May 2026

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Luke Akehurst voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Florence Eshalomi voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Nadia Whittome voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Olivia Blake voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Perpetrators must not be allowed to use the family courts to further their abuse. While the family courts already have a range of tools designed to protect victims, we are going further by rolling out the child-focused courts model nationally.

I thank my hon. Friend for again speaking up on behalf of domestic abuse victims. I remember the powerful debate that he secured on protecting children from domestic abuse. The Government recognise the vital role that legal aid plays in supporting victims of abuse. Child-focused courts, otherwise known as pathfinder courts, have been rolled out to 10 court areas, most recently the Isle of Wight in January. Legal aid is available in child-focused courts for victims of domestic violence or those a

I thank the hon. Member for raising this important issue. Alongside the roll-out of child-focused courts, more work needs to be done to look at coercive control. I know it is an issue of real interest to many across the House, and it is something that the Government take very seriously.

I thank my hon. Friend for her consistent efforts to raise the issue of online harms. Whether it is physical, verbal or online, abuse is abuse, and this Government are determined to tackle violence against women and girls online as well as off. We are making it illegal to take or make intimate images without consent, including deepfakes. Our new deletion orders will ensure that courts can require offenders convicted of intimate image offences to delete images of their victims. The VAWG strategy

Those of us who have spent years campaigning to address violence against women and girls know that we are building on the work of pioneers. Baroness Harman was one of those pioneers, and I am looking forward to working closely with her across Government to deliver our VAWG strategy. As part of that we will be delivering the new victims’ code, which will set out the service, support and information that victims are entitled to. We are supporting victims with the largest ever investment of £550 mi

Sam Carling voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Katrina Murray voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Sadik Al-Hassan voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Parliamentary appearance by Mr Toby Perkins

Oliver Dowden voted AYE on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

T4. I have heard from victims of domestic abuse and stalking about the harrowing journey they face in rebuilding their lives. For many, the one thing that gives them comfort is the knowledge that their abuser cannot reach them from behind bars, but Government changes to category D prisons can now allow these offenders to be moved to open conditions much earlier than before, despite their crimes being exempt from standard determinate sentence 40—SDS 40—because of their recognised higher risk. Wil

Paulette Hamilton voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Kim Leadbeater voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)