Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks out over Crime Bill following two Kill the Bill marches in Sheffield

Two Kill the Bill marches were held in Sheffield in recent weeks which saw crowds gather to demonstrate against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that would give police more power to restrict protests.

The Labour leader visited Sheffield last week, in between the two protests, ahead of the local elections in May.

Initially, Labour was set to vote for the Bill in its second reading in Parliament but changed stance after the Metropolitan Police used physical force against attendees at a vigil for Sarah Everard.

When asked about the Bill during his visit to Sheffield, Sir Starmer said: “The crime Bill we had in Parliament was a huge missed opportunity because if we think about what a lot of people have been talking about over the last few weeks, it’s violence against women and girls and many, many girls said we don’t feel safe out in city centres, town centres and on the streets after dark, there is a level of abuse and harassment that hasn’t been dealt with.

“This Bill was the chance to do something really profound about that and what did the government do? It put a Bill before parliament that said more about protecting statues than it did about protecting women and girls. That is a government that has lost sight of the priorities that really matter and that is why we voted against it.”

He also said the Conservatives’ accusation Labour was “on the side of criminals” by opposing it was “complete rubbish”.

Sir Starmer said: “This comes from a government that has cut our number of police officers, cut our number of support staff, where crime has gone up, the conviction rate has gone down, it’s just ridiculous to call the Conservative Party the party of law and order.

“When your crime rates are going up and your conviction rates are going down, you have no right to start lecturing other people about criminal justice.”