"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean) for securing the debate; I know how much time and personal effort she put into this topic when in Government. I welcome the focus that she is continuing …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes a strong point. Clearly, it is not always possible to know exactly what those who have no voice because they are no longer with us have said or consented to in the past. That is an important point, which will be reflected in our response.
"13. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people subjected to forced marriage are encouraged to report that crime to the police. ..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I am glad that this country is leading the way on tackling violence against women and girls, but does the Minister agree that we need to keep up the pressure to eradicate child marriage, as it is a particularly pernicious form of violence?..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Dr Whiteford) for promoting this private Member’s Bill. I am pleased to say that I shall support it. I also commend the Home Office’s work, not least because, when the Prime Minister was Home Secretary, every time I raised specific issues …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I thank the Minister for her answer, but in same-sex relationships and in orthodox religious communities domestic violence is often under-reported. What more can be done to train police officers to support victims and encourage them to come forward?..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"As part of the review of public order, will my hon. Friend review the weighting of the community impact element when the police decide when to intervene? One of the problems with such public order decisions is that the police take quite a black and white decision about whether the …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I was not planning to contribute much to the debate, apart from by sharing an experience. I hope that in his winding-up speech the Minister can explain how the orders can evolve once the groups have been proscribed.
"I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Having listed those reports, does she agree that there is a gap? There are certainly two gaps that I would like to bring to her attention. One is in orthodox religious communities, where victims of domestic violence are often ostracised if …..." Mike Freer - View Speech