Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, responding to the speech by David Lidington at the Conservative Party conference, said:

“It is clear that the Conservatives have abandoned any attempt to fix the crisis they created in our prisons and justice system. David Lidington’s speech was mostly a rehashing of previous announcements, presumably he hopes no one will noticed that the Conservatives have run out of ideas.

“Talk of reform and rehabilitation is empty rhetoric unless staff numbers are substantially increased. One third of prisons have seen further cuts in their officer numbers this year alone, while officer leaving rates are up three fold under this Government and plans for a further real terms pay cut for prison officers will deepen the crisis further.

“It is shocking that David Lidington didn’t even bother to mention legal aid, let alone outline solutions to help the hundreds of thousands of people who have been priced out of the justice system by the Conservatives’ cuts.”