Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Grant and Ellie Reeves

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I wish you and your brilliant team a very happy Christmas?

The 2017 Lammy review looked at prejudice in the criminal justice system. Our now Justice Secretary said:

“Juries are a success story of our justice system… juries are representative of local populations—and must deliberate as a group, leaving no hiding place for bias or discrimination”,

and

“This debate and deliberation acts as a filter for prejudice”.

In 2020, he said,

“Criminal trials without juries are a bad idea. You don’t fix the backlog with trials that are widely perceived as unfair.”

What advice has the Minister given on how to avoid the discriminatory outcomes that the Justice Secretary warned about?

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Lady will know that in the judicial oath, judges swear to act

“without fear or favour, affection or ill will”,

and they decide cases in line with the law and the facts of the case. That underpins our democracy and our criminal justice system. Our reforms will not impact the outcome of trials; they will affect only the mode of trial. We are working to bring in new and diverse magistrates over the next 12 months, ensuring that our benches reflect the communities that they serve, and we will continue to recruit high numbers in the future.

[Helen Grant]

I am not too sure that answered my question; I shall have another go. This month, the Minister’s colleague, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner), wrote:

“The erosion of jury trials not only risks undermining a fundamental right, but importantly, will not reduce the backlog by anything like enough”.

He went on:

“If this ever comes to the House of Commons, I will rebel and vote against it…The House and the public will not stand for the erosion of a fundamental right”.

It would seem from X that at least 38 of his colleagues take a similar view. Is the Solicitor General, who is charged with upholding the rule of law, also concerned about the Justice Secretary’s proposals?

[The Solicitor General]

I take very seriously the proposals put forward by Sir Brian Leveson, which made it clear that because of the crisis in the justice system, and the backlog of 80,000 cases left by the previous Conservative Government, investment alone is not enough; radical reform is also required. Jury trials are not being got rid of, but some cases will be heard by magistrates, or by the Crown bench division. Justice delayed is justice denied. People are waiting far too long for their case to get to court. That is no justice. It is no justice when rape victims wait three years—and 60% pull out of their case before it gets to court as a result. Doing nothing is not an option, so it is important that we implement these measures.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Grant and Ellie Reeves

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)]

I also welcome the right hon. Lady to her place. She is the third Solicitor General I have sat opposite in the past 12 months, and I look forward to working with her constructively where we can and to having healthy debate in this Chamber in the weeks and months to come.

I associate myself with the right hon. Lady’s remarks on the sad passing of Baroness Newlove. I had the honour of working with her when I was the Victims Minister. She was a great champion of victims and she will be sadly missed.

Violence against women and girls is a scourge. It wrecks families and ruins lives. One of the most sickening aspects of it is cruelty to and abuse of children. There is currently no national mechanism to track down and monitor serious child cruelty offenders after service of their sentences. The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards), said this of the Sentencing Bill on Report:

“A problem in the system has been identified, and we are determined to fix it. It simply cannot be right that some horrific child abusers can have access to children—to live with children or work with children—at the end of their sentences without any system of monitoring or notification”.—[Official Report, 29 October 2025; Vol. 774, c. 409.]

The Minister went on to welcome the offer of cross-party talks and promised to work “at speed” to establish a child cruelty register. Can the Solicitor General please update the House on what concrete steps have been taken since then?

[The Solicitor General]

I thank the hon. Member for raising the extremely important issue of child abuse. I will work with the Minister to respond to her in full on the points that she raises today.

[Helen Grant]

The campaign to introduce a child cruelty register has been led tirelessly by Paula Hudgell, the adoptive mother of 11-year-old Tony Hudgell. Sadly, Paula has now been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Tony was just 41 days old when his birth parents abused him so badly that he had to have both his legs amputated. Tony will live with the consequences of those injuries for the rest of his life. Will the Solicitor General agree to work, and at speed, with her colleagues in the Ministry of Justice? They seem keen to support Paula’s campaign, hopefully with an amendment to the Sentencing Bill in the House of Lords. We must take this opportunity to close this dangerous safeguarding gap so that all our children and families can be protected from repeat abusers.

[The Solicitor General]

I thank the hon. Member for raising the tragic case of Tony Hudgell. I know that his parents, along with the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), who is no longer in his place, have campaigned tirelessly for Tony and his family. I am very sorry to hear about Paula’s diagnosis, and I am sure that the thoughts of the House are with her and the family. I will take this matter away and do everything I can, along with Home Office and Justice Ministers, and we will respond in full to the points raised by the hon. Lady.