Plymouth MP's campaign to change Prisoners Bill passes final Parliamentary stage
Luke Pollard says it's 'really good news'
Last updated 5th Nov 2020
A law to force paedophiles, like Vanessa George, to name their victims has passed its final Parliamentary stage.
Plymouth MP Luke Pollard has been campaigning for the change following the convicted paedophile's release last year.
He says he has done it to stop other families going through the same thing the victims of George's crimes had to.
It also means that those affected will know what happens to the offender, and won't find out via other sources.
That is exactly what happened to George's victims, who all found out about her release via local news outlets and social media.
The Bill also implements Helen's Law that Labour MP Conor McGinn MP has been working on.
This is when a murderer refuses to name the location of a body after they have been convicted of murder.
Reflecting on the news, Luke says the campaign has been hard:
"If I am honest, speaking about child abuse in the House of Commons has been really hard.
"Talking about sexual abuse of babies and toddlers is something horrific but I knew that doing this was the right thing to do.
"Since news of Vanessa George’s release was announced, I have been campaigning first to keep her behind bars.
"When that wasn’t possible, it was to change the law so her refusal to disclose the names of the children of abused children can be taken into account when release decisions are being made.
"This Bill showed Parliament at its best, with cross-party working, Government backing Labour MPs in their campaigns with party politics, collaboration between the Commons and Lords and a firm focus on the victims. I want to thank everyone involved."