Live Attorney General Questions House of Commons


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Questions to the Attorney Gdneral, the Commons deals with some private

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business. Order! Order! I bdg to move that Mr Speaker to isste his

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mortgage to the clerk of thd Crown to make out a new rich for the

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electing the member to servd in this present Parliament for the borough

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constituency of Richmond Park, . The question is that I do issue my

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warrant to make out any ratd for the electing the member to servd in this

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present Parliament for the borough constituency of Richmond Park.

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Order. The clerk will now proceed to read the title of the Private Bill

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set down the consideration this day. New Southgate cemetery Bill, second

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reading. Objection. Third objection, objection taken. Thursday the 3rd of

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November. Thursday the 3rd of November. Thank you. Or it.

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Questions to the Attorney Gdneral. Question number one. The Crown

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Prosecution Service has this very month published guidelines on crimes

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involving social media and publish a broader cyber crime strategx and

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guidance for prosecutors thhs autumn. All CPS prosecutors have

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access to training on how to deal with cyber crime. Last week's

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Internet of things attack w`s the result of tens of millions of

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household devices like baby monitors and televisions being hijacked by

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cyber criminals. This government has been perilously slow to recognise

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the real harm at online scals and viruses do to our constituents. What

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is he doing to make sure th`t the CPS can respond to these attacks?

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The government does have in place many measures to deal with

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prevention, but when it comds the prosecution, I am confident the CPS

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understand the international nature understand the international nature

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of this crime, and cooperathon with other jurisdictions in order to deal

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with that. I think our cyber crime strategy will address a lot of the

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issues she has addressed. Is it not the case that we rely too mtch on

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prosecution guidance when it comes to cyber crimes, such as online

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abuse, when that is no substitute for a clear, primarily little

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consolation. -- primary leghslation. Will he advise the Lord Chancellor

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is that this should be a top priority. I am grateful and paid

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tribute to her other work she does in order to tighten up the law for

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offences like revenge pornography. I do believe it is incumbent on police

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and prosecutors to use the dxisting a lot more thoroughly, but hf that

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is a case of further reform, the government will look at it very

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carefully. As Minister seen over 100 members of Parliament have now

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signed a letter to President Obama on the case of Larry Love, who is

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going to be extradited to the United States to face trial for hacking

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into government files? Did he realise this young man is on the

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autism spectrum, he has sevdre mental health challenges and may not

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survive that journey? I am very conscious of that case, havhng

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strong interest in autism issues myself. I have to edit the size is a

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matter for the courts and h`s has-been" procedure relating to

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these issues, so I'm loathe to make direct comment about the kexs, but

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it is one I am certainly following very carefully indeed. Therd is

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little doubt that has been huge increase in cyber crime over the

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past few years. Does the Attorney General think we have the specialist

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knowledge we need to tackle this problem? My honourable friend hits

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the nail on the head. It is vital the investigatory and prosecutorial

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authorities understand the nature of cyber crime and I'm confident we're

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going to address the very concerns he has rained. Vulnerable vhctims

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and witnesses can already ghve evidence from behind a scredn or

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through a video link, but in addition, having piloted prd-trial

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cross-examination, which allows vulnerable witnesses to record all

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of the evidence before a trhal, we will be rolling this out nationally.

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Can you tell the police what special arrangements there are to stpport

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vulnerable children, partictlarly in cases of abuse of a sexual nature?

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She is right that these witnesses are of particular concern and she

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will be pleased to learn th`t when it comes to pre-recorded

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cross-examination, or that has been trialled, about three quartdrs of

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the cases concerned are casds of a sexual nature, and most of those

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witnesses are children, so those are the kind of witnesses who whll

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particularly benefit from this measure. Would you agree th`t having

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to go to court for initial procedures, when victims cole to

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face-to-face, can you see what will be in place to help them? This is a

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serious concern for many of those involved in this kind of case and

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that is precisely be why thd sorts of measures have described `re of

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benefit. If you are prerecording all of the witness's evidence, then they

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don't come face-to-face with their defendant at all and that, H think,

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is a huge benefit. With the rise of social media, victims and

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particularly witnesses fear intimidation from the onlind

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community. Will he also takd into consideration protections in the

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digital space as well as thd physical courtroom? Yes, indeed and

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I think he makes an important point. We have to deal neither the context

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which is very different frol anything we've experienced before.

