Starmer pledges to review minimum barrier heights in multi-storey car parks
The Prime Minister said he wanted to 'prevent future tragedies', and the Government will conduct a call for evidence on minimum barrier heights in car parks.
This came after Labour MP Peter Dowd urged Sir Keir to back his calls to increase the minimum required height of guarding.
Mr Dowd's Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill also proposes 24-hour staffing of such car parks, to improve safety.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Dowd, MP for Bootle said: 'Gabe Santer, a 15-year-old, fell to his death from a multi-storey car park in Liverpool in 2020. He's one of the many dying in such tragic circumstances, including in my constituency.
'My Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill seeks to prevent such deaths.
'Will the Government look carefully at its content as part of a national suicide prevention strategy?'
Labour MP for Bootle Peter Dowd raised the case of Gabe Santer (Chris McAndrew/PA)
The Prime Minister replied: 'The answer is yes, we will look at the content of it, and I'm grateful to him for raising it.'
He added: 'Across the House, we have all got tragic experience of suicide, and our thoughts are with Gabe's family and with his friends.
'We will conduct a call for evidence on part K of the building regulations about minimum guarding heights, so that necessary protections are in place to prevent future tragedies. We will also look at the contents of the Bill.'
Defence minister Maria Eagle previously presented 'Gabe's Law' to Parliament in 2023, in a bid to reform the safety of car parks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Spectator
The Tory newbies who fear they could be the last
It is a year today that the survivors of the 2024 Tory election disaster began to make their way to Westminster. Among the 121 Conservative MPs were 26 first-timers. Having lost so much talent last July, many of these now represent the party's best hopes for the future. But with the Tories down to just 17 per cent in the polls, some fear that the intake of 2024 could be the last one of any great size or significance. 'I didn't sign up to slog my guts out for five years, just to lose in 2029' says one. From bitter defeats often emerge impressive figures. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown first won their seats in 1983; William Hague's defeat in 2001 gave us David Cameron, George Osborne and Boris Johnson. The nature of the 2024 result meant that most of those 26 newbies were chosen for traditionally safe seats, some of which were being vacated by retiring cabinet ministers. Many newbies have long cultivated a political career and harbour hopes of serving in ministerial office. More than half are ex-councillors. 'A good crop,' is the verdict of one veteran MP. The first major decision made by this new intake was who to back for leader. Having only just arrived in parliament, they found themselves immediately buttonholed by various teams, asking for their support. Only one, Ben Obese-Jecty, decided to initially publicly back eventual victor Kemi Badenoch; Andrew Snowden later switched from Priti Patel. Seven of the group went for Robert Jenrick; five for James Cleverly. For some, this was an indication of a generational divide within the Conservative family. The Jenrick cluster remains close-knit in parliament: Jack Rankin and Katie Lam share an office while Lam and Nick Timothy work closely on grooming gangs. Sensibly, Badenoch offered jobs to the new intake as soon as the contest finished in November. Nine became whips; the others made Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs). Initially, there was an air of excitement among many, discovering parliament's novelties. One or two quickly became identified as 'characters'. Lincoln Jopp MC, is, at 57, the oldest. 'Great fun at the pub', is the verdict of one; 'A good future Chief Whip,' says another, 'because if he asked me to do something, I'd do it.' Shivani Raja, a 30-year-old former beauty queen, caused a stir by flipping Leicester East. John Cooper, Alister Jack's old spad who replaced him in Dumfries and Galloway, is praised among the intake for his low-key style and sharp mind. 'There's a lot of love for John', says one MP. Two names are often cited as being stand out stars: Lam and Timothy. Both, unsurprisingly, have prior Westminster experience as special advisers in the Johnson and May governments. Rebecca Paul meanwhile earned plaudits opposing elements of Kim Leadbeater's Bill to legalise assisted dying – something which all but four of the new intake opposed at Third Reading. Obese-Jecty meanwhile switched from being a whip to a PPS and has become a vocal critic of Reform UK on social media. An esprit de corps quickly developed. Aphra Brandreth, daughter of Gyles, has helped organise some of their regular dinners at favoured Italian haunts like Osteria and Sartoria. The eight new female Tory MPs formed a WhatsApp group too. Some 22 of the 26 signed a letter backed by the Next Generation Tories in September, urging the party to do more for young voters. Yet the subsequent pushback from senior Conservatives has frustrated those who feel they lack an outlet to channel their energies, at a time when older colleagues are less willing to play their part. Some have joined dining societies. Those on the right who are considered 'sound' were invited to attend the 92 Group dinner with Kemi Badenoch at the beginning of April. The biggest psychological shift among the new MPs came, unsurprisingly, in May. 