Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 2—Assaults on police c...

I am delighted to support the Bill today—a Bill that I have supported from the outset. I am pleas...

The hon. Gentleman talks about recorded cases, but does he accept that in their normal line of du...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The official figures and the recorded figures are likely ...

Are the five assaults a day generally carried out by five separate people or by the same people? ...

As always, my hon. Friend raises a very good point. I hope later to deal with part of that issue,...

I seek a small clarification. When the hon. Gentleman says that “we” have promised magistrates an...

All of the above. Labour introduced this power in legislation, but did not enforce it. The Conser...

Before my hon. Friend moves on to new clause 2, I want to raise a query about new clause 1. My re...

Because the Police Act 1996 will still be on the statute book, so it will still be possible for p...

I just want to clarify something. When my hon. Friend talks about an under-charging issue, does h...

That is all very well in theory, and I am pretty sure that that would do the trick in an academic...

In that example, my hon. Friend shines a light on the potential issue here. Under the circumstanc...

I am delighted that my hon. Friend seems to be agreeing with amendment 9 and that he thinks that ...

I agree with much of what the hon. Gentleman says about the reality of the prosecution system and...

I am not sure I agree. To be perfectly frank, I get rather tired of people passing legislation on...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Yes, my hon. Friend is an expert.

I made exactly this point on Second Reading and in Committee. My hon. Friend is absolutely right....

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As I said, he is an expert in this field. The fact that someone ...

I am interested in this fascinating speech. Perhaps to prefigure some of the arguments that will ...

The Minister makes a reasonable point, but he is working on the basis that the existing general s...

Order. Just for clarification, no, I cannot sense the disappointment. The hon. Gentleman has just...

As usual, Madam Deputy Speaker.

As I have said until I am blue in the face, I would like al...

I understand why the hon. Gentleman has tabled these measures, and particularly new clause 4, bec...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to draw attention to this catastrophe in our prisons. It i...

Does my hon. Friend see this through the prism of the fact that consideration for early release s...

My hon. Friend is right. I am perhaps a bit more hardline—[Hon. Members: “No!”] When I was at sch...

I know that my hon. Friend thinks that I am a bit of a lefty on many things, so he might be surpr...

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend; this is a red letter day.

The one issue that the hon. Gentleman missed out is the lack of prison officers. As the POA will ...

Madam Deputy Speaker, you would rightly start to pull me up if I were to go down the rabbit hole ...

It is an enormous pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies). I thought that ...

I think I am correct in saying that these were supporters of foxhunting, rather than people who o...

Yes, clearly there is an issue. It is entirely appropriate that different police forces should ha...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman: that is exactly what we do want to send from this House today. I...

To be honest, when the law behaves in such a pernickety way as to be able to provide a ludicrous—...

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that the Bill is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the ins...

There are two aspects to the Bill. The first is the offence of common assault, which I think is n...

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech, in which he is rightly drawing attention to the...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is always a delight to have a lawyer in the House, but...

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent point. This also happens to female police officers, as ...

It is totally unacceptable; more than that, think about the effect that it has on emergency worke...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that, because it is correct that alcohol plays a large par...

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. All too often, in some of our towns and villages, it is far to...

Let the lawyers’ dinner party commence! It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rhon...

We have returned to the subject that my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) raised...

I am grateful to the Minister for that intervention, which gives me the opportunity to pay tribut...

Let me explain briefly why we ended up with this process. If we had included only the aggravated ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. People who know me know that I do not w...

My hon. Friend echoes my thoughts exactly on the sentencing of prisoners. It might be helpful for...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, as she always does. I look forward to her speech.

indicated dissent.

If she is not going to make a speech, I am very disappointed. I look forward to her further inter...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it seems rather bizarre and pointless for the Government to agree ...

My hon. Friend comes back to his point, I suspect, about being honest and straightforward. We eit...

It gives me great pleasure to speak on the Report stage of this Bill. It is a particular pleasure...

It is such a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch). She is a truly passion...

The hon. Gentleman is speaking specifically about police officers, but there is already an existi...

That is absolutely right. I was using that example to make a point, but whether we are talking ab...

That is another reason for structuring the Bill in this way. All too often, the courts might have...

That is why I am prepared to support the Bill. It sends an important signal that I hope police an...

At the start of his speech my hon. Friend mentioned the disgrace of sentencing, which he said was...

My hon. Friend makes a valuable point, and we must ensure credibility, understanding of, and basi...

However, the truth is that now, large numbers of ambulance workers never bother to report it beca...

