Dominic Raab is expanding a long-promised victims’ law to give himself controversial powers to veto the release of some prisoners and change the make-up of parole panels.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill, which will be unveiled in parliament on Wednesday, will also attempt to ban the small number of inmates serving whole-life terms from marrying behind bars.
The law, which was first mooted by the Conservative government in 2015 and formally promised in 2021, was originally drafted as the “Victims’ Bill” and underwent lengthy public consultation that ended over a year ago.
But ministers have now bolted on other measures sparked by a separate review of parole processes and motivated, in part, by public outrage over high-profile cases.
Diana Fawcett, chief executive at the charity Victim Support, said it welcomed many measures in the bill that “will make a real and meaningful difference to the experience of victims”.
“But we are seriously worried that expanding its scope to include prisoners will be a distraction and delay it even further,” she added.
“Victims have been waiting years for this bill – it is a vital opportunity to improve their rights – and we don’t want this focus to be lost.”
The End Violence Against Women Coalition accused the government of undermining the spirit of the law by planning to repeal the Human Rights Act with its upcoming Bill of Rights.
“As far as we know, the VAWG sector was not consulted on proposals to expand the scope of the bill from the victims’ bill to the Victims and Prisoners Bill,” a spokesperson added
“A long list of priorities from the sector remain unfulfilled, and the bill instead delivers the justice secretary immense powers to intervene in the parole process. We’re concerned that this bill is creeping away from its intended aim of improving victims’ experiences.”
There is currently no Victims’ Commissioner in post to scrutinise the plans, after Mr Raab reportedly blocked the re-appointment of Dame Vera Baird and restarted a lengthy recruitment process.
Labour accused the government of “letting victims down”. Shadow justice secretary Anna McMorrin said: “It’s been eight years and seven justice secretaries since they first promised this bill, and now they’ve had to combine it with parole reform. Yet again, the Tories overpromise and underdeliver.
“Victims are now waiting years for a trial because of record court backlogs, with criminals getting off scot-free at a record rate.”
A report on the original draft Victims’ Bill by parliament’s justice committee found it fell “short of what is required” and continued to put the onus on victims to “claim rights they are often unaware of”.
Isabelle Younane, the head of external affairs at Women’s Aid, said the proposals do “not go far enough to lead to meaningful change for survivors of domestic abuse”.
“Violence against women and girls is an urgent public priority and it is vital that we see the changes in this legislation that survivors and our members have told us they need,” she added.
The government insisted its proposals put victims “at the heart of the justice system” and that the repackaged law still contained all measures from the original Victims’ Bill.
It aims to put the principles of the Victims’ Code, which provides minimum standards of treatment, on a statutory footing and enhance scrutiny of prisons, probation, police and the courts.
The bill will also create an independent public advocate to represent the interests of people affected by disasters like Hillsborough, the Manchester Arena bombing and the Grenfell Tower fire.
New parts would give the justice secretary the power to “veto the release” of a new tier of offenders including murderers, rapists and terrorists in the interest of public safety, the Ministry of Justice said.
Decisions to delay prisoners’ release mean they spend a shorter time under licence conditions (PA)
It is not possible for the government to extend a court’s sentence or prevent release indefinitely, so any veto would increase the period spent in custody against the time released on licence under probation monitoring.
The bill would also create a legal requirement for ex-police officers and detectives to sit on parole panels for “top-tier” cases.
It aims to legally ban prisoners serving whole-life orders from marrying or forming a civil partnership.
Only 66 inmates in England and Wales are currently subject to the term, and officials could only point to one who had attempted to marry.
Serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly threatened legal action after his application to marry was blocked, with a letter sent to the government by his solicitors calling the move “unlawful”.
The justice secretary previously gave himself the power to veto inmates’ moves from secure to open prisons, which the head of the Parole Board warned meant people were being freed “without crucial testing” in conditions where they are allowed controlled access to employment, education and the local community.
In January, chief executive Martin Jones said the Parole Board was “very cautious in its decision making”, adding that previous governments had sought to downgrade political influence in release decisions, basing them on “evidence and the law” rather than handing more power to ministers.
