Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Register of interests
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Voluntary Board Member of SQUASH, Liverpool, a community interest company based in the Liverpool Riverside constituency (a creative food enterprise to empower and enable social change). This is an unpaid role.
For decades, Liverpool has lived with the consequences of Thatcher’s sell-off of council housing and the large-scale stock transfer of properties leaving too many families without secure and genuinely affordable homes. Mayor Steve Rotheram’s North Docks mayoral development corporation set out a bold vision, with strong public backing. Will the Minister back the work of the MDC to support large-scale council house building in order to reverse the legacy of the past and tackle the housing crisis?
The Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I welcome the expanded sanctions framework and in particular the introduction of the new sanctions ground relating to the deprivation of liberty.
It is right that serious arbitrary detention, unlawful imprisonment and the denial of basic legal protections can now form the basis of sanctions designations. Will <span id="7" class="column-number" data-column-number="7"></span>the Minister therefore set out how the new ground will be applied in practice to evidence concerning the detention of Palestinian children? For many years, human rights organisations and international bodies have raised concerns about the arbitrary or unlawful detention of Palestinian children, including prolonged detention without charge or trial, military detention, and the systemic denial of due process and legal protections.
As we know, Israel is the only country in the world that systematically and automatically tries children through military courts. Such courts have a conviction rate of 99% for Palestinian defendants. Of course, we are all alarmed by the introduction of the death penalty in Israel, which has been criticised by human rights groups and the UN as applying de facto exclusively to Palestinians. The separation of legal systems based on the race and nationality of defendants has led leading human rights organisations, including B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch, to declare Israel an apartheid regime.
If the Government receive evidence that such practices meet the threshold established under the regulations, will Ministers actively consider designations under the new liberty ground? Furthermore, when assessing responsibility, will the Government look not only at those directly responsible for detention but at those who enable and sustain such practices, including officials, Ministers and private actors who provide services that facilitate places of detention where serious violations are alleged to occur?
Finally, how does the Minister intend to keep Parliament informed on the use of the new sanctions power, given the significance of the liberty ground? It is important that Members understand how evidence is being assessed and whether potential cases, including the detention of children, are being actively considered. The creation of this new sanctions ground is welcome. The test will be whether it is applied consistently and robustly wherever credible evidence of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of liberty exists.
Serco continues to be awarded lucrative Government contracts despite repeated failures, while probation officers have been pushed to breaking point. Will the Minister commit to bringing back in-house electronic tagging and probation services, as I proposed in my amendment to the Bill that became the Sentencing Act 2026, so that we are not rewarding private profit over public safety?
Palestinian families have been denied family reunification, and that has been found to be unlawful in the courts. Those families include those of Obaida and Mahmoud, two boys who, last year, met the former Prime Minister, who promised to do everything that he could to ensure that their families were united with them. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on a Palestinian visa scheme, so that we can scrutinise these important issues?
Last week Appeal launched a campaign calling for Trew’s law, which would review the cases of all imprisoned police officers, following the actions of a corrupt and racist British Transport police officer, Derek Ridgewell. Will the Minister agree to meet me and the campaigners to discuss this law?
I thank my hon. Friend for being generous with his time; many Members want to participate. I promised that I would raise this issue for my Liverpool Riverside constituents, who are complaining about United Utilities. It increased the cost of bills by 9% and then took a profit of £779 million. We are faced with crumbling Victorian systems. Does my hon. Friend agree that as a Government we need to do what we promised in our manifesto and in-source immediately?
I welcome the Government’s expansion of free school meals for children in households eligible for universal credit, which will take 500,000 children out of poverty. However, the fact that those children will not be eligible for holiday activities and food funding will lead to two-tier poverty. Will the Leader of the House grant time for a debate to consider how we can reverse that situation?
<Question HRSContentId="{6FA60DD7-570C-4711-B01C-E5C8EEE1C3A2}">Q8. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{731220EA-BE8F-4ED2-891C-C273B3D1306A}"></QuestionText>Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. <em>[Interruption.] </em>Mr Speaker—I apologise. BT Openreach identified Liverpool as one of its 30 national hubs. However, in July this year, it decided to pull out of Liverpool, leading to the loss of 600 well-paid and skilled jobs. Will the Prime Minister join me in calling on BT Openreach to reverse its decision, and will he and the Government join me, the Communication Workers Union and the political leadership in Liverpool in doing everything that we can to ensure that these jobs and BT stay in Liverpool?</Question>
I thank my hon. Friend for this timely and important debate. The point about changing the narrative is very important. <span id="284WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="284WH"></span>Will she support me in congratulating Alfie’s Squad, who are here today for World Suicide Prevention Day, and all the football clubs, including Everton and Liverpool, for the work they do in engaging with people with suicidal thoughts?
The far right and the British fascists reared their ugly heads on the streets of Dover and Portsmouth this weekend. The protests were allegedly spontaneous, but hundreds of people were mobilised. They were dressed as fascists of the past, hiding their identity. Their behaviour was not just thuggish and intimidatory; it went far beyond that. Their protests were about hate, division and racism. Even though the police had powers, the protests went largely unchecked. Can the Minister tell us why there appears to be a two-tier system? If people sit quietly with a banner, they get arrested, but if they are masked up and attack the police, no arrests are made.