Richard
Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on press coverage of
problems at HMP Northumberland, said:

“While
conditions in HMP Northumberland will shock many people, it should come as no
surprise to this Tory Government – Labour has repeatedly warned them that this
is what is happening in prisons on their watch.

“The
Justice Secretary must set out the terms of the investigation she is conducting
into the running of the prison by Sodexo. She needs to set a clear deadline for
Sodexo to prove they can run HMP Northumberland effectively and warn that if
they fail to do so, HM Prison and Probation Service will.

“It
is not acceptable to run a prison with insufficient staff, where prisoners can
take drugs and threaten staff, and where core security functions don’t work and
where fences are cut and alarms fail.”

ENDS

Richard
Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on press coverage of
problems at HMP Northumberland, said:

“While
conditions in HMP Northumberland will shock many people, it should come as no
surprise to this Tory Government – Labour has repeatedly warned them that this
is what is happening in prisons on their watch.

“The
Justice Secretary must set out the terms of the investigation she is conducting
into the running of the prison by Sodexo. She needs to set a clear deadline for
Sodexo to prove they can run HMP Northumberland effectively and warn that if
they fail to do so, HM Prison and Probation Service will.

“It
is not acceptable to run a prison with insufficient staff, where prisoners can
take drugs and threaten staff, and where core security functions don’t work and
where fences are cut and alarms fail.”

ENDS

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the
International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report, said:

“This report exposes the Government’s complete and shocking
failure to maintain its commitment on defence spending to our Armed Forces and
to the country.

“Just weeks after the Prime Minister was lecturing our allies
about increasing spending to meet the 2 percent NATO commitment, it is now
clear that her Government is unwilling to commit the necessary resources to our
nation’s defences.

“As the Defence Select Committee has shown, the MoD was already
barely scrapping over the 2 percent mark and had changed its accounting methods
to give the illusion of keeping the commitment. To be spending less than 2
percent of GDP on defence is utterly unacceptable, particularly in this time of
immense global uncertainty.

“Labour is committed to spending at least 2 percent of our GDP
on defence spending, as we consistently did when in government.”

ENDS

Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to warnings from
the Institute for Government about deficiencies in the Government
Transformation Strategy, said:

“Ministers need to pay attention to these warnings. There’s a real
lack of ambition and clarity in the government’s digital transformation
strategy.

“While the Government tried to avoid criticism by sneaking it out
after the Brexit debate, they cannot ignore the details which they’ll be judged
on in the long term.

“Theresa May and her Government should throw their weight behind
this strategy to make sure a digital transformation actually takes place – and
this isn’t just another flashy strategy that falls by the wayside when
Ministers realise they haven’t thought through the details.”

Ends

Debbie Abrahams
MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the findings of the
Intergenerational Commission report, said: 

“We welcome the
news that pensioners are now much less likely to be in poverty, continuing the
trend put in place by the last Labour Government which saw a huge decline in
poverty among older people.

“Nevertheless,
this report recognises the ‘high level of inequality’ among pensioners. We
cannot allow this Government to hide behind talk of a wealthy older generation,
while these inequalities remain.

“Unlike the
divisive Tories, we will not trade one generation off against the others by
claiming that an improved social security settlement for older people must come
at the expense of working families.

“That’s why
Labour has committed to extending the triple lock and protecting social
security for older people until 2025, and reversing cuts to Universal Credit
Work Allowances supporting people in low paid work.”

ENDS