SOCIAL MEDIA IN PRISONS
I’ve written again to the Prisons Minister after another one of the men responsible for the death of Tavis Spencer-Aitkens was found using social media behind bars. It’s now my understanding that all of those convicted in relation to Tavis’s death have posted on social media from prison in some form. This is a completely unacceptable state of affairs and cannot be allowed to continue. I’ve raised it before, including in a meeting with the Prisons Minister earlier this year and in the House of Commons. But despite the steps the Government is taking, this crime continues to happen.
The latest case involves Kyreis Davies who posed for a Snapchat post alongside another inmate. As well as asking the Prisons Minister to investigate this latest post and bring Davies to book, I’ve also written to senior management at Snapchat to call on them to act to take this account down immediately.
I said in the House of Commons last month that I shared the anger of many that Davies’s sentence was reduced from a minimum of 21 years to just 16 years on appeal. The decision was completely out of touch with what the majority of the public consider justice to be. I think many will feel that posting on social media behind bars will add yet more weight to the argument that Davies should not have had his sentence reduced at all.
I will not stop raising this issue until social media is out of our prisons, and victims, their families and our community don’t have to go through the anguish these posts cause.
SUPPORTING IPSWICH TOWN CENTRE
Our town centre is at the heart of life in our town but it faces many challenges which have only been made far greater by Covid-19. That’s why I used a question in Parliament today to call on the Government to release the £25 million Town Deal Funding allocated to Ipswich in the October funding round, in line with our local strategy for the regeneration of our town centre.
A lot of work has gone into developing a clear strategy for our town centre under the Ipswich Vision Partnership, and I hope the Government will recognise that come October.
Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State of Housing, Communities and Local Government who responded to my question today came to Ipswich during the General Election where I gave him a tour of the town centre and made the case for Ipswich to be included in the Fund. Now we’re in the Fund, I’ll continue to do everything I can to make sure Ipswich town centre can benefit as much as possible from it.
Clearly the future of our town centre is far from certain and this money will not be a magic bullet. But it’s a positive step which we must make the most of.
BLM UK
This week I used my weekly column to talk about the Black Lives Matter UK movement. I have become increasingly concerned that some of the policies they promote, actions they undertake and language they use such as “white privilege” and “white fragility” are doing more to create division within our society. I was shocked and saddened by the brutal murder of George Floyd and fully acknowledge that a number of my constituents have and continue to endure racism but what we need is a unifying message and set of goals that seek to eliminate racism in all its guises without seeking to stoke further division and separateness.
Fortunately we are not America and race is not as divisive an issue in this country as it is across the Atlantic, we all have a duty to ensure this remains the case, this can be done by calling out and dealing with genuine racism whilst at the same time steering clear from organisations that promote a divisive agenda.
SHAMIMA BEGUM
Yesterday I was on Channel 5 news to discuss the Court of Appeal’s recent decision to allow terrorist Shamima Begum to return to the UK. We rightly stripped her of her citizenship after she rejected this country and everything it stands for by joining the murderous ISIS terror organisation.
I share the disgust of many at this latest court decision. I’ve said before that the some of the judgements coming out of our courts at the moment just don’t reflect the public interest. And I’ve requested to speak in Parliament next week on the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill which will see terrorist offenders spend longer in prison.
ILLEGAL CHANNEL CROSSINGS
Written a piece about the approach I believe we ought to take in tackling the illegal crossings we’ve seen over the past few months. In short, I think we need a more robust approach, one that is prepared to do whatever it takes to get a grip of the situation in the short term. It’s all well and good looking to come to an agreement with France but ultimately if this is not possible we need to be prepared to take the situation into our own hands regardless of international opinion or convention. Australia took a very robust approach and were successful in dealing with a similar challenge.
Our ability to tackle illegal immigration should not be dependent on our ability to strike an agreement with another country. Taking back control of our borders must mean that we are able to deal with this issue by ourselves if necessary. I know a number of you are very concerned about the illegal crossings we’ve seen and I’ve received hundreds of emails and letters on the matter. I share your concerns which is why I’ve published this opinion piece.
