Illegal Off-road Bikes: North-east

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lola McEvoy]

I absolutely agree. I have written to some high-street retailers that sell battery-powered scooters, which are popular among the younger generation. Children also use them to copycat and mimic the criminals that we see across Darlington. That is an escalation in antisocial behaviour, and it is really dangerous for those children.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that we should ask the Minister to consider targeted funding? The shoplifting element of the safer streets programme, and the police operation we had, were really successful. We need targeted funding with better intelligence and transparent data about where bikes are being seized and crushed.

[Lola McEvoy]

I agree that we need targeted funding, including for police vehicles in Durham and constabularies across the north-east. Having the ability for a police team to use a motor vehicle or a motorbike is an effective way of catching these criminals. The problem is that it is a game of cat and mouse. The police have to go round all the alleys in Darlington and across the north-east, and they do not have enough power. We need deterrents too.

Immigration: Earned Settlement

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

My hon. Friend will know that there is a specific transitional arrangement for teaching assistants, because they are defined by the Migration Advisory Committee as being in the health and education sector, on national pay scales. They will have a five-year path if they arrived before May 2025.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and her distinction between illegal migrants and those who came legally to work and contribute. We must confront the mess left by the Conservatives, whose failure to manage our immigration system is nothing short of a national scandal. Settlement should be earned through contribution, and in Portsmouth, I have seen that at first hand from our care workers, who look after our most vulnerable. Will the Home Secretary reassure those who have already contributed so much that their contributions will be recognised, and that those who have not contributed and have tried to play the system will need to contribute to remain?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Let me reiterate to my hon. Friend that the transitional arrangement agreed for care workers reflects the unique circumstances of that cohort. Those who have met the terms of their visa will be able to settle at five years, and those who have not will get a second chance to make the contribution that they originally came to make.

Oral Answers to Questions

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The Father of the House will know that there is a distinction between the rules of the European Union and the European convention on human rights. The ECHR is not an EU instrument, although most EU countries are signed up to it. We have discussed the ECHR across the Dispatch Boxes before, and he knows our view, which I think is the right view, about simply leaving the ECHR, as his party has suggested it would. That is not something his party ever did when it was in office, and that is because it would put at risk all sorts of other agreements that we have with other countries—agreements that we depend on. We have been able to make more progress on returns as a Government while remaining within the ECHR, and we will continue that going forward.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

As a Portsmouth MP, I know how important it is that people living in ports along the south coast have confidence in our border security. Will the Minister outline the progress this Government are making in tackling dangerous small boat crossings and the criminal gangs behind them, and reassure my constituents that we will continue to take action? Will she also thank all the emergency services that have helped in this situation?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to all our partners in Portsmouth—the local authority, the police and all others—for their co-operation in dealing with the crossings launched from further west in France, which are coming into Portsmouth and seeking to come elsewhere, too. We are seeing a displacement of activity; the gangs have seen that the law enforcement response in the north of France has been stepped up, so they are now trying other routes and tactics. I assure my hon. Friend, the people of Portsmouth and everybody else that this Government will chase down those gang members, using every sinew, and will ensure that we get the number of crossings down further. I fully recognise the pressures in her community.

Community Policing: Government Support

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I want to spend my time talking about those individuals who make up our police force. Community policing is one of the foundations of effective policing in this country. It is about far more than preventing crime; it is about building trust, strengthening relationships and ensuring that every resident feels safe, supported and connected to those who serve.

Community policing works because it is rooted in local knowledge, and I should know—my dad was once a policeman. However, for too long that connection has been weakened. We need to restore the vital link between police forces and local people, ensuring that officers are visible and present in their neighbourhoods. We need to see police desks on our high streets, so that residents can report crime.

The coalition Government woefully underfunded the police, but Hampshire police has seen an extension to its funding that has meant we have increased our police tally to 114 officers from the 99 that we had. That investment has provided my constituency with named officers for all communities, and I have personally met all of our neighbourhood police. I have been on the beat, and I have worked with them in the community, hand in hand. PCs Smith, Joyce, Middleton, Wetherill, Treend and Goldfinch are the very best of what Portsmouth has, and I want to put on record my sincere thanks for the work they do every day to keep my city safe.

