Dame Karen Bradley
MP for Staffordshire Moorlands · Conservative · United Kingdom
“The Leader of the House knows that I have enormous respect for him, and I am sure that this is quite a difficult statement for him to make, particularly as the right hon. Member for Makerfield will face unfavourable comparisons with Boris Johnson, who did come to this House and make a statement before the summer recess.”
“I thank the hon. Member—my friend from the Select Committee—for an enjoyable visit. We learned a lot, but it was a challenging visit, as there was an awful lot to take in. This is a problem that affects countries across the world; it is not an issue that can be solved by one country alone. We have to work together.”
“Members for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray), for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) and for Bassetlaw (Jo White) were all there to see the work being done. It is very impressive to see the work being done jointly with the UK.”
“Someone’s immigration status may make them more vulnerable, but it is a financial crime—it is the exploitation of one human being by another for financial gain.”
“Like many on this side of the House, I have very fond memories of Ann. She made the effort to travel to Staffordshire Moorlands—not many people do; we are quite isolated— [ Interruption. ] Yes, they come to Alton Towers—the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) is quite right.”
“It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon). He was absolutely right about the tone we need to employ. I recognise the comments he made about his constituents. I suspect that his constituents have a very similar view to my constituents—we are not too far apart.”
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“I welcome the statement, which my Committee will look at carefully. Professor Alexis Jay will be in front of us next Tuesday and I am sure that we will come back with further points, but I have two points today. The first is about the duty to report. In many cases, reports were made but the victims were simply not listened to and not believed, so what can the Home Secretary do to ensure that changes? Secondly, since I am not clear from her answers so far, will the local inquiries have statutory powers to compel witnesses—yes or no?”
“I am pleased to see that Staffordshire is not on the list and that we will have our county elections this May. The Minister will know, however, that my constituents do not want to be subsumed into greater Stoke-on-Trent. Will he give them some reassurance—any at all—that they will have the choice and can say no if they do not want to be part of greater Stoke-on-Trent?”
“A focus on neighbourhood policing is welcome; we have seen it in Staffordshire for some time. Police leaders have said that if they do not have the flexibility to recruit as they need to, there is a risk that police officers will end up having to fill vacancies in specialist areas. Will the Home Secretary listen to police leaders and give them that flexibility?”
“My hon. Friend is making a very effective speech and showing that this is a process, not an event. Governments have been working hard on this issue for many years, and this year marks 10 years since the introduction of the coercive control offence, which I was very proud to take through as a Minister in the Serious Crime Act 2015. That is the kind of change that Governments have built on and worked on, and we are all on the same page on this issue.”
“I remember the media at the time saying, “Why on earth are you doing this? There is no way that this can ever be prosecuted. There is no way that anyone can ever understand it. There is no way that they can ever get the evidence.” I remember saying to one journalist, “So is that your answer—just don’t do it, because it’s too hard?” Surely we need to do these difficult things, but we also need to recognise that seeing the fruits of our labours will take a long time and that these things do not change overnight.”
“We need men to be part of the solution and to work with us. I have sat where the Ministers are sitting, and I suspect that I have felt the frustrations that they are feeling. I have probably felt what one of the Ministers—the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips)—is feeling particularly acutely this week, having been through many media onslaughts on social media and otherwise over the years. I have immense sympathy for what she is going through. There is frustration as well because the levers that can be pulled by a Minister to resolve these issues are really quite limited. We can legislate—of course we can—but the police need to understand what the crime looks like. I refer here to my taking the coercive control offence through Parliament 10 years ago.”
“Anybody—any Government—who stands still on this issue will go backwards, because the offences change and technology enables new offences. When I was a Minister in the Home Office, the idea of deepfake imagery or even revenge porn was simply not coming across my desk. It simply was not happening; the technology was not there. We all have to be on our guard, and must make sure that we all work towards tackling those crimes. I agree with the Minister, who made a powerful speech, that this is not a problem that can be solved only by women. Women and girls are predominantly the victims, but we need men to be part of the solution, and I am grateful to see so many men in the Chamber today. There have been too many occasions when taking part in this sort of debate has felt like being in a women-only club.”
“I was not expecting be called so early. I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in this important debate. I have taken part in many debates on these topics over the years, and they show the House at its best, because they are when we come together. This House, when speaking with one voice in our determination to tackle these issues, is incredibly powerful. What we say is heard beyond these walls; it is heard by law enforcement, the judiciary, the media and others. I am grateful for this chance to speak together and come together to find ways to tackle horrendous crimes. As I said in my intervention on the shadow Minister, we are talking about a process, not an event. We are all working towards the eradication of these crimes, and making them socially unacceptable in our country, but that is a massive challenge.”
