Over 30 feminine MPs give verdict on Lammy courtroom plan – ‘can’t come quickly sufficient’
A group of 34 Labour MPs has written to David Lammy urging him not to let the Government get ‘blown off course’ and said: ‘Too many women’s lives depend on it’
MPs have called on David Lammy not to back down on court reforms(Image: House of Commons/AFP via Getty I)
More than 30 female Labour MPs have written to David Lammy urging him not to back down on sweeping court reforms.
The group called on the Deputy PM to remain steadfast in modernising the justice system through the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which is back in front of MPs this week. The 34 MPs told him: “Do not allow the Government to be blown off course.
“Too many women’s lives depend on it.” Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, has put forward a string of measures including scrapping thousands of jury trials each year.
This, he argues, will speed up cases and tackle huge backlogs in the UK’s creaking courts system. The 34 MPs, who include former ministers Ashley Dalton and Anneliese Dodds, as well as Jess Asato, Natalie Fleet and Antonia Bance, wrote: “We know from our personal experiences the ways in which our justice system is failing women and girls across this country.
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“In particular, two failures stand out: First, the agonising and rising waiting lists in our courts, which mean that a woman reporting domestic abuse or coercive control today may be told her trial won’t come to court until 2030.
“That is intolerable. Second, the appallingly low conviction rates for rape and serious sexual violence. We know that many women report that they have felt that the process of going to trial was worse than the violation they suffered.
“Many say that,rather than being treated as a survivor, they were treated as if they were the ones accused of a crime.” The letter, seen by The Mirror, continues: “Your commitment to doing whatever it takes to reduce the agonising wait times for justice is one which we share.
“At the same time, we want to see a less patriarchal justice system.” They said they welcome plans to change the law on ‘bad character’ evidence in rape and sexual violence cases will bust “rape myths which deny many women justice”.
This has been found to undermine the evidence of survivors by highlighting previous allegations they made against a different perpetrator. The female MPs also welcome the decision to repeal the presumption of parental contact in family cases – which means violent and dangerous fathers have had access to their children.
This followed campaigning by Claire Throssell, whose sons Jack, 12, and Paul, 9, were killed by their dad despite her warnings that he was a danger to them.
The group wrote: “Our message as members of the women’s Parliamentary Labour Party is that these changes cannot come soon enough.”
A Labour source said: “Labour is committed to halving violence against women and girls – and our court modernisation agenda, backed with investment, is a key pillar in this effort.
“This letter shows the strength of feeling among Labour’s women MPs from across the party who support our courts bill – legislation that will put victims first.”
