Letter to the Lord Chancellor regarding 10 individuals who have flouted and disrespected our justice system
I have now written to the Lord Chancellor about the 10 individuals who have flouted and disrespected our justice system by failing to appear in court in connection to the incident on Norwich Road last November. Warrants have now been issued for their arrest and I’ve asked the Lord Chancellor to put the full force of the Government behind bringing these people before our courts.
The individuals in question appear to be foreign nationals and there is a concern that some may have fled the country in an effort to avoid justice. Even if this has happened then they must still be brought back to answer the charges against them. Freedom of movement cannot mean that crimes can go unanswered for. This would send out completely the wrong message about our faith in the rule of law and would undermine our ability to deter further crimes from happening in the future if people get the impression justice can be avoided.
I’ve also called on the Lord Chancellor to ensure that when these 10 individuals are caught and do appear before our courts, they receive robust prison sentences for their behaviour which has shown a complete lack of respect for the rules we all live by.
I have also been in touch with Suffolk Constabulary today to stress that I will stand by them in doing what needs to be done to find these people and bring them to justice. I’ll keep providing updates on this issue moving forward.
Letter to the Attorney General about Kyreis Davies sentence
I have now written to the Attorney General about Kyreis Davies’s sentence reduction from 21 years in prison to 16. Despite some important steps from the Government to get tough on sentencing and law and order over recent months, it’s clear that certain judges remain frustratingly lenient and out of step with public opinion.
I’ve asked the Attorney General to take every appropriate action to address this issue within our justice system and build public trust. At the moment some judges’ interpretation of justice just doesn’t line up with the public’s. Our justice system must be on the side of victims and their families who should have confidence that those who do them harm will be behind bars for an appropriate stretch. I’ll continue to push the Government on this issue over the coming weeks.
STATEMENT: Kyreis Davies sentence reduction
I was appalled to hear that Kyreis Davies’s sentence has been reduced from 21 years to 16 years. This means that he will be let out in his early thirties, having taken away the life of Tavis who had his whole life ahead of him. When the original 21-year minimum sentence was handed out, there was a general sense that the justice system had been robust and that justice had been done. And this has been sadly undermined by this sentence reduction.
I am not persuaded by any suggestion that Kyreis Davies’s age at the time of the murder justifies this sentence reduction. Being 16, he was certainly old enough to know right from wrong. And in fact, he was given a shorter original sentence than two of his older accomplices who were also found guilty of murder.
Unfortunately, this appeal adds to the sense that justice hasn’t been settled in Tavis’s case. It follows multiple instances of social media use in prison of those convicted of Tavis’s death. These harmful actions only cause additional pain for Tavis’s friends and loved-ones and they should never have been allowed to happen. After Callum Plaats, who was convicted of manslaughter, posted on social media in January, bragging about how he only had five year’s ‘light work’ left to serve half his sentence, I raised it directly with the Prisons Minister and I stressed the importance that he receive further punishment. I was given assurances that punishments were being brought but whatever punishment was dispensed in this case, it clearly failed to deter Aristote Yenge who was caught posting on social media in April. Aristote Yenge was convicted of Tavis’s murder.
Tavis’s death was dark moment for our town and we must be able to move on as a community. This means that justice must be upheld and that those responsible serve their full sentences. This isn’t just a fundamental question of justice, but these sorts of despicable crimes must be deterred in the future. I will continue to raise this case at the highest levels and I’ll be writing to the Attorney General to express my deep concerns about this latest sentence reduction.
Response to using coronavirus as a weapon
A response to one of my written questions states that the maximum penalty for those found guilty of using coronavirus as a weapon against emergency workers has increased from 6 months’ imprisonment to 12 months. It will be up for the Courts to make sure that where necessary these sorts of sentences are handed out. As I’ve stated before I think its appalling that certain individuals have taken to deliberately spitting and coughing on Police officers over the past few weeks, effectively using the potential spread of COVID-19 as a weapon.
About 10 days ago I tabled a written question to the Ministry of Justice requesting that the law come down extremely hard on such individuals. Please see below the response I have just received. A key element of the Ministerial response: “It is vital that offenders using coronavirus to threaten others during this pandemic face the full force of the law. Such behaviour is an assault and where this is directed at an emergency worker we have recently doubled the maximum penalty for assault from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment. We have already seen significant sentences imposed on those using coronavirus as a threat.”