“They can look at those images because nobody knows that it is them, nobody knows what they do in the real world, and nobody knows that they are looking at them. It also seems absolutely normal, because everybody else is doing it in this room. This is an incredibly difficult thing to solve. It is really difficult to get normal policing methods to work in this environment.”
“I am keen to make sure that police, fire and crime commissioners and mayors who have responsibility for these areas have the correct funding to commission the services that they need to support victims. My final point is on the online world. Not only do new offences get created, but the online world has provided a place of safety for perpetrators. Behaviour that is simply unacceptable offline is something that is normalised, socialised and anonymised online. A person can go online and find somebody who has a similar interest to them in something that is totally and utterly unacceptable. They have some images that they can share. They do not know who they are dealing with, so therefore it is fine.”
“A mother with children needs a different place from a young girl, and that young girl needs a different place from somebody who has severe learning disabilities, mental health issues or addiction. There are all sorts of problems that victims face—often caused by the abuse—and they need different approaches. I have made the point about multi-agency working, but we cannot arrest our way out of the problem. There needs to be a strategy that looks across all aspects of the four Ps, as they used to be called in my time at the Home Office—the pursuit, protect, prevent and prepare strands. We need to make sure that we take every step possible. I welcome the ringfencing of funding that the Minister talked about.”
“A victim of female genital mutation will be different from a victim of modern slavery, and a victim of domestic abuse will be different from a grooming victim. They all have individual needs. Even within the categories, there will be different needs. It may be better for some victims of domestic abuse to remain in their homes and for the perpetrator to be removed and tackled. [Interruption.] Absolutely. I see the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley doing a thumbs away sign. I totally agree with her. However, for other victims that will simply not be practical. There need to be places of safety that those victims can be taken to. Those places of safety need to be different for each victim.”
“But all victims are different. The abuse that one victim has suffered will be different from that of another victim. Let us be clear: getting someone who has been a victim of one of these most horrendous of crimes to accept that they are a victim is incredibly difficult. To be brave enough to pick up the phone to dial 999 is a really big step, because that victim has probably been enduring the abuse over many, many occasions. She does not believe that she is a victim. She thinks that she is in control. She thinks that she can deal with this problem without involving the authorities. We have to get to the point where victims are able to accept that they are victims and where we give them the support that is needed. That is why the multi-agency approach is so important.”
“I remember going to visit the A&E at the Royal Stoke, my local acute hospital, 10 years ago and seeing the domestic violence specialists spotting the signs of domestic abuse. That is vital. So, too, is the schoolteacher recognising that when the child is coming to school late every day, or missing their class, something is wrong and action needs to be taken. We cannot always leave this to the police and law enforcement. We must make sure that there is multi-agency working. Having domestic abuse specialists in 999 centres and emergency centres is another a good step. I introduced a VAWG strategy in 2016 when I was a Minister. Another one was introduced in 2021, and I know that we will get another one soon. I am certain that that will be victim focused. These are crimes that cannot be tackled without putting the emphasis on the victims.”
“When those levers need to be enforced by law enforcement, local authorities, the health service or education, there is a real frustration that there is not a simple direction that can be given so that everyone understands the changes that, as a Minister, one wants to see. That is why cross-departmental work is so important. I believe that inter-ministerial groups are being deployed again, which is an excellent step, and I wholeheartedly congratulate the Government on that. When I was a Minister, such groups were so, so important. We must also ensure that there is a multi-agency working. We have to make sure—I saw this myself as a Minister—that the police are not the point of last resort.”
“I do agree with my right hon. Friend: I fully support what the Government are doing and I fully support their aims and goals. We might have slightly different ways of getting there, but all of us in this House want the same thing. We need to be supportive. If we scrutinise the Government and suggest areas where they might improve their position or their policies, it is not a criticism of their intent; it is merely that we think there may be other ways of doing things or that there may be improvements that could be made. I took such suggestions when I was a Minister in the faith in which they were intended, and I hope that that will happen here. I am certain that, with the two Ministers on the Front Bench, that will absolutely be the case. Earlier, I was talking about the levers that can be pulled.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. This is something that has to start in schools and in the workplace. We need to ensure that all of society appreciates, understands and gets behind this. To conclude, I started the internet safety strategy as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. I am pleased that we have the Online Safety Act 2023, but if the Government wish to do more, they have my wholehearted support. I might scrutinise their work, but I will support them.”
