Government, the police and intelligence services are too easily given sweeping powers that they too often abuse.
Jenny works with campaigners to defend our civil liberties. She has worked on legislation like the Investigatory Powers Bill, raised the cases of victims of state power such as detained pregnant women, and defended the right to protest.
I asked HMG what assessment they have made of the environmental credentials of Drax in view of the new investigation by Stand.earth which reported that Drax had purchased logged trees from old growth forests in British Columbia in 2024 Continue reading “My debate on Drax”
I tabled a Topical Oral Question in response to reports last week of built in bias in the FR software resulting in women and individuals from ethnic minorities being much more likely to be misrecognised by it: because the software is much better at recognising white men they are less likely to be misidentified and negatively affected by it. The Financial Times reported on it here Continue reading “My debate on Facial Recognition Technology: Safeguards”
Although I very much support the intentions of the Sentencing Bill, we cannot avoid at least acknowledging the strain already placed on the Probation Service. If we are going to put new demands on the service, we must first be confident that it can meet them. Continue reading “Sentencing Bill Committee Stage Day 3”
If the Bill’s aim is to reduce the crisis in prison capacity, we must avoid funnelling people into suspended sentences where a community order would be more effective and safely promote rehabilitation Continue reading “Sentencing Bill Committee Stage Day 1”
This Bill creates two new offences in Clause 56: child criminal exploitation and cuckooing. These are important steps. They recognise forms of exploitation that front-line workers, police officers and charities have been grappling with for years. However, the Bill currently does only half the job. It recognises the exploitation, but not the victim. When vulnerable children or exploited adults are used as tools by criminal networks, the criminal justice system should not compound their suffering by treating them as willing participants. These amendments I have tabled would complete the logic of the Bill and ensure that the law protects those who need protection most. Continue reading “Crime and Policing Bill Cmttee Stage Day 3”
This is obviously a Bill with good aims: to reduce the prison population and put more resources into probation and rehabilitation. However, the problem is that the prison population is going up in the long term because Governments keep coming up with new reasons to lock people up. Continue reading “Sentencing Bill Second Reading”
Amendment 55A would require the Home Office to publish quarterly data on the issuing of anti-social behaviour orders and related injunctions. Specifically, it would ensure that these reports include the number of occasions when stop and search has been used by the police prior to the issuing of such orders, and the protected characteristics of those who have been issued with them. These powers can have serious and lasting consequences for those subject to them, particularly young people and those from marginalised communities. Yet at present, the public and Parliament have very limited visibility of how these tools are being applied. This would ensure transparency and accountability about how anti-social behaviour powers are being used across England and Wales. Continue reading “Crime and Policing Bill Committee Stage Day 1”
Not only have the Labour Government accepted all the draconian laws of the Conservative Government, but they continue to add to them
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 