Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 11th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

This is a very difficult day. No one could fail to be moved by the grief of campaigners and by the deeply personal stories, whether born of their own experience or of those they have lost. Those voices deserve to be heard, and it is important in this place that we respect all views, whether we agree or disagree; but as we deliberate today, I go back to the words of the hon. Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) in a past debate, asking us to remember

“the quiet ones, those who may be less organised or not as powerful but who are none the less equally, if not more, important—the voiceless”.—[Official Report, 13 May 2026; Vol. 786, c. 11.]

Those words resonated particularly strongly with me, because I had the privilege of serving 10 years ago as the Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime—the first time that safeguarding brief had been brought under one Minister. It was so often the quiet voices that needed to be heard. It was the time I spent with victims that persuaded me that modern slavery was something we needed to legislate for. It was the time I spent with the victims of domestic violence, some of whom did not even want to admit that they were victims, that persuaded me we needed to do more and that we needed to legislate in this area.

When I took the coercive control offence through Parliament, it was incredibly important. That is a very difficult offence; coercive control is not easy to prove or to find the evidence for, but it was so important that we did that. I remember speaking at an event not long after the legislation had gone through, where I explained that coercive control offence and what we were trying to do in Parliament. Afterwards, a woman came up to me privately, in tears, and told me that what I described had been her life some 30 years earlier. She had recognised eventually that she was a victim; so often victims do not recognise that they are victims, but she did recognise it. She had gone to the police, but because the offences were not violent or physical, they said that there was nothing they could do. They even said, “Lock the door and hope that he beats the door down, because then we could arrest him on criminal violence.” That was all they had. There was nothing they could do to help this woman.

That encounter stayed with me, and it reminds me time and again that abuse is not always a single act. It can be the gradual erosion of somebody’s confidence, independence and sense of what choices are really theirs. Coercion to end one’s life may not come as an explicit threat. It may be the repeated suggestion that someone is becoming a burden.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Lady give way?

[Dame Karen Bradley]

I will not be giving way much, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I will give way to the hon. Lady.

[Catherine Fookes]

I thank the right hon. Lady very much for giving way and for sharing that really difficult story. Does she not agree that the current system has no safeguards at all against coercion, and that is exactly why we need this Bill?

[Dame Karen Bradley]

Coercion is something that we absolutely need to tackle and understand as a society, but I do not think that this Bill has the safeguards that are needed.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ms Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

Before I begin, I declare an interest as a patron of my local hospice, Community hospice. I want to be clear from the outset that I am not opposed to assisted dying in principle; I understand why many people support a change in the law, and I recognise the compassion that motivates those views. However, today I will set out why I remain unable to support this Bill.

This debate evokes deeply held views across the House. I respect my colleagues who have reached a different conclusion, but the question that has troubled me throughout remains the same: can a choice ever be truly free if the support, care and dignity that people deserve are not equally available to all? Through my work with my local hospice, I have seen at first hand what excellent end-of-life care can achieve. I have seen dignity, comfort and compassion, and I have seen how much those final months, weeks and days can mean to individuals and families. That experience leaves me convinced of one thing: dignity at the end of life is possible, and it is our challenge to make it available to everyone.

I have listened carefully to constituents on all sides of this debate. One constituent wrote to me about caring for both her husband and her former partner after they were diagnosed with terminal cancer. Both were told that they had no more than six months to live, but both lived for more than a year beyond that prediction. During that time, they were able to reconnect with family, spend precious time with loved ones and continue to live meaningful lives. Her message was simple: prognosis is not certainty, and diagnosis is not the end of the journey. That does not mean that doctors are wrong, but it does mean that when Parliament considers legislation built around predictions of life expectancy, we must take that uncertainty seriously.

[Catherine Fookes]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Ms Oppong-Asare]

I will not.

I believe the concerns raised by organisations such as the Royal College of Physicians and the British Geriatrics Society about the uncertainty of the end of life, safeguarding and the definition of terminal illness deserve careful consideration.

I cannot separate this debate from my own experiences. Members of my family have experienced discrimination in the healthcare system. Those experiences leave a lasting impression; they remind us that trust, access and outcomes in healthcare are not always experienced equally by everyone. Those inequalities do not disappear when people become seriously ill.

Criminal Justice Reform

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and I am grateful that he has worked hard to exempt more criminals from early release, such as rapists and child sex offenders. The VAWG sector is clear that perpetrators of violence against women should not be included in the early release scheme. I know how difficult this is, because the Conservatives left us a complete mess to clear up. Welsh Women’s Aid is really grateful that the victims fund has been announced, which will help it to look after victims. Could the Secretary of State reassure me that no survivor will be harmed as a result of these releases?

