Thứ Sáu, 10 tháng 6, 2011

VIDEO: In full: Prime Minister's Questions

David Cameron has called Labour an "empty opposition" after Ed Miliband accused the government of being in a "complete mess" on key policies.

At Prime Minister's Questions on 8 June 2011, the Labour leader asked David Cameron whether he had "torn up" plans to halve offenders' sentences for an early guilty plea.

The plans were put forward by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke as part of a wider package of proposals aimed at reforming sentencing and reducing the prison population.

They were expected to save save £130m from the Ministry of Justice budget. And they were behind a row over Mr Clarke's comments about rape in a BBC Radio 5Live interview last month.

Mr Cameron stopped short of directly denying the plans had been axed, saying the government had been consulting on its sentencing proposals and that legislation would be brought forward soon.

Mr Miliband told MPs there was "widespread public concern" about discounting offenders' sentences, and pressed the prime minister again if reports were true he had blocked the plans.

"He should do something more useful than just read the newspapers," Mr Cameron remarked.

He added that shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan, sat beside Mr Miliband, had supported the consultation paper on sentencing policy, quoting him as saying it was "entirely in keeping with the emphasis on punishment and reform that Labour followed in government".

"Why the sudden u-turn?" he asked the Labour leader.

Mr Miliband later moved on to the government's health policy, which he said was in a similar state to its sentencing plans.

David Cameron had the "wrong values", he said, adding that he had "proved the Tories cannot be trusted with the NHS".

Mr Cameron said it was his government that was "boldly making reforms in the public sector", adding that the "empty opposition" had no plans of its own and said the former Labour government had paid private health firms millions of pounds to do nothing.


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