Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 2

MPs voted on 25 March 2026 to reject a House of Lords amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill that would have required the government to publish a dedicated appendix to the Victims' Code setting out rights and support for families of British nationals murdered, killed by manslaughter, or victims of infanticide abroad. The motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 2 passed by 295 votes to 162, removing the amendment from the Bill. The vote determines whether families bereaved by the killing of a British national overseas will receive statutory rights under the Victims' Code equivalent to those available when a death occurs on UK soil. Supporters of the Lords amendment argued that roughly 80 families each year receive news of a relative murdered abroad and currently lack the structured statutory support available domestically. The government's position was that guidance published in January 2026, alongside clarifying documentation setting out the roles of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the National Police Chiefs' Council, the Ministry of Justice, and the coroner service, was sufficient and that a statutory appendix was not necessary. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 292 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government's motion to reject the Lords amendment, while Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Reform UK, Green, Plaid Cymru, and Democratic Unionist Party MPs who voted all opposed it. Among independents, three voted with the government and four voted against. This division was one of six held on the same day, each rejecting Lords amendments to the Bill, with results ranging from 286 to 300 on the government's side across the six votes.