[Alex Norris]

I recognise the vigour and spirit with which my hon. Friend asked her question, and indeed the voice that she gives to a sector that is very concerned about these changes. I want to recognise that we wanted to go further than this. In being unable to do so, our commitment—what we are doing to close that gap—is to bring more support forward to ensure that there is direct support, whether through the victims hotline or the important work that the local sector does at a community level. It seems to me that the test for us to pass in order to prove that to victims is the process of engagement, getting quality information to people at the right time, and then designing the controls on perpetrators. That is the best thing we can do to seek to close that gap. Again, I appreciate that the burden of proof falls on us to demonstrate that we are doing that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens]

I am reassured to hear the Conservative party finally acknowledging the importance of defence spending. This Government are undertaking the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war. We are doing that to keep Wales and UK safe, and to create thousands of new, well-paid jobs. The hon. Member’s party left office having hollowed out our armed forces, leaving military homes in a disgusting state, so I am glad that she has finally learned the lessons of previous Tory failures.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

6. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)]

The UK Government are strengthening the Welsh economy, helping businesses grow, and supporting thousands of good, well-paid jobs. Whether it is nuclear energy in Wylfa, offshore wind in Port Talbot, or connecting our communities with a £14 billion pipeline of rail projects, this Government are building a stronger Welsh economy for generations to come.

[Catherine Fookes]

Monmouthshire’s high streets welcome the £1.5 million Pride in Place funding, especially Monmouth, after November’s devastating floods. I recently wrote to the landlord of 20 Monnow Street—more commonly known as the “pigeon-poop building”—as part of my campaign to fill empty shops. But we need deeds, not words. The commissions and the taskforce that Plaid says it is planning will not cut it, so will the Secretary of State make representations to the Welsh Government? They need to act on our high streets as soon as possible, not just establish quangos.

[Jo Stevens]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that regenerating our high streets and town centres is vital to creating jobs and supporting local businesses, restoring pride in our communities. That is why we are investing over £300 million in Pride in Place funding for Wales, alongside over £500 million through the new local growth fund. It is vital that this funding, which will be delivered by the Plaid minority Welsh Government, is operational as quickly as possible. I have written twice to the Welsh Government Minister responsible about how we can get that funding out to communities, and I look forward to his eventual response.

Courts and Tribunals Bill

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 10th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I rise to speak in favour of the Bill, but first I want to remind the House why these reforms matter to victims. When the powerful wave of the MeToo movement washed over us in 2017, almost 10 years after the incredible Tarana Burke began the MeToo programme in US schools and women began to share their stories, I froze when I heard on the radio what Harvey Weinstein had been doing in plain sight. I spent the rest of the day scrolling through courageous women’s stories online, and despite my horror at each of their experiences, I felt relief and hope. I felt relief that we could share our stories of experiences that I know every woman in this Chamber and, unfortunately, every woman and girl in the UK, has at some level had to endure. And I felt hope that this would be a watershed moment and that there would be no more Harvey Weinsteins. Recently, however, we have come to learn of the monstrous abuses committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, reminding us that this fight is by no means over.

Regardless of whether a victim has survived a high-profile repeat offender or abuse from someone they knew and trusted at home or at work, they deserve justice. The Tories utterly failed victims in their 14 years. They ran up a huge backlog. Some women victims have said recently that they have waited 10 years, and that is a 10-year sentence for them. We cannot accept these delays. Over 90% of all criminal cases are already heard fairly without a jury by magistrates.

Clause 8 of the Bill puts restrictions on evidence or questions about a survivor’s sexual history. That should never have been part of the trial in the first place. Clause 17 will mean that courts will no longer have to start from the presumption that parental involvement will always be in the interests of a child. Women’s Aid has called this

“a significant shift in the ‘pro-contact’ culture”

that puts children at risk. This change will be incredibly encouraging for one of my constituents whose ex-partner was convicted of child sex offences and who has seen her children’s wellbeing massively impacted. I pay tribute to the campaigners here today, who have worked so hard to make this happen. Today we can move the dial towards a system that does not unfairly advantage perpetrators and does not retraumatise victims.

[Sarah Russell]

On that point, there is a backlog in the family courts of 110,000 cases, more than what we are discussing, and legal aid rates for family law have not gone up since 1997. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is an important move but we need to do more?

[Catherine Fookes]

I agree that we need to do more. As a recipient of legal aid myself in the past, I know how important it is that its budget is increased.

It is almost 10 years since the birth of the MeToo movement. We must now ensure that we deliver on the hope that it engendered. Real change is needed. I back survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and I therefore back the Bill.

