Chalk says less serious offenders to be let out of jail up to 18 days early to ease overcrowding problem Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, is making his statement on prisons now. He starts with what seems like a repeat of what he said in the article he published in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday. He says sentences have become longer for some offenders. And the government will go further, he says; it will legislate to ensure rapists have to serve their entire custodial terms. He says reports saying judges would not be allowed to send rapists to prisons were not true. But he says the justice system does need reform. The prison population has grown. And that is mainly because the remand population ha grown so much, he says. He says the government is spending £400m to provide more prison sentences. He says the government will use powers it has to allow the prison service to let some prisoners out of jail up to 18 days early. This will not apply to “anyone serving a life sentence, anyone serving an extended determinate sentence, anyone serving a sentence for an offence of particular concern, anyone convicted of a serious violence offence, anyone convicted of terrorism, [and] anyone convicted of a sex offence. Chalk says this power will only be used in certain areas, and for a limited period. And offenders let out early will be subject to conditions, he says. This could include being tagged. Early evening summary Labour has described the Ministry of Justice’s confirmation that it wants to get rid of short jail sentences for most offenders, as part of a response to the prison overcrowding crisis, as “a damning indictment of this government’s collective failure”. (See 5.59pm.) Rishi Sunak has described the Hamas attack on Israel as a “pogrom” and “an existential strike at the very idea of Israel as a safe homeland for the Jewish people”. (See 3.37pm.) In a statement to MPs, he said that at least six Britons were killed, and 10 more were missing. He offered very strong support for Israel, and for the Jewish community in the UK, but he said he had urged the Israeli government to take “every possible precaution” to avoid civilian casualties. (See 3.48pm.) Keir Starmer adopted a very similar tone in his response. (See 3.55pm.) MPs from all parties expressed their horror at the killings by Hamas, although some MPs did dissent from the goverment/opposition frontbench line by criticising Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians and accusing it of breaking international law. The Conservative MP Peter Bone repeatedly hit and verbally abused a member of his staff, often asked him for massages and on one occasion put his bare genitals in the other man’s face, according to a report by a Commons regulator. Labour says prisons announcement "damning indictment of government"s collective failure" Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, starts by saying: As everybody knows, the first stage of rehabilitation is to acknowledge your mistakes and make a sincere apology to those affected and let down by your actions. She says this announcement is “a damning indictment of this government’s collective failure”. Chalk says he will extend the early removal scheme for foreign offenders, so that they could be sent home up to 18 months before they are due to be released. The government will seek to strike more prisoner transfer deals with other countries, he says. He says the government will consider increasing the sentencing discount for offenders who plead guilty at the first opportunity. And, indeterminate indefinite sentences (imprisonment for public protection, IPP – a scheme set up by the Labour government, but now abolished), the government will review what to do about offenders still in jail on these sentences, he says. He says they are “a stain on our justice system”. Chalk says government will legislate to create presumption that sentences of less than 12 months should be suspended Chalk says more than 50% of people given sentences of less than a year go on to reoffend. These sentences are expensive, and they risk “further criminalising offenders and trapping them in a merry go round of short sentences”. He says the government will legislate to create a presumption “that custodial sentences of less than 12 months in prison will be suspended and offenders will be punished in the community”. He goes on: I can announce today that we are doubling the number of GPS tags available to the court to ensure that offenders can be monitored to track that they are going to work and also to ensure their freedom is curtailed in the evenings and weekends with robust curfews of up to 20 hours a day. Chalk says this does not mean all short sentences will be abolished. In some cases they are appropriate, he says. Chalk says he also wants wider reform to prison policy. He says there are three elements to the plan. First, the most dangerous offenders should be locked away for longer, he says. Second, he says there will be more emphasis in prisons on rehabilitaton. And, third, he says he will ensure lower level offenders are more likely to get community sentences, which could cut reoffending. Chalk says less serious offenders to be let out of jail up to 18 days early to ease overcrowding problem Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, is making his statement on prisons now. He starts with what seems like a repeat of what he said in the article he published in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday. He says sentences have become longer for some offenders. And the government