Yesterday, I was delighted to meet the Hampshire Police Federation in Parliament. The pressures that come with the job—the long hours, the difficult incidents and the emotional toll that policing can take—are some of the main things that we need to talk about. Suicide is a huge health issue in the police. We are rightly shocked and appalled when an officer is killed in the line of duty, but many more take their own lives and that is not treated with the same importance. We must ensure that mental health support is available, accessible and embedded throughout a police officer’s career.

Another thing I would like to draw attention to, which has seen a rise in my city, is the doxxing of police officers. It is not okay, and we need to stamp it out.

[Emma Lewell (in the Chair)]

I remind Members that I need to call the Front Benchers at 5.10 pm; if Members are kind to one another, they may all get in.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) on securing what is a very important debate on a very important topic.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd North (Gill German) said, community policing is about whether people feel safe. It is our first duty as parliamentarians to make sure that our constituents feel, and are, safe. Community policing is the frontline of that work, so I appreciate the opportunity to debate this topic.

I, too, express my sorrow at the homophobic, racist and xenophobic abuse described by the hon. Member for Chichester. Obviously, we are all very sorry for that and hope that justice will be done in those cases. I also join many Members who have thanked the police and police staff, who are often forgotten. We should talk about them more often. I want to add my thanks to all the police officers and staff who I have met and worked with.

We had some really good contributions. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas) asked whether the local council should pay for policing. The council in Harrow should do exactly what my hon. Friend tells them to do. That would be a very good starting point, and I definitely always recommend that.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) spoke about Northern Ireland, and as he knows I met the Chief Constable a couple of weeks ago. I was pleased to talk to him and he is obviously doing a very good job in very difficult circumstances.

To my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell), I say that I spoke to the deputy chief constable following the incident in Nottingham and the awful shooting of a police officer. I will keep in touch with them about what has happened and how that officer, as well how his team, are doing. They were all very affected by what has happened and I know that has been deeply worrying for people.

My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) talked about doxxing of police, which we talked about earlier in the week and which is very worrying. We are very keen to hear from the Fed, or others, about what more we can do as the Government to help in that space.

My hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) was right to talk about the things that he did. The Fed rep that he spoke to has done some really good work to make that case. He is right that, on lots of measures, the force is judged as being really good. I know the frustration and we have talked about it before. We are working on the funding imbalance that follows from that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) talked about e-bikes. They are a scourge. As she says, we have passed a law that means that the police have more powers to seize, which is good, but I am having conversations with hon. Members about what more we can do in that space. It is becoming very problematic. I was talking to my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) today, who has been campaigning on that issue quite a lot, and we were talking about some of the struggles and some of the potential solutions.

[Amanda Martin]

There was a Westminster Hall debate this morning on e-scooters and e-bikes, and there were over 20 contributions from constituency MPs. The Minister is right to say that it is everywhere across the country.

[Sarah Jones]

Yes, it is a problem everywhere.

This week I have been to Hemel Hempstead, Southall and Newcastle-under-Lyme in a bit of an antisocial behaviour tour in advance of our respect orders coming into force on Monday. Everybody in those three areas, and everybody I speak to, is concerned. There are things that the Department for Transport needs to do and there are things that the Home Office needs to do. I am in the space of looking at what we can do from a policing point of view. I was interested to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough that their public spaces protection order has rules about the wearing of balaclavas as well. That is another debate that crosses into the e-bike one, as well as into other areas. That is an interesting innovation that they have introduced.

Dover and Portsmouth: Protests

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

The hon. Gentleman asked about the lack of intelligence. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on specific intelligence matters in these cases, but we are of course looking at all decisions that were taken, and we will learn any lessons. The two events happened on consecutive days, and there was crossover in the online activity, but they were very different. One was clearly organised by a group called the South-East Patriots, which I think is part of Patriot Platform, which is a kind of far-right racist platform. That was clearly organised, whereas what happened in Portsmouth was a response to a series of events that led to this boat having to dock at Eastney marina. It will have been a mix of local people who were concerned and bad actors who were whipping up activity online and responding in kind. They were two separate events, but we will learn any lessons that we need to.

The hon. Member asked about the landing site and why it was picked. We are making sure that we understand what exactly happened, but taking a step back, Members will have seen a bit of a trend towards people leaving France further to the west. We are looking at what that means and making sure that we are responding in the right way and that enough resource is going into that. We have pushed some of that resource from the French police down the coastline, but we will be monitoring these things.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

This is a sad day for Portsmouth. My city saw peaceful protests turn into disorder last night with people coming from outside the city, some wearing face coverings, to intimidate those working on land and sea and to damage police vehicles. This morning, I spoke with residents, including one elderly resident who attended the protest because she felt so strongly about it. She and so many others are angry and worried about small boat crossings into the UK. They are now on our doorstep, and that resident has every right to protest peacefully, but she and I agree that that cannot extend to criminal behaviour.