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

As the Justice Secretary has already stated during oral questions, the Government are committed to the ECHR, and that includes for the whole of Great Britain. Clearly, there are issues in ensuring that that convention and our international obligations evolve with the challenges that we face as a country, which is why we are looking at how it is implemented and clarified in domestic law. We continue to work with European partners on European reform, and that includes Scotland too.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Thanks to incredible campaigners on the Labour Benches, the Victims and Courts Bill protects children by putting important restrictions on parental responsibility following certain serious sexual offences. One of my constituents is a fierce campaigner for services and safety measures for children whose parent has committed a sexual offence against a child outside the family home. Children in the home are victims even though they were not directly abused. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that all children of child sex offenders are offered better protection and support?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend’s constituent for their incredible campaigning on this issue. Children are victims in their own right—the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 put that in law—but there is a discrepancy in what sort of services and support children can get. The victims code currently sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive. We will consult on a new victims code shortly, and I am determined to ensure that we get that new code right for all victims, including the children of those heinous criminals.

Prisoner Releases in Error

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Member knows that about 17 prisoners a day were released in error under the last Government.[Official Report, 11 November 2025; Vol. 775, c. 43.] (Correction) He knows too that, in introducing their early release scheme and our emergency early release scheme, there is complexity in the system. I will look closely at the data that is available in relation to the prison in his constituency.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Having spoken to my prison governor in Monmouthshire this weekend, I know the burden that clerks and prison officers are under when they are calculating these sentences on paper. The brass neck of the Conservatives is quite something to be believed. Their own party grandee William Hague has said that

“the Conservative Government failed to grasp either that they had to build more prison places or that they had to let people out, and they did not want to face up to either.”

Can the Secretary of State say how we are tackling both?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. She is absolutely right; we have to grip the system. I did that by chairing a performance board in the Department yesterday, and I have done it by asking Dame Lynne Owens to look at this closely. There does now need to be an urgent query process working between courts and prisons so that we are not seeing those mistakes between the two systems. I think that ultimately it will take digital technology to fix this, but I have started that with £10 million to expand the digital rapid response unit so that we can at least start to raise flags in and across the system so that those working in our offender management units can spot where there might be a problem. I am pleased that the Sentencing Bill, which has now been through this House, will simplify the system greatly, because it is too complex at the moment.

Decriminalising Abortion

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Monday 2nd June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Tony Vaughan]

My understanding is that the case has been disposed of. Ms Packer was found not guilty of those charges last month, I believe.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that the best way of keeping women’s protections to have an abortion and to stop the criminalisation of women, which he has been talking about, is to support new clause 1, which my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) has tabled, to the Crime and Policing Bill?

[Tony Vaughan]

I agree, and I will support the new clause.

Ms Packer was in hospital one day, and arrested the next, and it took five years before the courts could dispose of that case. Another case is that of Carla Foster, a mother who was jailed for illegally taking abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown. She was initially sentenced to 28 months in prison. She was a mother of three who was of exceptionally good character and had suffered from poor mental health. She had quickly admitted to police that she had provided incorrect information during a consultation, and the Court of Appeal reduced the term to 14 months and suspended the sentence. However, by that point, she had already served 35 days in prison and had been denied any communication with her children, one of whom is autistic. In reducing her sentence, the judge said that the case called for “compassion, not punishment”, and that there was “no useful purpose” in keeping her in prison.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 29th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for the incredibly sensitive and thoughtful way she is conducting the passage of the Bill, consulting widely with terminally ill people and their families, medical staff, lawyers, faith leaders and those on both sides of the debate.

I have two very personal stories about why I support a change in the law. Last year, my dad’s health took a turn very much for the worse. He had sepsis, kidney failure and heart disease and had lived with Addison’s disease for almost 50 years. He was given the dreaded news that he only had a few months left to live. I would not have wished his last few weeks upon anyone. He was in agony and suffering—his breathing was difficult and he was in such pain. I struggled to see him suffer so much, but the nurses, doctors, carers and my incredible step-mum were all without fault and, thankfully, his palliative care was excellent. He was able to die at home with me, my sister and my step-mum by his side. Seeing him suffer so terribly convinced me that we need a change in the law so that people who are terminally ill have a choice.

My second story is from Australia where my brother lives. My wonderful sister-in-law Kelly sadly died of liver cancer that developed into bone cancer. She had a fractured left arm, pelvis and sacrum, and had cancer in her spine. At 54, Kelly was far too young to die. Her cancer was particularly painful and unforgiving. As she lived in Victoria, she was able to register for assisted dying. For her, it was incredibly comforting to know that if, and only if, she needed to, she could stop the suffering. She did not need it in the end, but she did have the option. In her darkest days—her fearful days—that brought her and my brother incredible peace of mind.

I heard similar stories of suffering in the hundreds of emails sent to me by constituents over the course of the past few months. People want and deserve access to both the best palliative care and a choice if they are terminally ill. The protections and evidence underpinning the Bill are strong. I was there for my dad’s final week when he was in so much pain, and I was there right at the end holding his hand. What a privilege to be with him at the end and to see him through. In memory of my dad and of Kelly, I support the Bill and urge all those across the House to support it, too.