Coming down like a ton of bricks on criminals during national emergency
Today, rather unexpectedly I got the opportunity to raise my first question to the Prime Minister. Following the Prime Minister’s announcements this week on social distancing and the passage of the Coronavirus Bill its clear that more pressure will be placed on Police resources as they are asked to enforce the social distancing guidelines. My concern is that certain criminal elements might look to exploit this national emergency to look promote their own insidious agendas. I asked the Prime Minister to confirm that if this does happen he will come down like tonne of bricks on individuals in question. I was glad that the Prime Minister confirmed that if necessary he would indeed come down like a tonne of brinks on such criminals. I really hope it doesn’t come to this but its best to be vigilant during times like these.
Home Secretary Priti Patel back in Ipswich
Great to have Home Secretary Priti Patel back in Ipswich this morning. I invited her to Ipswich last week to meet our local police officers and to make the case for the Police funding formula to be reviewed, at the moment it is not fair on Suffolk, on average £154 is spent on policing per head of the population, the national average is £194. Suffolk Police are getting 54 extra Police Officers but I think it needs to go further.
We had a detailed discussion at Landmark House with the Chief Constable and local officers about the incidents of the past few weeks and I relayed to the Home Secretary the concerns that have been raised with me by my constituents. Following this we visited St Matthew’s Street where Richard Day tragically lost his life three weeks ago and then onto the Town centre where the Home Secretary was able to discuss matters with many of my constituents directly. The Government have committed to look at the police funding formula however the timeline hasn’t yet been confirmed. There is also an opportunity for Suffolk to benefit from the Safer Streets Fund that is focused on tackling theft and robbery. Most of my constituents who have discussed crime and anti-social behaviour with me feel that there needs to be a greater police presence not just in the Town centre but across the Town, I agree with them, however if this is going to happen then the Police needs the resources to do so it also needs its time to be freed up so it can do so. I was very glad the Home Secretary so soon after I raised my concerns with her and I think it says a lot about her determination as Home Secretary to tackle crime.
Fairer Police Funding for Suffolk
Tom Hunt makes case for fairer police funding for Suffolk before joining bobbies on the beat
Yesterday (05/03/20) at Business Questions, Tom Hunt called on the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, to set aside time for Parliament to debate the Police Funding Formula which currently leaves Suffolk Constabulary underfunded and which doesn’t reflect the crime problems Ipswich is facing.
While Hunt welcomed the 54 extra police officers for Suffolk as part of the Government’s boost to police spending, he was also clear this does not yet go far enough.
Hunt raised the tragic case of Richard Day, who was fatally attacked on St Matthew’s Street in Ipswich last month, as he underlined the need for more police on the streets in Ipswich. He called on the Government to review Police Funding Formula and address police numbers in Suffolk so that further such tragedies can be avoided in the future.
The importance of a greater police presence in key parts of the town has also been brought to fore recently after the burglaries at the Emilia Hair and Beauty Studio on Great Colman Street, and at Willys & Millys café on Northgate Street. Hunt has been clear that crime and anti-social behaviour is the number one challenge facing Ipswich and these break-ins are another reminder of this.
Given the importance of getting policing right, Hunt has joined the Parliamentary Police and Fire Service Scheme where he will spend 15 days of the year working on the front line with junior police officers. He’ll join them on nightshifts and patrols, and see how they train and investigate crime. He will also have the opportunity to work with armed police, dog and helicopter units as well as traffic officers.
Over the course of the scheme, Hunt hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges police officers face every day. He will bring back what he has learned in Parliament to hone his case for getting on tough on crime and seeing more police resources in Ipswich.
Following his intervention in Parliament, Tom said:
“I won’t stop making the case for more money to be spent on the police in Suffolk. The brutal attack on St Matthew’s Street and the break-ins we have seen in the town centre recently highlight again why a greater police presence is needed in Ipswich.
“That’s why I pressed the Government to move ahead with a review of the Police Funding Formula which determines how much money each police force receives. In its current form, the Formula doesn’t reflect the challenges we are facing in Ipswich.
“Officers in Suffolk deal on average with more crime investigations and incidents compared to the average officer from a metropolitan area. And this is despite the fact we have the 3rd lowest police staffing numbers per 1,000 residents when compared to all other forces in the country.