“My hon. Friend is making a powerful point: what is illegal offline must be treated the same way online. I fully support everything she is saying.”
“My hon. Friend is making another powerful speech, and her real-life examples of how we can change things with a multi-agency approach are so powerful. Her point on clarity is important, and I urge her to keep fighting to make sure we have that clarity.”
“May I urge the Minister to introduce the FIRS scheme as soon as possible and commence it at the earliest possible opportunity? What steps has the Home Office taken to ensure the proposed new Chinese embassy, at the Royal Mint site, has proper oversight, so that we do not allow it to become a new base for spies?”
“The residents of Staffordshire Moorlands do not want to be subsumed into Stoke-on-Trent. Can the Minister guarantee that they will not be forced into a devolution deal against their will, and that decisions that matter to them will continue to be taken in the Moorlands and not in Stoke-on-Trent?”
“The situation in Syria will inevitably lead to changes and increased pressure on migration routes. What steps have the Government taken so far on asylum claims from Syrian nationals? Can he commit to making sure that the Home Affairs Committee is kept updated on any changes?”
“We all hope that the Bill is absolutely right—that is what we want—but there is nothing wrong with increased scrutiny. Would it not be right for the Government to accept new clause 1, so that we can ensure that there is a review? Through that, we can get the evidence, and then we will know whether we have got it right.”
“When the Modern Slavery Act was introduced in 2015, section 54 was indeed world leading. We were the first developed country to introduce any such legislation, but other countries have overtaken us. For many years, I have raised the US’s “hot goods” provisions, which have been referred to today. May I urge the Minister to look at introducing a form of regulation that would put the onus on the importer to prove that no forced labour was used to make a product before it was allowed to enter the UK supply chain, as happens in the US?”
“The estimated spend on the agreement with Iraq is around £800,000, which compares with, I think, the £476 million being spent on our agreement with France. Has the Home Secretary made an estimate of how much she expects that money will contribute to reducing the numbers crossing the channel?”
“I welcome the Government’s announcements on neighbourhood policing. We have already seen a real move in this direction in Staffordshire, under the leadership of the police, fire and crime commissioner, Ben Adams, and our chief constable Chris Noble, so I very much welcome what the Minister has said. She will know, however, that the National Audit Office has raised concerns about the experience of officers when it comes to neighbourhood policing. What work will she do to ensure that officers have the right degree of experience, so that their effectiveness at neighbourhood policing is maximised?”
“Everybody in this House wants an end to small boat crossings and the risks that people take to cross the channel. The Minister has announced a number of measures this week. When does she expect those measures to start producing a reduction in crossings? Will she commit to keeping the Select Committee informed on progress?”
“As Chair of the Procedure Committee in the previous Parliament, I made a point of making sure that when Ministers had breached the rules, it was clear to them that both the Committee and others were very unhappy. Will the Minister confirm that he will make sure that the revised ministerial code makes it clear that announcements need to be made to this place first, as has always been the case?”
“I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and for advance sight of it. Although the measures that she has announced are welcome, many of them will take time to introduce. In the meantime, what is she doing to ensure confidence throughout the system, and will she ensure that the Home Affairs Committee is kept updated on progress in making these welcome changes?”
“When we do, we learn that many of those are common—we all face the same challenges—but there are some unique things that other countries face that we need to be aware of, working on and debating in this place. That is where the CPA, the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union, BIPA and the British-American Parliamentary Group can bring parliamentarians together and give us that insight. I am delighted that the Bill is before us today and I support it wholeheartedly. I hope that, by the time we reach the next CPC next month, it has received Royal Assent, and the promises that Ian Liddell-Grainger gave to the conference last year can be delivered on. I wish the Minister all the best in his endeavours.”
“The great advantage of the CPA is that it involves Parliaments at all levels of Commonwealth countries, which means that there is a chance to meet people from devolved Parliaments, regional Parliaments and provincial Parliaments. When we are in this place, we are very focused on what is happening here. I do not think that many people outside Westminster are aware of what we are doing, but we are really focused on CPA and ICRC status, and we will be for some time to come this afternoon and beyond. Beyond that, however, people are looking at other things in other Parliaments. Last week, at the IPU assembly in Geneva, it was wonderful to meet parliamentarians from around the world and hear what they are doing, what their focus is and what challenges they face.”