We should say it firmly, and if I may say, no one can say it more firmly and eloquently than the ...

I am finding my hon. Friend’s speech very interesting and thought-provoking. Does he agree that P...

I take that point entirely.

My final point is about the issue of grievous bodily harm with ...

rose—

Just before I finish my peroration, I give way to the hon. Lady.

The hon. Gentleman is making an incredibly powerful speech and raising some really interesting is...

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. It would be a very dark day indeed if Members of Parliame...

It is a great honour to speak in this important debate and it has been nice to hear legal experts...

My hon. Friend is making a very good speech and important points. He is right that some people se...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We need to change the culture in this country because it...

It is a pleasure to speak in this very important debate and to follow so many knowledgeable and i...

Order. The hon. Gentleman has explicitly told the House what he is about to say. He would probabl...

I am grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker. As you rightly said, had I simply said what I intended to sa...

It was not.

I am not familiar with the background of the case. Perhaps there was a good reason; perhaps there...

My hon. Friend is making an interesting and thought-provoking speech. He says that this is about ...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, and I am grateful to him for making that point. I was simpl...

I am pleased to be able to make a contribution to this debate on dealing with assaults on emergen...

I rise to speak very briefly in support of the efforts of my hon. Friends the Member for Rhondda ...

It is always a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick...

It is always a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove) and, indeed...

If I may use the phraseology of my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove), let me say t...

I am delighted to hear what my hon. Friend is saying about his local PCC. I have spoken about thi...

I agree completely with my hon. Friend. One challenge we face in this place is that sometimes tho...

I am delighted to speak in this debate, and I thank all Members who have contributed, particularl...

It is a delight to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Craig Tracey). I echo...

I am aware of incidents where police officers have been attacked and those attacks have not just ...

Indeed. The other point that I was going to make is that these incidents can encourage people to ...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I pay tribute to the work of the hon. Members for Rhond...

We have heard from some of our learned colleagues about how the Crown Prosecution Service sometim...

I thank my hon. Friend for his, as always, interesting intervention. I think it would make sense ...

indicated assent.

I see my hon. Friend nodding his head.

New clause 3 suggests a review after two years. I am...

It was very lucky that the person concerned went back to serve their whole sentence, because we n...

I thank my hon. Friend for his thoughtful intervention. I agree that if someone who has been sent...

It has been a great pleasure to sit on the Benches during this debate, and I begin by paying trib...

I hate the idea of an ingenious lawyer, but the Minister is right—I accept that there is a danger...

Absolutely. In return for the hon. Gentleman’s sense and solidarity in not pressing the amendment...

I realise that this is a sensitive point. I have spoken to police officers who would like to have...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Many people who do things on behalf of the public in their da...

I think that the Minister might have slightly misunderstood my proposal, or perhaps he is not doi...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that clarification. Nevertheless, the fundamental point remai...

This very good debate has featured a great deal of expertise, which I have welcomed.

I am d...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

No, because I think we want to press on.

I was also grateful to my hon. Friend the Member f...

I will answer that point very briefly. The process-led point that is being made about the differe...

I do the Minister a disservice—he did make that point and I apologise.

As well as talking a...

I beg to move amendment 4, page 4, line 23, leave out clause 4.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 5, page 6, line 6, leav...

I will not delay the House long on these amendments, but I should explain why I tabled them. They...

I will rattle through my speech, as I know we are pushed for time. I entirely appreciate and symp...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful point. Does she agree that the clauses on spitting were some o...

I agree entirely with that point, and I am reassured by what the Minister said about seeking to t...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I certainly will—I will return the favour.

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way, just at this last moment. What was strik...

I entirely agree. That goes back to the earlier point that we cannot fix everything through legis...

First, I very much welcome the fact that the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) has proposed ...

As the Minister has mentioned, there are many fallacies and the biggest area of fallacy is that s...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I was in Morrisons in Porth in the...

It is a genuine pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) in the closing stag...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate. I pay tribute to ...

Thank you for letting me make this speech from a sedentary position, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will no...

It is an honour to follow the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb). He has...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch), who has done so much ...

This is the first time that I have spoken this morning, not because of a lack of support for the ...

I will be brief, because I think we all want the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Stephanie Peacock...

At this very moment, in all our constituencies, the emergency services are working hard to protec...

This is a welcome Bill, and it will make a difference. The tweet that was referred to by the hon....

I have very limited time—less than seven minutes—and I hope that hon. Members will take the comme...