Danny Wright 🍉

In a difficult and dangerous world, a decade on from Brexit, there is a risk that Britain loses the confidence to lead and stand up for its values. I’m not prepared to let that happen. It is more important than ever that Britain stands for something. We have called for years for a two-state solution in the Middle East, but we must recognise that those words are meaningless unless we back them up with action. For too long, we have been hesitant to act, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel. Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government. The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in. The scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. More than 70,000 people lie dead - at least 20,000 of them children. Families and communities have been torn apart. Millions displaced. And the population of Gaza is now penned into just one third of the territory. I know that people across the UK feel very deeply about this issue - and so do I. Before I became Prime Minister, I said our country’s response had been too slow and simply not good enough. That’s why I committed to changing the government’s approach. I will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution - the best hope for peace and stability in the region - comes under attack. More settlements have been approved under the four years of this Israeli government than in the previous 20 years. The UN has reported more than 1,500 incidents of settler violence so far this year, aimed at driving out Palestinians. And the situation is growing worse, fast. The Israeli government has now approved 104 new settlements since it took office in December 2022, and ahead of the October elections in Israel, it is allowing tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement to go ahead. This would cut a swathe through the heart of the West Bank - snuffing out the hope of realising a two-state solution. It cannot be allowed to happen. That’s why we are announcing a new package of tough measures to put pressure on the Israeli government: First, we will ban the trade in goods with illegal settlements in Palestine. Second, we have formally changed the view of the British government to say for the first time that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful - independent of, but in line with, the conclusion of the international court of justice. And third, we will sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlements. That includes any businesses or investors that take part in the construction of the E1 settlement. In addition, we are announcing a new package of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. We are taking these steps because it is the right thing to do. I have condemned the monstrous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in the strongest possible terms - and continue to condemn Hamas. However, it does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank. The measures we are taking are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole, which would punish the Israeli people, many of whom disagree with their government’s position. The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government. And nor is the Jewish community in the UK. Blaming British Jews for the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wrong, plain and simple. And it is antisemitism, plain and simple. I met the representatives of the Jewish community just last week. I know the fear they live with day by day. My government will stop at nothing to ensure they are safe and to stamp out antisemitism in every part of our society. The measures we are announcing today are about protecting the only solution that could see the Israeli and Palestinian people living side by side in peace and security - something that people up and down the UK desperately want to see. The government I lead will keep working with our partners around the world to keep that hope alive.

Britain’s prisons crisis has its roots in a failure to add sufficient new places between 2010 and 2024. Just 500 places were added and 23 prisons were closed. As a result, the system is now dangerously close to capacity and we are running the risk of new offenders not being incarcerated in a timely manner. The situation must be gripped and that is what I have done in my first days as Prime Minister. But I have done so by trying to put myself in the shoes of victims of crime and seeing things through their eyes. My approach has been to maximise support for them and minimise the risks to public safety. For someone trying to rebuild their life after a traumatic experience, few things could feel more unjust than learning the person responsible for their suffering would be released earlier than thought. Yet that has been the painful experience of many victims. I understand their anger and anxiety. More than that, I share it. Because of that, one of my first decisions as Prime Minister was to pause the plan for early release in September and order an urgent review of the scheme. That has now concluded and, as a result, I have decided to make some significant changes to the plans I inherited. Sentences for rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences will now be excluded from the changes. This will be on top of the offenders who are already blocked because they have been deemed by the courts as the most dangerous prisoners. The truth is I wanted to go even further. I know there will be concerns about who will still be released early for other offences. I have pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do. I know I can look people in the eye and say to them there is nothing more I could have asked for without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months. Such an outcome would expose the public to enormous risk. Police would be unable to make arrests. Courts would be unable to send new offenders to prison. Our justice system would grind to a halt. All this is the reason why sentencing changes were rightly introduced in the first place. However, I am determined to do more to support victims and the public. So, as well as excluding those sentences for rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences, we will be introducing much tougher community measures. Nearly all offenders released will be tagged. The period of supervision will be toughened. And we will be imposing new conditions for offenders, including restriction zones agreed with victims. As part of the changes, we will be giving probation officers the power to ban offenders from driving, pubs and community events. There will also be a new package of support for victims because they must be placed at the heart of the justice system. This will be backed by £10 million in new funding to provide trauma-informed contacts for victims, alongside a new national helpline. The Government I lead will work to fix the prison crisis once and for all. I will not leave the same problems for my successors. We will deliver the fastest prison building programme since the Victorian era, with 14,000 new places expected by 2031. To avoid a repeat of this situation, I have also asked the Justice Secretary to identify other ways to free up prison capacity that will be more palatable to the public. First, I have asked him to review the indefinite sentences handed out between 2005 and 2012, called Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). This has left many hundreds of people in prison since they were young but without any prospect of release despite having already served very long sentences. Second, I have asked for the early release of more women prisoners to be considered, and to look at converting more of the women’s prison estate to hold male prisoners, given the lower risk they generally pose. Third, I have asked officials to consider faster returns of foreign national offenders to their country of origin. I have spent much of my political life campaigning for victims, from the families of the Hillsborough disaster to those affected by the infected blood scandal. I have seen the pain caused when people are let down by the very institutions meant to protect them. The changes we are announcing today will make a difference, but I do not pretend it is a perfect solution or that it goes as far as I would like. My commitment over the months and years ahead is to rebuild our justice system so that it commands the confidence of the public. This will not happen overnight and nor without difficulty. But we will deliver a justice system that the British people expect and deserve.