Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Tugendhat Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No. As I have said before, I am not going to concentrate valuable official time on that now while we are still battling a pandemic. I thought actually that was what the House had agreed on. The right hon. and learned Gentleman continues to play these pointless political games, while we get on with delivering on the people’s priorities: 40 new hospitals; 8,771 more police on our streets; we are getting on with sorting out the railways; we are giving people—young people—the opportunity of home ownership in a way they have never had before, with 95% mortgages; and we have vaccinated. We have delivered 60 million vaccinations across this country, more than—he loves these European comparisons—any other European country, including 22 million second doses. That, with great respect to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, is I believe the priority of the British people. That is really what they are focused on, while he voted to stay in the European Medicines Agency. The Opposition vacillate; we vaccinate. They deliberate; we deliver.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

I am sure my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister remembers with great fondness his trip in July last year to the Discovery School in Kings Hill, but he probably remembers best his meeting with Tony Hudgell, an amazing and inspirational young boy, who had at that point already raised a million and a half pounds for charity and been awarded by my right hon. Friend the Points of Light award, which he so generously hands out to those who have achieved so much. Will he join Tony, Tony’s parents, Paula and Mark, me and many others around the country in campaigning for Tony’s law—new clause 56 to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill? This is a very minor change to a very important Bill that would bring child abuse sentencing in line with that for adult abuse. I know he has put his heart into this space, and I am sure we can all look forward to his support.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, and of course I remember Tony very well. I remember his incredible campaign and the amount of money he raised, and I thank him for it. All I can say is it is very important that cases like that—injustices such as that suffered by Tony—receive the full force of the law. People who commit serious offences against children can receive exactly the same penalties as those who commit serious offences against adults, but we will keep this under review, and if there is a gap in the law—I will study his amendment very closely—we will make sure that we remedy it.