Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Waugh Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

We have already made it clear during this Justice Question Time that we will not be giving a running commentary on the numbers. This Government are taking action to deal with this problem in our criminal justice system, which, by the way, the Conservatives did nothing about over their 14 years.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

In Rochdale, our police work closely with staff from the sexual assault referral centre in St Mary’s in Manchester, who help rape victims through every step of the legal process. For many rape victims, the most traumatic thing is facing their rapist in court, so will the Government explain how they will help stop victims being smeared by defence lawyers as money grabbers? How can we take evidence of previous domestic abuse into account in court?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is why we are determined to ensure that rape victims are treated with compassion and dignity throughout the entire criminal justice process. We are committed to implementing the Law Commission’s review on bad character evidence and to tackling those rape myths and stereotypes, and we are committed to our manifesto commitment of introducing independent legal advisers for adult rape victims to ensure that they get the support they desperately need.