I have heard the Minister’s statement today, and I welcome the Government’s progress, but more must be done, and the emergence of these new routes in larger boats is deeply worrying for my city. What more are the Government doing to stop the boats and tackle the vile criminal gangs behind them? Will the Minister come to Portsmouth to listen to residents and stand firmly against those who come to our city to cause trouble, intimidate communities, stir up hatred and put our emergency services at risk and further pressure on our borders?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing, and I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), who is in his place today, but cannot speak as he is a Minister. I have spoken to him about the conversations he has been having with local businesses, local individuals and the local police. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) is absolutely right that there were people who were concerned about what they are seeing, but they are very different from the kind of racist, far-right thugs that we also saw over the weekend. It is important that we distinguish between the two.

My hon. Friend asked what more we are doing, and I have listed the improvements we are making in terms of the National Crime Agency, the intelligence we are gathering, and our ability to go after the criminal gangs. We also need to do more to reduce the incentives for people to come into the country. The asylum grant rate, which is a statistic that I have not mentioned yet, has fallen from 77% in 2022 to 38% this year. That is another marker of progress, and we are reforming the asylum system more widely. Last November, the then Home Secretary set out the reforms that we are working through. We have had a consultation on the standard qualifying period for most migrants. All these things are all part of trying to create a fair system that does not incentivise people to come here from France.

Crime and Policing Bill

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Consideration of Lords message
Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will try not to talk too much rubbish, although those on the Treasury Benches will object, as usual. As I stated last week, the Liberal Democrats support many aspects of this Bill, but we have some concerns about the lack of a proper rural crime strategy, and about some of the motions relating to protest and freedom of speech that were voted on, and indeed not voted on, last week.

I turn to today’s amendments. The Liberal Democrats in the other place tabled two amendments, which the Minister referred to earlier, that would strengthen this Bill’s provisions on crime and antisocial behaviour—issues that have plagued communities for too long. The Liberal Democrat-backed amendments will help refocus enforcement action towards those offences, and improve outcomes for young people who are already caught up in the criminal justice system. First, we will again support our amendment to prevent enforcement companies issuing fixed penalty notices on behalf of councils from making a profit. A clear ban would remove an incentive that drives lower-level offences to be punished instead of more serious antisocial behaviour. The Government amendments tabled in lieu are significantly weaker than the ban we have suggested, so we will continue to support the amendment today. I urge Members from across the House to support an outright ban on fines for profit.

Secondly, we will again support our amendment on youth diversion orders. This will ensure that when considering a youth diversion order, courts are given a full account of any alternative interventions that have been tried or considered, and of what consultation took place with the child and other relevant agencies. The Government amendment in lieu suggests that guidance “may” include matters to be taken into account by the police before applying for a youth diversion order. Again, that does not go far enough. Ensuring that all previous interventions are considered will improve the court’s understanding of the relevant factors in each case and bring efficiencies in the longer term. Most importantly, the amendment will result in better outcomes for the young people involved, who might otherwise become entangled in terrorist activity. On matters relating to protests, the Government took a firm line on the difference between the terms “may” and “must” last week, and perhaps they will do the same again today.

The Liberal Democrats will also support two Conservative amendments, the first of which adds fly-tipping to the list of offences for which vehicles may be seized. Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities. It undermines the pride that people should feel in their neighbourhoods, and in some cases causes significant damage to the local environment. This was highlighted in Oxfordshire by my hon. Friend the Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), and in some cases it is linked to criminal gangs. If we are to take fly-tipping seriously, we must increase the penalty for the offence, so empowering the police to confiscate vehicles that are used to dump rubbish illegally is a sensible improvement to this Bill. Sadly, no Government concession was proposed on this specific amendment. We supported the amendment in the Commons last time, and we will do so today.