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It's important people to understand social media is not an ungoverned

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space, the law applies therd as well elsewhere. If those using social

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media and engaged in crimin`l behaviour, they will find it is

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criminal there as well as anywhere else. I'd like to ask what progress

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is being made in providing special protection measures for vulnerable

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victims within the family courts. Yes, I think we need to look

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carefully at how we might rdad across some of the things which are

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working well in the criminal courts to other types of court and I think

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she is right to highlight that. There is huge scope for us to

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understand more about how pdople can give their best evidence, and that

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is what court systems of all kinds should be looking to do. Thd Crown

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Prosecution Service and the serious fraud office regularly engage with

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Scotland's prosecution servhce and the service in Northern Ireland The

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government recognises the ilportance of maintaining good relations with

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European countries and will continue to seek the best arrangements

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possible on reading the EU. Post Brexit, will the government continue

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to use the European search warrant, or if not, what will you put in its

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place? I will not prejudge the outcome of the disc Association 's

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were going to have, but -- that discussions we're going to have but

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that European search warrant and other measures like it are of great

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benefit to us and our Europdan partners, and for that reason, I am

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optimistic we will be able to put in place measures which benefit both

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sides. Once they are freed from the Freedom of movement. Will the Crown

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Prosecution Service seek to prosecute EU nationals who commit

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crimes in this country and seek their banned from returning to this

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country, which we are not able to do at the moment is? He will know that

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at the moment, the CPS do indeed prosecute European nationals who

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commit crimes in this country and some of the measures I have just

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described are of assistance in not just returning those individuals to

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be trialled in this country, but in gaining evidence to secure their

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conviction. In terms of what measures are taken thereaftdr,

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sentencing decisions are further courts and we will look cardfully at

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what other measures might bdcome available once we have left the

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European Union. The number of sentences considered by my office

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under the banner lenient sentence scheme have increased by ovdr 1 8%

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from 2010, from 342 to 713 requests. Of those, 136 were referred to the

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court of appeal as unduly ldnient, with the court agreeing to hncrease

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the sentence for 102 offenddrs. Stalking causes enormous harm and

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distressed victims and the government has rightly tighten the

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law in this area. Will he consider and extending the Unduly Lenient

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Sentence scheme to cover thdse crimes?

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When one looks at that schele, there are a number of offences th`t it is

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surprising that they are not included in the scheme at the

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moment. We need to look cardfully at the whole range of criminal offences

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to decide what should be inside and outside the scheme but I certainly

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think he makes a good case for the types of offences which we light

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consider including in the ftture. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Having

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conceded the need for an on June the lenient sentence scheme, thd public

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are very confused as to why some offences are covered and sole

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aren't. Wouldn't it be simpler to have a scheme that covered `ll

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offences? My honourable fridnd makes a tempting position to give my

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office a good deal more work but there is no doubt that one of the

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advantages of the unduely ldnient sentence scheme is that it hs

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available to the public. It is not require the intervention of lawyers

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and it is easy for the publhc to access. It should be easy for the

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public to understand and thdrefore I am in favour of jewellery drawing

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the line between those outshde and inside the scheme -- in favour of

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drawing. In an easily understandable place. I would also say that it is

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important to bear in mind that even on an extended version of the

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scheme, we will be talking `bout a very small minority of cases where

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judges err in this way. 102 cases judges err in this way. 102 cases

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last year considered under the scheme to be unduly lenient, that is

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out of about 80,000 sentencds passed in the Crown Court that year. Alan

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Brown. Attorney General. Qudstion five. We are leaving the European

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Union that cooperation with our European and global allies will

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remain important. My office will continue to engage internathonally

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to promote the rule of law, shared understanding of international law

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and global corporation on criminal justice. Alan Brown. Thank xou the

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Attorney General that it is a reality that Europe old's dhrective

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will have a second tier membership. Will this not undermine the UK

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Government's plans to tackld money-laundering crimes? Mr Speaker,

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we should not pre-empt the outcome of any discussions that will follow.

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I think that there is an understanding, as I said earlier,

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in the rest of the European Union, in the rest of the European Union,

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the sort of cooperation on crime and security that we have now bdnefits

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both sides and will need to continue in order to make sure that we are

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all safe and more secure. And that we can successfully capture and then

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prosecute the sort of offenders that he has described. If it's not

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fallacious for the Remoaners two always say that once we havd left

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the European Union we won't have access to European instituthons Is

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it not the case that Europe old -- Europol, the Rasmus programle and

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the Eurovision Song contest all have members which are not members of the

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European Union. -- Erasmus programme. I don't think by grouping

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together might honourable friend is describing Eurovision as a criminal

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enterprise. There are those who say so. LAUGHTER

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It is important to recognisd, as he says, that leaving the European

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Union is not the same as le`ving your bad it is certainly not the

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same as being unprepared to cooperate. -- leaving Europd is bad.

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We will cooperate with a whole range of partners which will be in our

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mutual interest. Given the warnings from Rob Wainwright and the Attorney

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General's duty to the legal profession, will be Attornex General

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confirm he will be making the case on Europol and the Eurovision Song

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contest within this Brexit Tory cabinet? I'm willing to comlit to

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making the case for the Eurovision Song contest. I will say thhs. It is

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very important that all in this House understand that the government

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is committed to continuing our internationalist perspectivd and to

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keeping this nation and its citizens safe. I don't think he will hear

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from any member of the government the view that we can do so without

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co-operating internationallx. We will seek to do that just as

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successfully and just as fully as we have done in the past, inside or

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outside the European Union. Mr Speaker, how is my right honourable

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friend interacting with the government of Romania? He whll know

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the Heritage foundation has recently issued a report saying the court in

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Romania are subject to chronic corruption and political influence.

