THE Rachel Maclean column:
“LIKE many people, I have been troubled by the events surrounding the death of Sarah Everard and by what happened at the vigil in Clapham last Saturday.
I welcome the fact Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked for a full inquiry and the Prime Minister has chaired a meeting to discuss further steps to ensure women and girls feel safe.
Every woman and girl should feel safe to walk our streets without fear of harassment, abuse or violence.
However, the events of last weekend are wrongly being conflated with the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which was debated in Parliament this week. This Bill has my full support and I will explain why.
Firstly, it’s a very significant piece of legislation. It’s a Bill which addresses many of the issues raised with me by constituents in terms of tougher sentences for serious crimes.
This legislation means tougher sentences for child murderers, sex offenders, drivers who cause death by dangerous driving and those attacking emergency workers.
It also extends the scope of offences in the Sexual Offences Act protecting women and children and introduces stricter bail conditions for those accused of domestic abuse.
Rightly, in the wake of the death of Sarah Everard, there has been a national conversation about how we can better protect women and children.
The Bill also ends the halfway release of those convicted of offences like rape.
Our reforms will also mean longer prison terms for sex offenders.
Sadly, some people are wrongly suggesting this Bill will stop people’s right to protest. That isn’t the case.
It will however stop the behaviour of groups such as Extinction Rebellion from causing serious disruption as they did last year.
Myself and this Government were elected to keep people safe by reforming our justice system so that everyone can live their lives free from the fear of crime – and that is exactly what we’re doing.”
Rachel Maclean MP