Finally, the Liberal Democrats will also support the Conservative amendment requiring a review of whether to prescribe Iranian Government-backed organisations. We have a long-standing record of calling for past Governments to proscribe the IRGC. There is increasing concern that attacks on our Jewish community are being funded by the IRGC, and it is beyond time that the Government took action to protect British citizens against the threat it represents. This amendment would require the Government to review any organisations related to the Iranian Government. In the interests of our national security, our economy and our Jewish community, we will back the amendment today.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

I am very proud of my city and proud to be a resident, but my constituents tell me at my coffee mornings, at “Pint with your MP” events, at surgeries and on the doorsteps that they find it very difficult to feel pride when antisocial behaviour, fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles and electric scooters blight their everyday lives, the places where they live, the parks in which their kids play, and the high streets that they use. We should all feel and be able to feel pride in the place we live, so I am proud that this Labour Government are taking that very seriously not just with initiatives such as the Pride in Place funding, of which I was very fortunate for Paulsgrove to receive £20 million, and the impact funding, of which we have £1.5 million coming to my city, but with legislation and with action.

I therefore welcome the opportunity to speak in the final stages of this Bill, because it has genuinely significant consequences for communities such as mine in Portsmouth, but I want to start by thanking my neighbourhood police teams for the work they do and for allowing me to be involved when I go out on the beat with them on night shifts and day shifts. I would like to highlight some of the amendments to the Bill that will have the greatest impact on my constituents.

On fixed penalty notices and the fining for profit question—Lords amendments 2D and 2E—I understand why the other place has continued to press on this, and the underlying concern is legitimate. However, if residents in Portsmouth believe that authorised bodies are issuing fixed penalty notices to generate revenue rather than from a desire to deter antisocial behaviour, public trust and enforcement will collapse entirely. So I am glad that the Government have tabled amendments (a) and (b) in lieu, and I would like the Minister to confirm that they will directly address the issue of proportionality and ensure that no institutional financial incentive can distort enforcement decisions.

On fly-tipping, which other Members have talked about—Lords amendment 11—I simply note that this blights communities across Portsmouth. Only on Friday night, while I was out knocking on doors in Stamshaw, I saw evidence of this across the whole ward. So the Government’s offer of four amendments in lieu represents a substantive package in response to the Lords’ concerns. As we have heard, local authorities do have the powers they need, but I think there is a need for clarity and confidence to ensure the use of vehicle seizure powers. That will do two things: it will stop this crime in Portsmouth; and it will put beyond doubt whose responsibility it is, giving the local authority no excuse but to enforce the powers it has. To remove any doubt about this responsibility, I hope that the Minister will confirm that the statutory guidance accompanying these provisions will be issued promptly after Royal Assent, so councils can act without delay.

I am glad the Government are agreeing to the amendments about pornographic content depicting adults role-playing as under-16s. I said on Second Reading that this Bill needed to go further on child protection, and these amendments do exactly that. Content that mimics child sexual abuse, even when the individuals depicted are adults, normalises a deeply harmful behaviour, and it is abhorrent.

This Bill has been long in the making, as has been felt by residents across my city, and the remaining points of disagreement are very narrow. I hope that the other place will now accept the Government’s position, so that this landmark legislation can receive Royal Assent swiftly, and start delivering for my constituents and for communities right across the country. Further delays are felt every day and, indeed, every night on our streets and our coastlines, and in our parks and our housing estates. As someone elected to make my community a safer and cleaner place to live, I know this is what democracy is about and what democracy should do.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Adam Jogee.

Digital Exploitation of Women and Girls

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for securing this important debate. I speak today as the MP for Portsmouth North, but also as a former teacher, a mum of three young men and a victim of this crime.

In Portsmouth, our residents live much of their lives online for work, study, information, and socialising, but the reality for many users is worrying. In 2023-24, of the cyber-crimes reported in Portsmouth, 34% were online bullying or harassment, 30% malicious messaging, 10% stalking and 8% sexual offences. Disgustingly, that number includes 60 cases involving images of children. Most of the victims were women under the age of 45, and their perpetrators were known to them, yet only 13% reported these crimes, leaving too many to suffer in silence or to be told that their complaint did not meet the threshold.

The digital revolution has brought opportunity, but it has also brought new and relentless forms of abuse. UN Women warns that AI deepfakes, grooming and image-based abuse are escalating. The recent use of AI to generate non-consensual sexual images, as my hon. Friend the Member for Preston noted in opening this debate, shows how quickly technology can be weaponised, and how tech giants are complicit.

Let me be clear: this is not about blaming girls or young women, or boys and young men. It is about responsibility, consent and respect. It must be clear that technology does not remove consent, and anonymity does not remove accountability. Women and girls should never have to navigate fear, shame or harassment just to live their lives.

