have looked closely at today’s decision in court. He knows that under the last Government £9 million a day was spent on housing people in hotels, he knows that the Government are committed to a new programme and that we are looking, for example, at military bases to see where can house people, and he also knows that we have increased the amount of foreign nationals leaving this country and returning to the countries they are from.

Prisoner Release Checks

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I want to reassure my hon. Friend that the Prisons Minister is talking to Home Office colleagues about these very issues at this time.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

My thoughts are with the victims of this sex offender’s crimes, including the 14-year-old Epping schoolgirl. They and their families want answers as to how this major breach could have happened. The Prime Minister and the Justice Secretary have said that they were “appalled” and “livid”. Well, that is great—so is everyone—but Ministers are not commentators; they are in charge and ultimately they are accountable. This issue has not gone away for the people of Epping. The twice-weekly protests continue. No one wants our town to be repeatedly the lead story in the news, but the events of recent days have again raised community anxiety and distress. Will the Government now get a grip on this issue, address the illegal immigration crisis that has spun out of control on their watch, and do the right and safe thing and close the Bell hotel immediately?

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Gentleman was right, at the beginning of his question, to centre the victims of these crimes and their anxiety, and to hold that dear. That is why the first thing I said to Lynne Owens was that she should reach out to those victims and hear from them as she went about her work. I know Epping very well, and I am quite sure that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents know that the crisis that we inherited began under the last Government. Their discontent with asylum and immigration—the inability of the last Government to deal with the gangs and the collapse of the Rwanda scheme—and the outrage of asylum hotels all began under the last Government, and he knows that as well as I do.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Report stage
Friday 20th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

I fully appreciate and respect the differing views on both sides of this debate, and I thank the huge number of constituents in Epping Forest who have contacted me about the Bill.

This legislation to permit assisted dying or suicide leaves me with many concerns. I fear that some frail and vulnerable people may start to feel a burden to their families and may feel some pressure to proceed down this path. I also worry that the legislation will fundamentally change the doctor-patient relationship, and that it will be a foundational change in what our precious NHS is and stands for.

I am concerned about the possible pressure that the Bill will place on medical practitioners when it comes to diagnosis and prognostication, which we know is not an exact science. Furthermore, although our palliative care sector provides high-quality, compassionate and dignified care at its best, access to palliative care across the country is, sadly, not at a uniform level for all people who need it at the end of life. Sadly, in terms of funding and delivery, the majority of palliative care is left to the charitable sector. That is in no way intended as a criticism of the amazing charities and hospices involved in the delivery of that care, but it is not right that the state will fund how someone comes into this life—with obstetrics, maternal care, neonatology and paediatrics—but not how they leave it. Our priority should be addressing the palliative care situation before we go anywhere near bringing in assisted dying legislation.

Finally, I want to make some remarks as a veterinary surgeon.

[Iqbal Mohamed]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Dr Hudson]

I will not.

I preface these remarks by saying that I am in no way equating the passing of an animal with the passing of a human, which is of a completely different order of magnitude, but the end of an animal’s life has sometimes been drawn into the discussion of human assisted dying. Many of the protocols and drugs are similar to those being discussed for humans. As a veterinary surgeon, I have been involved in helping countless animals, large and small, pass away, for many reasons. Each decision with the owner is very difficult—often heartbreaking—but the final act is not always routine and does not always go smoothly or according to plan.

Apart from a couple of powerful speeches from hon. Members last week, we have not really addressed the issue of medical procedures and complications in this human debate. I shudder to think of the implications for the patient, their loved ones and the co-ordinating doctor if things do not go smoothly and peacefully. That must surely give us all pause for thought. For those and many other reasons, I will again be voting against the Bill.

[Mr Speaker]

For the final speech before I call the Front Benchers, I call Lola McEvoy.