Member

Related to this are Amendments 296, 297 and 299, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Owen, and government Amendment 300. Once again, I thank the noble Baroness for bringing forward these amendments. As she set out, they seek to extend the time limit for bringing a prosecution for the remaining summary-only intimate image offences. As your Lordships will be aware, the usual time limit for the prosecution of summary-only offences is six months, but we agree that the very nature of intimate image abuse is such that victims may be unaware that these images of them have been taken, recorded or shared until that period has already passed. It simply is not right that victims of these nasty offences are denied justice in this way.