Labour

Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, has written to David Lidington MP, the Justice Secretary, to call on the Government to make the taking of “upskirt” photographs a sexual offence in law.

In the letter, Burgon echoes Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird’s call for this necessary change and urges the Government to close the current gap in the law that exists.

Full text of the letter from Richard Burgon MP to David Lidington MP

Dear Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor,

I am writing in support of the campaign, started by Gina Martin, to make disgraceful, invasive “upskirting” photographs a sexual offence in law.

The scope for people to take “upskirting” photographs has clearly increased with developments in mobile phone technology since the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. At present, there is a gap in the law that has allowed – and is continuing to allow – people who have taken such photographs in public places to escape prosecution.  This needs to be changed. Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird has also made the case for this necessary change.

I believe that in the country there is strong support for Gina Martin’s campaign for this necessary change in the law.

The law must be changed so that women are protected, offenders are punished and potential offenders are deterred.

Given the very welcome public interest in – and support for – this campaign, I have made this letter public, and hope that you will publicly respond very soon with an announcement of plans to change the law so that the taking of “upskirting” photographs is a sexual offence in law.

Yours sincerely

Richard Burgon MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Shadow Lord Chancellor

Barry Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, commenting on today’s trade statistics release from the ONS, which shows UK trade performance for the year since the EU Referendum vote, said:

“Despite Liam Fox traversing the globe in search of new trade deals, the latest trade figures show that the monthly trade deficit is at the worst since November 2011. This government is failing to make any real impact on growing British exports and reducing our trade deficit. In the twelve months since the EU Referendum and the creation of the Department for International Trade there has been no promised boom in trade as any increases in exports are closely matched by the increasing volume of imports and the total trade deficit has continued to widen.

“The Secretary of State’s overseas junkets have not materialised in tangible results as, in the last quarter, exports to non-EU countries have actually decreased by 1.4 per cent whilst exports to EU countries has increased by 2.0 per cent – a clear reminder of the need for the Government to prioritise our trading relationship with the EU.

“Globetrotting, sporadic arms sales and dependence on foreign exchange arbitrage opportunities is not a trade strategy – the Secretary of State must bring forward a coherent trade plan that sets out how he intends to grow British exports by integrating our industrial and international trade strategies in order to promote domestic industries.”

Rachael Maskell MP, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister, commenting after Abellio won the West Midlands rail franchise, said:

“With regulated fares up by 27 per cent on average since 2010 and with further fare increases to be announced next week, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Tories to justify allowing private foreign and state-owned companies to run our railways and extract money that should be used to improve services or hold fares down.

“When in public hands, the East Coast Mainline returned over £1 billion to the Treasury, kept fares down, had record passenger satisfaction and had excellent industrial relations. Labour would replicate this success on the West Midland’s franchise by bringing rail into public ownership to be run in the interest of passengers, not profit.”

Figures released by NHS England today (Thursday 10 August) reveal the damage done to our health service by a year of Theresa May’s leadership.

After a year of Theresa May as Tory Prime Minister, NHS figures show:

·         2,550,755 people waited over four hours to be seen in A&E, an increase of 460,530

·         280,000 people have been added to waiting lists, meaning over 4 million people are currently waiting for treatment

·         The total number of bed days lost due to delayed transfers of care was over 2.2 million, an increase of 366,032

·         There have been 80,664 cancelled elective operations, equal to 1551 per week, an increase of 3,775.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“NHS patients cannot afford another year of Theresa May. She has said she is ‘proud’ of the Conservative record on the NHS, but after a year in office, patients are waiting longer to be seen in A&E, longer for treatment and longer to be discharged. That is nothing to be proud of.

“The crisis in social care is crippling our hospitals as more people have delayed discharges because there isn’t proper care available for them outside. The Conservatives pledged to reduce delayed discharges but have failed to honour their promise.

“Labour would immediately put £2 billion into social care. And we would lift the public sector pay cap and reinstate nurses’ bursaries to help recruit and retain NHS staff. The NHS is simply not safe in the hands of the Conservatives. A Labour government will invest in our NHS so it can properly look after the vast majority of people who rely on it.”

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking in response to comments from the independent anti-slavery commissioner, said:

“The criticisms of the National Crime Agency’s failure to tackle slavery are very serious.

“The claim that modern slavery offences are just lying dormant on the NCA database because these crimes are not taken seriously is deeply troubling. The NCA is accountable for its performance to the Home Secretary, so Amber Rudd has serious questions to answer.”