Victoria Atkins fails to confirm that new bill will contain key measure in original proposal

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A government minister has refused to confirm whether the new domestic abuse bill would ban the cross-examination of victims by alleged perpetrators in court, a key provision of the original bill, which stalled due to the prorogation of parliament.

Victoria Atkins, the MP for Louth and Horncastle and parliamentary undersecretary of state for safeguarding, was speaking after the government announced the appointment of Nicole Jacobs as its first domestic abuse commissioner.

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After a series of warnings from charities that survivors could not wait any longer for critical protections and support, Atkins was questioned about the contents of the bill and the delays since 2017 to preventing such cross-examinations.

“All bills in those early stages fall at prorogation, but I am delighted that the prime minister and home secretary have, pretty unusually, confirmed that the bill will be in the Queen’s speech,” Atkins told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“At this point in time, I am at the limit of time in terms of what I can say about what is in the Queen’s speech.”

About three-quarters of the victims of domestic killings of adults are women. The number of those killed last year reached a five-year high of 173, an increase of 32 on the previous year.

Cash-strapped local authorities have cut spending on refuges by almost £7m since 2010, leading to closures of key support services.

Asked whether reversing the cuts to women’s refuges would better help victims of domestic abuse than the creation of a new role without any formal powers, Atkins said the government had recently consulted on the issue and that funding for refuges was vital.

“The consultation is very much about helping us understand what is available and what more needs to be done,” she said.

Atkins added that Jacobs, a former chief executive of the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Violence, would be tasked with mapping the provision and ensuring consistency of services across the UK.

Pressed on what she could achieve in the role, Atkins said: “The fact that a commissioner has been appointed, I hope, will give charities some comfort.”

Jacobs said she wanted to end the “postcode lottery” of services that many victims faced, adding that she was relieved the bill would be reintroduced to parliament.

“It was heartening how quickly politicians from all parties were asserting how much they wanted to see the bill in the Queen’s speech and back on track, as well as from the public and people in the court system,” she said.

The appointment comes after the Labour MP Jess Phillips, who has championed the bill, said last week domestic abuse victims were “simply collateral damage of party politicking”.

She has also criticised how James Brokenshire, the former communities secretary, promised £19m to fund women’s refuges but nothing was confirmed in the recent spending review.

Writing in the Sun on Wednesday, Boris Johnson said the criminal justice system was built “entirely around dealing with the perpetrator” and criticised an absence of long-term support for victims.

He said new measures would be set out this week to help more people challenge unduly lenient sentences, speed up “plans to enshrine in law the rights that victims of crime deserve” and to give survivors of domestic abuse a voice and a champion with the appointment of the commissioner.