I welcome the strengthening of the law and the introduction of the long-awaited VAWG strategy. I am proud to be part of a Government who have presented it and will deliver it, but we all know that laws alone are not enough, because technology moves quickly. We need stronger enforcement, safeguarding at the source, and education for young people and their parents about respect and consent online as well as offline.

There must be joined-up Government working, taking young people, their parents and whole communities with us, so that we can change the landscape and the culture, ensure that young women and girls in Portsmouth and across the country are safe online, and give victims the confidence they need to come forward.

[Christine Jardine (in the Chair)]

Thank you very much, we managed to get everybody in. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, Marie Goldman.

Violence against Women and Girls Strategy

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jess Phillips]

No doubt when the hon. Gentleman worked for Baroness May he was heavily involved in some of this work, so I should thank him for some of things he did in that time. I will not say anything from the Dispatch Box that will affect any case by saying that it is aggravated by one thing or another. I am very proud that for the first time this Government are making grooming an aggravated offence, but without seeing all the evidence, I cannot comment on individual cases. From my years of working with the victims of grooming gangs, I know that there is absolutely no doubt, as the Home Secretary has said, that women and girls were targeted for being white and working class—I have seen that with my own eyes. I will not scrap the European human rights law, but we do not need to do that in order to deport sex offenders. We should have been doing so for a lot longer.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to the Minister for her statement, and I thank her and the Victims Minister for their hard work in a truly cross-Government effort to leave VAWG offenders with nowhere to hide. For far too long and far too often, justice for victims of domestic abuse has had to be sought by parents such as Sharon Holland and by groups such as Project Resist, because the system let their daughters down. Tragically, this strategy is too late for two young women from Portsmouth: Chloe Holland and Skye Nicholls were driven to take their own lives because of coercive control by vile partner perpetrators. Will the Minister explain how the new VAWG strategy will ensure that those deaths are recognised for what they are—manslaughter? How will it tackle systematic institutional failings and support our third sector to prevent future tragedies?

[Jess Phillips]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady and pay tribute to Sharon Holland, who I have met a number of times, who campaigns fiercely on behalf of her daughter, Chloe. Suicide is a fundamental part of the strategy with regard to how we end domestic-related deaths and femicide, to call it what it is. A number of different things appear in the strategy, such as how well our domestic abuse risk assessments look for mental ill health; often, assessments are looking for instances of homicide rather than suicide. On the issue of manslaughter, my hon. Friend the Victims Minister has empowered the Law Commission to undertake a review of that exact thing, and we await its findings.

Asylum Policy

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is nothing humane or socialist—or, indeed, any other group that people might want to put themselves into—about paying people smugglers a lot of money to get into a boat in the channel. It is a dangerous thing to do. It fuels further crime. It is not the way that people should seek to come to this country, and I will not rest until the way that people come to this country to seek refuge and be granted refugee status is through a safe and legal route instead.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

I fully support the Home Secretary’s statement and the need to get the balance right. In Portsmouth North, we have seen how quickly immigration misinformation can spread on our high streets and local forums. It has even forced businesses to put up signs on developments to say who will be living there. This chaos took hold because the Tories never got a grip, gave up on governing and allowed division to reign across our country. Does the Home Secretary agree that our new enforcement plans and streamlined appeals system are essential not only to enabling much-needed action, but to restoring trust and giving clarity to stop refuelling misinformation and division in our communities?

Police Reform

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

Just to be clear, the arrangements we are announcing today are not changing the 43 models at all. We will bring forward reform, which hopefully the hon. Gentleman will support, and he will have the time to consider it when it comes forward.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

Will the Minister join me in thanking our hard-working named neighbourhood police officers across Portsmouth North, PC Jamie Christian, PC Chris Middleton, PC Nicholas Joyce, PC Ben Treend, PC Hannah Kelleher, PC Matt Lamper and PC Susan Smith, for their continued dedication to keeping our community safe? As we look at reforms to police governance, will the Minister ensure that any savings made by abolishing the PCC role are reinvested directly in the frontline? More broadly still, will she meet me to discuss how we can fund our policing more fairly, given Hampshire’s unfair allocation?

[Sarah Jones]

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and talk about the services that she needs in her local community. We will of course ensure that the money we save is directed to frontline policing, because that is where it needs to be. I join her in praising her local police force for everything it does.