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Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 2 February 2026

Debate

Crime and Policing Bill

Contribution

My Lords, I promise I did not allocate the amendments in these groups, so I am sorry if noble Lords have had enough of me. In fact, I have had enough of me today—but we are on the home stretch. It will be obvious that Amendment 459A is a probing amendment, but it raises a very important point. It makes absolutely clear just what Clause 191 is going to permit. I believe it is beyond the bounds of what any responsible legislature should accept. As we all know, at 39 weeks’ gestation, a pregnancy has reached full term. At this stage, one is no longer speaking of premature viability, uncertain outcomes or developmental limitations; one is speaking, as clinicians will confirm, of a baby about to be delivered. Do we really believe that the criminal law should be entirely silent about the responsibility of the mother at that point? Should Parliament not insist upon a basic threshold of protection for the viable child who is quite literally on the threshold of birth?

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