“It has ringfenced funding from the FCDO to promote across the Commonwealth the work that we can do together to tackle that heinous crime. In fact, I am grateful to have been called now, because I will shortly disappear to speak on a panel in a seminar that the CPA UK is holding on strengthening legislation to address modern slavery in supply chains and gender-based violence. I am delighted to be able to speak in this debate before I take part in the reality of the CPA’s work, which is an incredibly powerful tool for all of us. If hon. Members have not yet been involved in an inter-parliamentary group, please join one. They will make friends for life, learn about what is going on in the rest of the world, and meet people from other legislatures —not just national legislatures.”
“I will restrict my comments to the CPA, which is the body with which I am most familiar. On that note, I pay tribute to Maria Miller, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) did. She tried many times to pass this Bill—she was an enormous advocate and a true champion for the CPA. I also pay tribute to Ian Liddell-Grainger, late of this parish, who stepped into the role of chairing the CPA with great aplomb, as hon. Members will be able to imagine, when the previous chair passed away suddenly. He made certain commitments at the last Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Ghana, and it is great that they will be fulfilled before the conference in New South Wales next month. I first became aware of the CPA’s work when I was a Minister, because the CPA UK has a specific role with regards to modern slavery.”
“It is a great honour to follow the hon. Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous), who I have attended many inter-parliamentary events with, and who is an active participant of the CPA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and everything else he can be involved in. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. My comments will be short, because we have seen this Bill before and this is probably the third time that I have spoken in one of these debates—definitely the second time on Second Reading. I am delighted that it has been brought back and that we will have the chance to get it to Royal Assent. It is vital for the reputation of this place, for our view and for the work we do with the CPA UK.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the House for putting its confidence in me to chair the Home Affairs Committee. I look forward to working constructively with the Department on home affairs matters. In that vein, may I welcome the news that the Government will recruit 200 new personnel to process modern slavery claims? Can the Secretary of State confirm whether those personnel are new head count, how long the training will take, and whether she is confident that the head count will survive the forthcoming Budget and spending review?”
“As the Secretary of State who secured funding from the Treasury for the first two deals—the Belfast city deal and the Derry/Londonderry and Strabane deal—I am very pleased that they are going ahead, but I have concerns, because I remember the impact that that announcement had on business confidence across Northern Ireland. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with businesses involved in the private sector element of these deals, to make sure they know that there is a commitment to them?”
“The Foreign Secretary said he is establishing a trust fund and that Chagossians will be able to apply for British citizenship. What discussions did he have with the Chagossian people about that? Can he confirm that the Home Office is ready to deal with the applications?”
“Those of us from Staffordshire Moorlands are immensely proud of our beautiful area and unique identity. Can the Prime Minister guarantee that we will not be forced into a devolution deal or local government reorganisation against our will?”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on her speech. Does she agree that there would be full support on the Conservative Benches for measures to ensure that the supply chain for solar panels does not include slave labour?”
“My final point relates completely to my constituency: the status of the Staffordshire Moorlands. We are a very proud and unique area. We are part of the Peak District national park. We have beautiful Churnet valley, which is desperate for area of outstanding natural beauty status. But we face challenges. We are concerned about what might happen with devolution, as we do not want to be in a unitary authority across north Staffordshire. We want to keep our unique identity. We do not want the green belt between our villages and the city built on. We want powers to ensure that locally elected people make the decisions on solar farm development, battery storage development, pylons and other local matters. I urge the Government: please, no top-down targets; please, no imposition from above. Listen to the people on the ground.”
“I am also pleased that there will be a Bill to settle the constitutional status of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. We did start that process, but we could not get it finished and it is incredibly important. Finally, I will just comment on global issues and the middle east. I have seen at first-hand, through the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, just how difficult these issues are to address. There are disruptors in the world who want to do us harm. They are making sure that the views around the world are the views that they want to see. We need to be incredibly careful and take that very seriously, because we need the hostages released, we need a ceasefire and humanitarian aid in, and we need to ensure that international law is observed.”
“I have been heavily involved in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK and I co-chaired the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. It is good to see so many friends from all sides who were involved in those organisations. I would say to any new Members to get themselves involved with these fantastic bodies, which give us an insight into global issues and build connections and links with our friends in Parliaments around the world. I welcome a new Bill to look at legacy in Northern Ireland. That issue can be tackled only if there is cross-party support on the ground in Northern Ireland. It cannot be imposed from here. We all want a solution to that issue. It was raised time and again at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, so I am glad that it will be looked at.”
