Rape conviction rates are “disgracefully low”, Policing Minister Kit Malthouse has admitted, as he acknowledged that “there is a problem” with violence against women and girls.
Speaking ahead of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s conference speech on Tuesday morning, Kit Malthouse told Sky News the government will “redouble our efforts” to make public spaces safer for women.
The policing minister also admitted that “too many feel unsafe in the public realm” and said the government has “apologised profoundly” for the drop in rape convictions.
Image: Kit Malthouse said rape conviction rates are ‘disgracefully low’
Asked if he accepts that there is a problem in the UK with violence against women, Mr Malthouse said: “Oh yes, I think we all accept that.”
He added that this is why the government published a violence against women strategy in the summer.
Advertisement
Mr Malthouse told Sky News that since he has been policing minister the government has “done a lot of work in this area”, adding: “I have been leading the work in the government on the regrettably, disgracefully low conviction rates that we have around rape and sexual assault.”
The policing minister said while there has been “a lot of work that is ongoing” on reducing violence against women, “we still have a problem in this country”.
More on Priti Patel
Related Topics:
He added that this has been encapsulated in the response to the murder of Sarah Everard.
Image: Priti Patel is expected to tell the Conservative Party conference audience that she will ‘redouble’ her efforts to make women feel safer in public places
Mr Raab – who is also the deputy prime minister following last month’s cabinet reshuffle – is expected to say that the government ” will transform the way the justice system treats violence against women”.
It is believed the justice secretary will announce that the Victims’ Code, which focuses on victims’ rights and sets out the minimum standard that organisations must provide to victims of crime, will be enshrined in law.
He is also expected to add that his “number one priority” is “making our communities safer, so that women can walk home at night, without having to look over their shoulder”.
Meanwhile, Ms Patel will pledge to “redouble” her efforts to make women feel safer and to “ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law”.
Image: The PM said tackling the issue of violence against women and girls is his ‘number one issue’
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday morning, Mr Malthouse admitted the government “have to respond” to the response to cases including that of Sarah Everard.
“The fact that there are too many women and girls out there who just feel unsafe in the public realm does demand that we constantly increase and reinforce our efforts to make sure that they and everybody else feel safe,” the policing minister added.
The government “are very focused on this issue”, he said, pledging to try and drive rape and sexual assault conviction rates up.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also stressed that reducing the rates of violence against women and girls “is my number one issue” when speaking on BBC Breakfast.
Mr Malthouse also told Sky News that Insulate Britain protestors have “crossed the line” of peaceful protest after video footage was released showing a paramedic removing an individual from the middle of the road.
Describing the footage as “deeply distressing”, the policing minister said something “does” need to be done about the situation.
Image: Kit Malthouse said rape conviction rates are ‘disgracefully low’
“While we obviously all value the right to protest, there is a difference between causing disruption and causing damage,” he said.
“We believe that these protesters and some of the others that we have seen in the last couple of years have crossed the line between exercising their right but also their responsibility towards the rest of us and something needs to be done.”
Mr Malthouse added that the government will be “announcing a raft of new measures” to curb protests such as this later on Tuesday.
Mr Raab will be making his conference speech at 9.50 with Ms Patel’s following at 11.50.
A new report suggests the UK Treasury is working to sell up to $7 billion worth of seized Bitcoin, but one person has slammed the report as “sensationalism” amid a crypto bull run.
Consumers will get stronger protections with a new water watchdog – as trust in water companies takes a record dive.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed will announce today that the government will set up the new water ombudsman with legal powers to resolve disputes, rather than the current voluntary system.
The watchdog will mean an expansion of the Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) role and will bring the water sector into line with other utilities that have legally binding consumer watchdogs.
Consumers will then have a single point of contact for complaints.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the new watchdog would help “re-establish partnership” between water companies and consumers.
A survey by the CCW in May found trust in water companies had reached a new low, with fewer than two-thirds of people saying they provided value for money.
Just 35% said they thought charges from water companies were fair – even before the impact could be felt from a 26% increase in bills in April.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:20
‘We’ll be able to eliminate sewage spillages’
Mr Reed is planning a “root and branch reform” of the water industry – which he branded “absolutely broken” – that he will reveal alongside a major review of the sector today.
The review is expected to recommend the scrapping of water regulator Ofwat and the creation of a new one, to incorporate the work of the CCW.
Image: A water pollution protest by Surfers Against Sewage in Brighton
Campaigners and MPs have accused Ofwat of failing to hold water operators to account, while the companies complain a focus on keeping bills down has prevented appropriate infrastructure investment.
He pledged to halve sewage pollution by water companies by 2030 and said Labour would eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in a decade.
Mr Reed announced £104bn of private investment to help the government do that.
Victoria Atkins MP, shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural Affairs, said: “While stronger consumer protections are welcome in principle, they are only one part of the serious long-term reforms the water sector needs.
“We all want the water system to improve, and honesty about the scale of the challenge is essential. Steve Reed must explain that bill payers are paying for the £104 billion investment plan. Ministers must also explain how replacing one quango with another is going to clean up our rivers and lakes.
“Public confidence in the water system will only be rebuilt through transparency, resilience, and delivery.”
Embedding human rights into crypto systems is a necessity. Self-custody, privacy-by-default, and censorship-resistant personhood must be core design principles for any technology. The future of digital freedom depends on it.