'Some colleagues had been deluding themselves', reflects one of their peers. But the spectacle of watching 676 Conservative councillors lose across the country shook those in parliament. In Kent, the six Tory MPs watched as they lost 57 of the 62 previously held wards. It has added to the jumpiness and unease among much of the new intake, whose average majority is just 2,616. More than half have very marginal seats – a winning margin of five per cent or less – compared to one in five MPs across the House. Lam has the biggest, in Weald and Kent, with a majority of 8,422 and margin of 16.6 per cent. David Reed, MP for Exmouth and Exeter East meanwhile won by just 121 votes – a margin of 0.2 per cent. Both are on track to lose their seats to Reform, along with 14 of their peers, according to last month's YouGov MRP poll. In this scenario, just eight of the new intake hold on with Greg Stafford, MP for Farnham and Bordon, set to lose to the Lib Dems. So will they stick with Badenoch or gamble on change? There is no clear consensus at present. Having survived a near wipeout, the emphasis on patience from the leadership has not landed well. 'It's not about promotion,' said one. 'We're genuinely worried about the future of the party.' Another new MP says that they are preparing to put a letter in, ahead of 2 November, when Badenoch can be subject to a challenge under the rules of the 1922 committee. Ambitious, uneasy and a little restless, expect the new intake to make even more waves in their second year of parliament.
Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Palestine Action protesters arrested after defying terror ban
Palestine Action supporters have defied a terror ban hours after it came into force. Several dozen activists gathered in front of Parliament to show their backing for the group, despite it being against the law to display support for a proscribed organisation. The designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist group came into effect at midnight on Friday after a late-night legal attempt to delay it failed. Hours later, activists held up placards reading: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' In a statement on social media before the protest, Scotland Yard had warned that people showing support for the group would face prosecution. As the protest was under way, the Metropolitan Police said: 'Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square. 'The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. Arrests are being made.' Among those who appeared to be taken away was an elderly woman in a dog collar, who had been sitting in a camp chair with one of the placards at her feet, Another person was seen lying on the floor in handcuffs as police gathered over her. The protest came after three judges, including the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, refused a last-minute attempt to pause the ban coming into effect. MPs had overwhelmingly voted in favour of a decision taken on Wednesday by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to proscribe the protest group under the Terrorism Act 2000, with the Lords having approved the move. Within hours of the ban coming into effect, activists organised by the Defend Our Juries group gathered near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, holding signs saying 'I support Palestine Action'. Leslie Tate, 76, a Green councillor from Hertfordshire who was at the protest, said: 'Palestine Action are not a violent organisation, and the proscription is wrong. 'You do know, of course, that they were prescribed by Parliament with two other groups involved – all three at once so that was a trick to make sure the Bill went through. 'The evidence from their actions that they've taken from the start of Palestine Action is that they all have been non-violent. 'This protest is necessary to defend our democracy, and this is the creeping edge of totalitarianism, frankly.' Alex Hearn, the Labour Against Antisemitism director, said: 'Palestine Action aligning themselves with Gandhi is laughable. It cynically misrepresents their activities as non-violent, when in truth attacking police with a sledgehammer and vandalising properties is anything but.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Protesters arrested hours after specific group banned as terrorist organisation
Protesters from Palestine Action with banners have been arrested in central London with the group now banned as a terrorist group. Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist group after a late-night legal bid to delay it failed. MPs overwhelmingly voted in favour of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the protest group under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Wednesday and Lords have approved the move. A group gathered in Parliament Square in London holding signs supporting the newly proscribed Palestine Action. Leslie Tate, 76, a Green councillor from Hertfordshire, said: 'Palestine Action are not a violent organisation, and the proscription is wrong. You do know, of course, that they were prescribed by Parliament with two other groups involved – all three at once so that was a trick to make sure the Bill went through. 'The evidence from their actions that they've taken from the start of Palestine Action is that they all have been non-violent. This protest is necessary to defend our democracy, and this is the creeping edge of totalitarianism, frankly. 'We thought they (the police) would probably take pictures of people. It's the obvious thing to do, to photograph them, then they have their identity, rather than make arrests.' , , , , or visit homepage.