“The Police Funding Formula must be reviewed to take this into account. It’s an essential step if we are to make Ipswich safer and prevent further serious crimes like the attack on St Matthew’s Street.
“To get further to the heart of this issue, I’ll be joining the police on the front line for 15 days over the year as part of the Parliamentary Police and Fire Service Scheme. I’ll be working closely with junior officers to see the challenges they face every day and how we can better support them in their role keeping us safe. I plan to bring what I learn back to Parliament as I continue to make the case for greater police funding and a zero-tolerance approach to crime.”
Police response guidance
Tom teams up with Suffolk MPs to demand fairer funding for Suffolk Police
Yesterday, Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich, intervened in the House of Commons debate on the Police Grant Report to demand fairer funding for Suffolk Constabulary.
The Police Grant Report is how Parliament approves the central police funding allocation for each force every financial year. This year the Government is pumping an additional £1.1 billion into policing nationwide with Suffolk receiving up to £9.2 million extra.
While this additional funding is welcome, only £152 is spent per head of population on policing in Suffolk, compared to a national average of £192 per head. And if Suffolk received the national average funding, Suffolk Constabulary’s budget would be increased by nearly £30 million.
Hunt intervened in the speech of fellow Suffolk MP, Peter Aldous, to make clear to the Government that Suffolk should not be perceived as a sleepy county which doesn’t have real issues when it comes to crime. He said that this should be addressed as part of a review to the police funding formula. At present, the police funding formula is opaque, complicated and disproportionately hits rural forces. This includes rural forces which have to police large towns like Ipswich. Ipswich faces many of the same serious crimes more commonly associated with urban areas.
The importance of this debate was underlined for Hunt as he brought to the House’s attention the attack on St Matthew’s street in Ipswich on Saturday night. This is the type of serious crime which Suffolk needs resources to help prevent and solve.
In a further intervention, Hunt was also clear that extra funding was only half the solution to safer streets. The police must also have the right priorities when tackling crime. Hunt said: “the police should spend far less time hounding members of the public for what they may or may not think on societal issues, such as in the case of Harry Miller and Humberside police, and far more time taking the side of the law-abiding majority and cracking down on the activities of Extinction Rebellion activists that we saw in Cambridge last week”.
Hunt was referring to the case of Harry Miller who had police turn up at his place of work to “check his thinking” for his tweets online about transgenderism. He was told his tweets would be recorded as a “non-crime hate incident” even though he had not committed a crime. The police’s initiative in this case stands in stark contrast to the police’s inaction on Extinction Rebellion activists who have been able to shut down cities with near impunity.
Following his interventions yesterday Tom said:
“It is with immense sadness that we have now learned that the man fighting for his life after being attacked on St Matthew’s Street has now died. I raised this incident in Parliament as it really underlines the importance of getting better funding for our police and getting more police out on the streets.
“I welcome this Government’s commitment to increasing police funding, including the £700 million for 6,000 new police officers. Yet this is also an example of how Suffolk goes under-resourced.
“My understanding is that Suffolk will only get 54 of the 6,000 extra officers despite the fact that Suffolk has the third lowest staffing numbers relative to population when compared to all other forces. The importance of fair funding is why I intervened in Parliament, alongside other Suffolk MPs, to put the case to the Government that our County’s police need more resources.
“Ultimately, the police funding formula needs to be reviewed as it disadvantages rural forces. This includes rural forces which cover large towns like Ipswich and which deal with serious crimes more commonly associated with urban areas, like the St Matthew’s Street attack on Saturday night.
“I was also clear in Parliament that additional funding is only one part of making our streets safer. We must allow the police to prioritise protecting law-abiding people and solving real crimes. The resources we give them should not be spent reporting people for non-crime hate incidents because they happen to hold different views on societal issues.
“We have already seen fringe elements in our politics use the police to try to besmirch those that just happen to disagree with them. This must be avoided at all costs if we are truly to win public support in our efforts on law and order.”
Meeting with Policing Minister
Last night I met with the Policing Minister Kit Malthouse to discuss my concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour issues in Ipswich. I made clear that I think there needs to be a fairer funding formula that benefits Suffolk more than the current system and that there should be a zero tolerance approach to crime and anti social behaviour issues. I was glad the Minister agreed with my approach and he should know, when he was Deputy Mayor for Boris Johnson he was responsible for tackling crime across the capital and he did a very good job!