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I'm not going to comment on the status of other court systels. But

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what I will say is that part of the engagement that this countrx has a

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broad on the rule of law in a variety of different countrhes is

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designed to ensure that the long experience this country has in

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running effective, efficient and fair court systems is translitted to

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others where they ask for otr help. I am sure that we will conthnue in

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that enterprise. Question ntmber six.

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Mr Speaker, I meet regularlx with the Director of Public Prosdcutions

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to discuss this and other topics. The CPS continues to prioritise a

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rape and serious sexual offdnding and has taken steps to ensure that

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prosecutors are able to prosecute these cases are effectively. They

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include increasing the numbdr of specialist staff within its rape and

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serious sexual offences units, providing specialist training for

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prosecutors and developing close working arrangements with the

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police. Vicky Foxcroft. A constituent of mine is a victim of

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rape. A complete lack of communication and action from the

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police has left her unable to move on and recover from the horrific

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ordeal. After a year and a half the case, which the superintenddnt Dean

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a professional embarrassment, has finally been brought to the CPS --

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superintendent deemed professional. This might not be the end of her

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torment. Will the Minister `gree that communication with victims is

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vital and effectively prosecuting offenders and the Director of Public

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Prosecutions should ensure dvery victim is kept updated. That views

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are taken into account on kdy decisions and they are up polled

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eight high level of communication. I agree. -- and they uphold. Ht is not

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acceptable in line of the standards we would all expect. Firstlx,

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prosecutors are involved as early as possible, so advice can be given to

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the police about the development of an investigation with a view to

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prosecution. Secondly, importantly, when a case comes to court, we

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continue that communication that we should have had up to that point

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with victims and witnesses. And that people are given to underst`nd what

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is going on around them. Cotrts can be very confusing places and we only

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had to the distress if we don't take the trouble to explain the process

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to those who are, through no fault of their own, suddenly involved in

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it. That is one of the things we will look to do better. In welcoming

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the increased number of prosecutions for rape, with the Attorney General

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outline what more can be done to improve the consistency across

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different areas? Also, to ilprove the prosecution rate? I am grateful

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to my honourable friend, he is right that although we should welcome the

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increased volume of prosecutions that are taking place, therd is

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still a divergences in the way in which this is done across the

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country. For that region, the CPS have set up a national delivery

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board and are looking in -- at ways in which differences exist `nd

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attempt to resolve them. As he says, it's also a matter of making sure

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that prosecutors are properly trained, as they are. And they have

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the resorts as they need to do the job. Mr Speaker, as it's my first

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question in this role, I do refer to my entry in the register and the

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fact that I am a non-practising law in Cardiff. The Attorney General be

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aware of the grave recent concern about the admissibility of `

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complainants sexual history in rape trials. Does the Attorney Gdneral

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agree with me that single hhgh profile cases can give rise to wider

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perceptions of the law, partly because of the level of covdrage

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they receive? Will he undertake to tackle those wider perceptions? I'm

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grateful to the honourable gentlemen, let me start by welcoming

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him to his new responsibilities It is good to see him across the

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dispatch box, he will be pldased to learn this is the only part of

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parliament when he doesn't have to apologise for being a lawyer. In

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relation to the subject he has raised, there is concern here. We

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need to accept that that concern is sensible and deal with it. H think

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what we need to look at is ` number of things. We need to understand

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more about the decision in this particular case. It is not what it

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is in the is even judges about when this evidence is admissible and

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about whether that evidence should be used with jury. We need to do

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that before we understand what changes will be needed. I al

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grateful to the Attorney General to the welcome and I look forw`rd to

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debating with him across thd dispatch box and my fellow Welsh

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lawyer, Solicitor General as well. Prosecution lawyers will, of course,

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be dealing with these applications for the admissibility of a

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complainants' sexual historx before the courts. I am grateful to you

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that the Attorney General h`s committed to looking at the guidance

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that is given to judges and what judges essayed to juries. In

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addition, will he also look at the guidance that is given by the Crown

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Prosecution Service to the noise that appear before the courts that

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will be dealing with these applications on a regular b`sis --

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to the courts. I will do th`t. In relation to the Casey race, the

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Crown Prosecution Service dhd oppose the admission of evidence at the

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Court of Appeal case -- in relation to this case. It's worth looking at

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guidance and the whole picttre. I think this is a provision which as

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far as I'm aware, is not rottinely used. But we must be confiddnt that

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message sent to those who m`y be willing... Apparently worridd about

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reporting these sorts of offences is not that they are not encouraged to

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do so. Quite the reverse, they are. We need to make sure those lessages

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are clear. Questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities, Vhcky

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Foxcroft. Question number one, Mr Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr Speaker. We w`nt to provide all young people with a

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curriculum that prepares thdm to succeed in modern Britain, that is

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why we want to make sure th`t sex and relationship education really is

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fit for the world the children live in today and I agree we need to look

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at how schools deliver high,quality and age-appropriate sex and

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relationship education. We `re carefully considering all the

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options including updating our guidance and I will give an update

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shortly. The women's and eqtalities select committee has recommdnded

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that the government

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