Senior Tories to prioritise law and order in wake of M25 protests and Everard murder

5 October 2021, 01:22 | Updated: 5 October 2021, 01:23

Dominic Raab and Priti Patel are set to prioritise law and order moving forward, in the wake of ongoing M25 protests and the murder of Sarah Everard.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab will use his conference speech in Manchester on Tuesday to announce a major expansion in the number of offenders wearing tags, while Home Secretary Priti Patel will give further details of new powers to tackle Insulate Britain protesters and a £25 million investment to make streets safer.

Mr Raab is set to announce that more than 25,000 criminals will be tagged as part of a £183 million plan to expand the use of electronic monitoring to cut crime.

It will include 10,000 prolific thieves, burglars and robbers being fitted with GPS tags as they come out of prison and around 3,500 high-risk domestic abusers also having their whereabouts monitored.

A further 12,000 offenders will be subjected to wearing sobriety tags to watch their alcohol consumption.

The funding will see the number of people tagged at any one time rise from around 13,500 this year to around 25,000 by 2025, according to an extract of the announcement released by the Tories.

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The newly-appointed Justice Secretary is also expected to set out a £90 million plan to increase community work carried out by criminals to around eight million hours a year which will look to recruit 500 more unpaid supervisors and focus on cleaning up streets and other open spaces.

He is anticipated to say: "This major increase in high-tech GPS tagging will see us leading the world in using technology to fight crime and keep victims safe.

"From tackling alcohol-fuelled violence and burglary to protecting domestic abuse victims, we are developing tags to make our streets and communities safer."

The GPS tagging project started in April and was expanded to half of England and Wales last week.

The pilot could be rolled out nationwide, if it is found to be successful at cutting crime and helping police catch offenders.

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Meanwhile, Priti Patel is expected to say those targeting women and girls will "feel the full force of the law" upon them.

She will say: "Such unconscionable crimes and acts of violence against women and girls have no place in our society.

"And that is why I have redoubled my efforts to ensure women and girls feel safer."

Mr Raab will join the Home Secretary in reiterating that his "number one priority" is to protect women and girls, as well as to outline his vision for reforming the Human Rights Act.

It is anticipated that he will reaffirm his commitment to enshrine support available to victims and guidance under the Victims' Code into law, in the wake of the deaths of both Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.

Mr Raab is also expected to promise to "transform" the way the justice system treats violence against women and make the streets safer so that "women can walk home at night, without having to look over their shoulder".

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Ms Patel will also confirm plans for tougher powers against the likes of Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion.

She is preparing to announce an increase in the maximum penalties for disrupting a motorway, while also criminalising interference with major roads, railways and the press.

The Home Office will also give the police and courts new powers to deal with the "small minority of offenders" who are "intent" on travelling around the country with the aim of "causing disruption and misery across our communities".