Speeches by Farnsworth.

“To clarify, Kirsty Brimelow, are you saying that you disagree with the Government removing the right to elect?”

“This is a question for all of you. The Government have proposed to remove the right for defendants to elect a jury trial in either-way cases, which goes beyond what Brian Leveson suggested, albeit I think he made some comments that he did not think it was a bad idea, if it was what the Government wanted to do. Do you a…”

“Are we moving on to the magistrates?”

“On the point of saving time through fewer jury trials, does my hon. and learned Friend agree that this is not just about the amount of time a jury is in the courtroom? It is about all the other factors within the criminal justice system that contribute to the time taken—the time it takes for back office staff to organi…”

“I gently say to the right hon. Member that the current system for appeals from the magistrates court requires a full retrial. When somebody comes to give evidence, we ask a lot of them, particularly the victims. To do that all over again, after a wait of a considerable number of months or even years, is very onerous. Q…”

“I gently point out to the hon. Lady that it is not just about a courtroom being available, but the resources that have to go into that. It is about not just whether we have the space, but whether we have the barristers and the solicitors, and whether we have enough CPS lawyers, court clerks and ushers. There is a bigge…”

“Hello. I am Linsey Farnsworth, the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley. My interests are as per the declaration in the register, but of note is the fact that I am a former Crown prosecutor, a member of the APPG on access to justice, and co-chair of the APPG on legal and constitutional affairs.”

“That is very helpful, thank you. Going back to the criminal side of things, what is the knock-on practical consequence to the functioning of the criminal court system as a result of restricting early legal advice because of the sorts of issues that we have talked about?”

“Thank you. That is very useful. As a former prosecutor, hopefully you will not be too surprised that I want to focus a little bit of our time on criminal legal aid. I will come to you, Kirsty Brimelow, I promise, but I start by asking Richard Miller a question in relation to the criminal duty solicitor scheme at police…”

“The fact about age is really worrying. It was always the younger solicitors who were sent out from my firm.”

“I will ask Rohini Jana the following question regarding the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, or the Hillsborough law, although it is obviously not solely related just to football incidents. We have talked about the new law and the impact on access to justice in terms of equality of arms and the suggestion of a need…”

“Thank you for outlining that; it is really useful. Kirsty Brimelow, could I ask you a couple of questions on this area? Given the need for timely legal advice both to protect criminal defendants’ rights and allow the police to do their jobs, what impact do the sorts of things that Richard has talked about have on acces…”

“Thank you.”

“May I associate myself with the comments of other Members who have said that we are talking about humans who deserve to be treated with dignity? As a former Crown prosecutor, I firmly believe that evidence is hugely important, and the Cass review said that there is not enough evidence at present that puberty blockers a…”

“Q10. Just days before Christmas, heartbroken Derbyshire families and staff have learned that the Reform-led council is closing eight care homes, including Rowthorne in Amber Valley. That comes just days after we learned that the council’s cost-saving claims were entirely fabricated. Does the Prime Minister agree that w…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. Hon. Members should note that, in the interests of time, I do not intend to take any interventions. I have had hundreds of emails from constituents about digital ID. Some are entirely supportive, some are completely against it, but most lie somewhere in bet…”

“I spent two decades working on the frontline in the criminal justice system, and I can tell hon. Members that this crisis has been building for years and years and years. I spoke to one of my former colleagues today to ask him how things are. He said: “Something has to be done. The backlog and delay is distorting the j…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered support for young people not in education, employment or training. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am delighted to introduce this debate on an incredibly important topic. Young people not in education, employment or training are often referred …”

“It is very exciting to hear the proposals coming forward from Network Rail. Can the Minister give us some more information on how we local constituency MPs can support our local communities in pushing forward with the campaigns to have our stations included in that? As he heard me say earlier, it took 20 years of campa…”

“I share my hon. Friend’s concerns about accessibility in train stations. We had a similar issue at Alfreton train station, where, after 20 years of campaigning by Labour councillors, I was fortunate enough to open the new lift, allowing accessibility from one platform to the other, only in July. However, we still have …”