Murder of Henry Nowak

Debate between Shabana Mahmood and Sonia Kumar

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Lady makes a really important point. She will know that we have legislated through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which became law just a few short weeks ago. The measures within the Act will be implemented at pace by this Government; they relate to the possession of weapons and the buying of weapons—whether online or elsewhere—and there are new duties on sellers of knives to report larger sales or bulk sales. The Government have introduced a broad range of measures to deal with the scourge of knife crime, and those measures have just become law. We will ensure that the law is implemented as quickly as possible, so that we can get on top of this issue.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

The death of Henry Nowak is a horrifying tragedy, and my thoughts are with his family, friends and community. We must honour the words of his father by not using this tragedy to create further hatred, division or tension, and the House should not go against those wishes. Henry’s family want action so that no other family goes through what they are going through right now. Will my right hon. Friend guarantee that she will go further and faster to tackle knife crime, so that no one fears walking the streets of the UK?

[Shabana Mahmood]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Yes, I will.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shabana Mahmood and Sonia Kumar

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

Let me condemn in the strongest possible terms all the antisemitic incidents that the hon. Gentleman has highlighted in his question. This Government will not stand for any antisemitism in our country, and we will take every step we can across Government to wipe out this evil from our society. He will know that I am reviewing police protest powers, and I have already made some announcements on changes that we will make. Lord Ken Macdonald is conducting a review, and I will not hesitate to take further legal steps in order to protect our Jewish community.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

What action is my right hon. Friend taking to disrupt the finances of the organised crime groups facilitating illegal migration to the United Kingdom, and what steps is her Department taking with international partners to prosecute those who are funding those operations, both domestically and internationally?

Asylum Policy

Debate between Shabana Mahmood and Sonia Kumar

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I endorse every word that he said.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

What measures is the Home Secretary taking to dismantle the criminal gangs that are exploiting both legitimate and illegitimate businesses to facilitate illegal channel crossings? Can she give us details of the regulatory action that is being taken to prevent the use of assets such as shops on our high streets, and to prevent the supply of life jackets, boats and other components needed for dangerous crossings by illegal immigrants and criminal gangs?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I can assure my hon. Friend that we are engaging in intense law enforcement work through the National Crime Agency, and we are working collaboratively with our partners in Europe, especially in France. There have already been 350 disruptions of organised immigration crime activity. We have confiscated numerous small boats ourselves, and we are also working with our European partners to do that. The sum total of all those efforts has been to prevent 20,000 illegal crossings across the channel already, and we will grow this work, because we know that it is an important part of how we deal with the problem of small boats.