The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Mims Davies, has spoken in support of a Private Members Bill, which was originally introduced to Parliament by the now Deputy Government Chief Whip Esther McVey, and has now been taken forward by the Member of Parliament for Lewes Maria Caulfield.
Commenting Mims said:
“Private Members Bills are vital in allowing issues that have been raised at ground level with backbench MP’s to become law and change people’s lives for the better.”
“The Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Bill, which had its Second Reading on Friday, will do exactly that. In 2016, approximately 13,000 mobile phones and 7,000 SIM cards were found in prisons. A rise from around 7,000 in 2013. These figures demonstrate a substantial increase in the level of threat now posed to prisoners, prison officers, visitors and our communities.”
“Having met with constituents in local surgery appointments over concerns of coercive controlled crime and reoffending; and with Winchester Prison employing a large number of people across the Eastleigh constituency, I feel that it is absolutely vital that we do whatever we can to reduce the threat that prisoners can pose to people both within, and outside of prisons.”
“This Bill would rightly bring in powers to block phone signals in our prisons, stopping prisoners’ ability to coerce others, and I am therefore delighted to have supported it.”
The House of Commons voted to approve the Second Reading of The Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Bill on Friday, meaning that it will now move forward to the Committee Stage.