Speeches by Qureshi.

“I beg to move amendment 67, in clause 8, page 19, line 13, after “charge” insert— “including any behaviour or communication preceding the charge that is connected to the event itself”.”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Ordered, That further consideration be now adjourned.—(Stephen Morgan.)”

“I will not press the amendment, which is self-explanatory, to a vote, but I ask the Committee and the Minister to think about it.”

“I beg to move amendment 70, in clause 13, page 27, line 37, at end insert— “(7) Disclosure of the details of any connection between the independent supporter and the complainant is required prior to seeking the court’s agreement of the independent supporter.” This proposed addition is simple. The clause centres on witn…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 10 Evidence about previous false complaints relating to sexual offences Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“We call these things in the magistrates court the smaller, lower things—they are not. As we know, most people who get charged with a criminal offence are dealt with in the magistrates court. Some 90% of criminal cases are heard in the magistrates court. Appeals form only about 1% of the Crown court backlog, which shows…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. The amendments are fairly self-explanatory: they just ask to insert a few words. I will leave it at that.”

“If people cannot appeal, some could receive longer sentences. The combination will lead to a lot of unfairness. We need access to justice. The state’s ability to protect its citizens is the most fundamental right. The state has a duty, but we have a duty to our citizens as well. We must not keep taking away their right…”

“I am sorry to say that a lot of these people will not be able to construct a legal argument. However, having an automatic right to appeal means that they can go before a Crown court judge, sitting with two lay justices, and they can make their case again. The judge will be the qualified person who can look at issues of…”

“I will not press the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for York Central. However, it is important to bring to the Government’s attention the real-life situation of ordinary, working people—our constituents, who we see on a daily basis. We all know how they are. Most of them are quite nervous; a lot are qui…”

“I beg to move amendment 68, in clause 9, page 20, line 12, leave out “substantial probative value” and insert “relevance”.”

“I will not press my amendment to a vote. In fact, Ms Butler, I notify you and the Committee that I am not asking to vote on any of my amendments.”

“One also has to understand that comparing one country’s tradition to another is not the correct way. Continental systems, for example, operate on an entirely different foundation. They use panels rather than a single judge, and the panels will have three lawyers or judges and two lay people, or it could be a different …”

“Earlier we discussed the fact that other countries do not have a jury system, and that is correct. Scotland was referred to, and it was probably an inadvertent misunderstanding, but I understand that Scotland still has a jury system for certain offences; there are 15 jurors for criminal matters, and 12 for civil cases.”

““very high levels of uncertainty””

“Real operational failures are also contributing to delay. In one case at the Old Bailey, a trial that was expected to last three months went for five, largely because the defendants were not brought to court on time. Around 40 sitting days were lost waiting for prisoner transport, which is the equivalent of eight rape …”

“Sir Brian Leveson recommended that a case should be heard by the Crown court bench division, with no right to a jury trial, only if it carried a potential sentence of 24 months or more. To change the maximum sentencing period in the magistrates court without proper consultation and debate in Parliament is a fundamental…”

“We have discussed the issues with the backlog of cases, and I have maintained for the last week or so that it is not juries causing these problems. Members will be pleased to know that I will not go into the full list of cases and data I spoke to earlier, but if there is better triaging of cases, earlier and more effec…”

“The Government’s case is that judge-alone trials will be faster, but that claim has no reliable evidential foundation. The Criminal Bar Association highlighted that the estimate relied upon—that judge-only trials may be 20% quicker—was itself described as being subject to”

“Since then, the rules have changed massively. Now, in a lot of cases, previous convictions can be brought in, which means that a lot of cases involve applications to do so. As the jury is separate from the judge, it is not prejudiced by other things. That is important because, at the end of the day, the fact that a per…”