Former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, will advise on introducing the new Law - the country’s first ever - calling it a ‘golden opportunity to recast the criminal justice system as a criminal justice service fit for victims’.

Labour plans for a radical shake up of the justice system with the introduction of the country’s first ever Victims’ Law, are taking another step closer.

The new law will give victims of crime new entitlements to minimum standards of service as well as the ability to hold those services to account when standards are not met.

The Victims’ Law will be an Act of Parliament and will set out in one document the rights and entitlements for victims, all with real teeth. This will replace the Government’s toothless Code of Conduct which is unenforceable and won’t deliver the culture change needed.

This is likely to include, amongst other things, a new right to be kept fully informed of progress in the investigation of crimes, new protections for vulnerable victims facing cross-examination, and the ability to demand a single point of contact, rather than being passed from pillar to post.

This will be a crucial first step in transforming the criminal justice system into a criminal justice service, geared towards protecting the public and supporting innocent victims of crime in bringing those guilty to book.

Keir Starmer QC, the highly respected former Director of Public Prosecutions, has agreed to chair a Victims’ Taskforce to come forward with proposals for exactly what should be included in such a law

The Taskforce will also include Labour Peer, Doreen Lawrence, whose campaign for justice has changed the face of British policing; and Peter Neyroud, former Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and a criminologist at Cambridge University.

Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said:

“Our police and our courts rely on the confidence of victims. We need them to come forward, report crimes and give evidence. But too often they are at best taken for granted and, at worst, treated with contempt.

“At the moment, there are a variety of codes and charters across various Government agencies which are toothless, confusing and inadequate.

"Whether it’s the father of Milly Dowler treated in court like a criminal, the 13-year-old victim of sexual abuse labelled a ‘sexual predator’ by a judge, or the victim only finding out their attacker has been released from prison by bumping into them in the supermarket, our justice system is failing too many victims.

"One Nation Labour is no longer prepared to tolerate this. Victims represent some of society’s most vulnerable people. That’s why we need nothing short of a transformation if we are to deliver a criminal justice service that supports members of the public who have been innocent victims of crime through no fault of their own.

"I’m delighted that Keir Starmer has agreed to chair a Taskforce to set out plans to make this happen. As former Director of Public Prosecutions, he knows better than anyone the reforms the justice service needs in order to put victims at its heart.

"Working with Doreen Lawrence and Peter Neyroud, this Taskforce will ensure we are in a position to implement a new Victims Law, as a priority of a new One Nation Labour government.”

Keir Starmer QC said:

"I am delighted to be involved in this crucial piece of work. Victims are entitled to have their rights clearly set out and enforced by a victims’ law. This is a golden opportunity to recast the criminal justice system as a criminal justice service fit for victims. But it will only succeed if there is an attitude-shift across criminal justice. Those delivering criminal justice have been on the back foot for far too long when it comes to victims rights.”