Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a criminal offence of deliberately infecting a person with covid-19.

The Government has no plans to introduce a specific criminal offence as offences already exist which cover such circumstances.

Threatening to infect someone with covid-19 can be charged as an assault and where a direct causal link can be established between one person’s unlawful act and another person contracting the virus then other more serious offences can be charged.

Each case needs to be considered on its own specific facts.