Transcript

DAVID LAMMY

-context. The need for the review is illustrated by the fact that things have got worse. The fact that as we sit here this morning, 51% of the youth prison population is from a Black, Asian, or minority ethnic background is something that should concern us all. And is a major, major development when you look at that proportion in the public, as a whole.

And I think it's also the case that the fact that violent crime has risen. We've got 132 homicides in London, the highest in 10 years. And overall, the level of violent crime is the worst it's been since the war. And clearly, many of those victims are from a Black, Asian, and minority ethnic background. Mean that since my review, it would be crazy, frankly, if I suggested that things have not got considerably worse.

Having said that, as you've heard from others, it is right to say that this was commissioned by the government. It was commissioned in a cross-party sense. And it is absolutely the case that I have detected quite a lot of activity within the Ministry of Justice, and indeed, in the agencies that they work with. And particularly I would say in the area of prisons, there has been a lot of activity. Activity should not be confused for outcome, and measurable outcome.

But also, I think it's also right to say that the seriousness and the complexity of this subject means that it would also be churlish to have expected dramatic change just a year on from the government publishing its response to my review.