“It is good to know that from the lessons we have learned from that attack we can take legislative steps to make things safer. I also pay tribute to the progress made from the work of a previous Prime Minister soon to be in the House of Lords, Theresa May. She introduced the race equality audit, which looked closely at what was going on in the public sector and other organisations. Without that work, it would not be possible for a new race equality Bill to be proposed. She was the one who took the issue of Hillsborough seriously. She made sure that we had the full inquiry and have found out the truth. It is quite right that the Hillsborough law will be brought forward. In the previous Parliament I had the honour of chairing the British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.”
“We cannot stand still on this issue. We constantly have to keep moving on it, because perpetrators get wise and work out ways to buck the system. I am very pleased to see that that has been included. I am pleased to see a new law on spiking—something that many colleagues were looking to introduce before the general election. I am also pleased that there will be a mental health Bill—something that many of us pushed for. Again, I pay tribute to a previous Member, Dame Jackie Doyle-Price, who was such an advocate for that and raised it on numerous occasions. I am pleased we will see Martyn’s law introduced. I was the Secretary of State in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport when the Manchester Arena attack happened.”
“He is one of the kindest Members of Parliament, and it was lovely that he was chosen to be the proposer. I want to pick up on the comments made by the seconder, the hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), about my very good friend Nickie Aiken. We miss Nickie desperately, but we are so pleased that she got her Pedicabs (London) Act 2024 through. It was an achievement for her, and I know that the hon. Lady is also benefiting from that. I am struck that much in the King’s Speech feels like a process, not an event. I look at many of those Bills, and I go back to when I was a Minister. I think about the work that I did in the Home Office on the violence against women and girls strategy and to strengthen our domestic abuse laws. I am very pleased to see a Bill that we will be working on.”
“It is an honour to be called in this debate, Mr Deputy Speaker. Let me start by thanking my constituents for putting their faith in me again and returning me to this place for a fifth term. I want to comment on the previous speeches. There have been some excellent speeches, particularly the three maiden speeches that we have heard. This Parliament is unique, as is every Parliament because each and every one is made up of the Members. We heard today in those maiden speeches that we can have faith that this will be an excellent Parliament, because they showed us that we have some truly great champions for local areas here in Parliament. I also want to comment on the two opening speeches. The hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) made a wonderful speech to open the debate and propose the Loyal Address.”
“I recall spending many hours as a Home Office Minister taking through statutory instruments for exactly this kind of occasion, even though nobody opposed them and everybody could see that they were very good, particularly for the hospitality industry. I declare an interest: my brother is a pub landlord and my father was before him, so I know how much such orders matter. I fully support the hon. Lady’s Bill. Does she agree that these events are exactly the kinds of times when we need to get together in the great British pub?”
“When I was Minister for modern slavery, it was the faith groups that were able to offer the most support to victims of modern slavery. Mr Deputy Speaker, you are one of the most amiable and approachable chaps I know, but I suspect that many of your constituents find it easier to speak to their local priest, rabbi or other religious leader than to you, because of the trust that people have in the religious and faith leaders they interact with. Therefore, it is incredibly important for you to have a dialogue with your faith leaders, as it is for all of us here, because it is how we find out about what is going on for our constituents and how we can get support to them. We cannot overstate the importance of faith and its interaction with politics, and how we must all be part of it.”
“Friend really does provide great support and offers them hope that the work they are doing can have a positive outcome. My hon. Friend was also able to demonstrate the UK’s lead in this area at the first Inter-Parliamentary Union parliamentary conference on interfaith dialogue, which was held last year; it is so far the only such conference, but I hope there will be more. My hon. Friend was one of the star speakers at that event. She was able to come in and talk about the work we do here in the UK. This was an event that brought together faith leaders and politicians from around the world. There were some authoritarian regimes represented, to try to open up that dialogue and show that freedom of religion and belief is a very valuable matter, and that we as politicians need to communicate more with faith leaders than we probably do.”
“I rise to speak briefly in support of the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce). Putting the special envoy for freedom of religion or belief on a statutory footing is an extremely good measure that we should all support. I want to very briefly talk about the way I have seen my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton carry out her role in my capacity as chair of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. My hon. Friend regularly attends events that we hold here, where we host parliamentarians from around the world. She has the ability to connect with those parliamentarians to offer them the support they need. Very often, those politicians might be subject to persecution in their own country because of their religion, despite being elected politicians. My hon.”