will go further, he says; it will legislate to ensure rapists have to serve their entire custodial terms. He says reports saying judges would not be allowed to send rapists to prisons were not true. But he says the justice system does need reform. The prison population has grown. And that is mainly because the remand population ha grown so much, he says. He says the government is spending £400m to provide more prison sentences. He says the government will use powers it has to allow the prison service to let some prisoners out of jail up to 18 days early. This will not apply to “anyone serving a life sentence, anyone serving an extended determinate sentence, anyone serving a sentence for an offence of particular concern, anyone convicted of a serious violence offence, anyone convicted of terrorism, [and] anyone convicted of a sex offence. Chalk says this power will only be used in certain areas, and for a limited period. And offenders let out early will be subject to conditions, he says. This could include being tagged. At the start of proceedings in the Commons and the Lords today there was a minute’s silence for innocent Israelis and Palestinians who have been victims of the war. Colum Eastwood, the SDLP leader, says Israel should not be dropping bombs on innocent children in Gaza. He says that in Northern Ireland they know that “unspeakable violence should not be met with unspeakable violence”. There are still many MPs trying to ask a question. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says he will run the statement until 5.30pm if necessary, at which point he will move on to the prisons statement. Kim Johnson (Lab) asks if Sunak has requested an immediate ceasefire to prevent the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza. Sunak says the government is urging Israel to take every precaution. The Labour MP Imran Hussain asked Sunak: Will the prime minister make it clear to the Israeli government that laying siege to civilians in Gaza by cutting food, water, power and medical supplies, and indiscriminate airstrikes killing civilians is in clear violation of international law? And just what is the international community doing to stop the horrific and inhumane treatment of Palestinians? Sunak replied: The entity responsible for the suffering we are seeing is Hamas and Hamas only. Labour MP asks PM to ensure he does not add to "vilification of Palestinians and Muslims" when condemning Hamas The Labour MP Afzal Khan was heckled as he asked Rishi Sunak to review his statements about the Israel-Hamas conflict to avoid adding to the “further vilification of Palestinians and Muslims”, PA Media reports. Khan said: A six-year-old Palestinian child was murdered in Chicago because of his Muslim faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas. In the last week we have seen a sharp rise in Islamophobia rhetoric and the dehumanisation of Palestinians, and tragically yesterday we saw the consequences of this in the murder of this little boy. Will the prime minister review his statements about the conflict and ensure he does not add to the further vilification of Palestinians and Muslims when condemning the actions of Hamas? Sunak advised Khan to examine his statement to the Commons, adding: We will not tolerate anti-Muslim hatred in any form and will seek to stamp it out wherever it occurs. Layla Moran (Lib Dem) says members of her extended family live in Gaza, and their house was destroyed by the Israeli army. They are now taking refuge in a church, because they are Christians, she says. She urges the PM to honour the promise that the Palestinians will eventually get their own state. Sunak announces £10m further aid for people in occupied Palestinian territories Here is the No 10 news release about the £10m in aid for people in the occupied Palestinian territories announced by Rishi Sunak in his opening statement. It says: Today’s announcement is a 37% uplift to the existing £27m of UK funding this year which is already providing critical support to the region, including an extra £10 million announced by the Foreign Secretary during his visit last month. We will consider further support depending on the changing humanitarian needs on the ground. Anum Qaisar (SNP) says families in Gaza are being wiped out. She says some children are writing their names on hands so they can be identified if they are killed. What help is being given for children? Sunak says aid spending in the region is being increased by about one third. Rosena Allin-Khan (Lab) urges the PM to seek reassurance from Israel on four points; that incendiary weapons won’t be used in Gaza; that hospitals and medics will not be targeted; that food and water will be restored; and that there will be no military occupation or annexation. Sunak says he is confident the Israeli PM does not want to see regional escalation. He says the UK is urging Israel to do what it can to avoid civilian casualties. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, says people on protests talking about Palestine being free from the river to the sea were calling for Jews to be removed from Palestine. He says the police should take action against conduct like this. Sunak agrees with this point. He says the police are still reviewing video footage from the demonstrations at the weekend. Further action is possible, he says. Rehman Chishti (Con) asks who might replace Hamas in Gaza. Did Sunak discuss this with the King of Jordan, and Mahmoud Abbas. Sunak says that is a good question. This issue was part of the conversation, he says. He says Gaza needs “stable leadership”.