THUGS who assault police will get tougher sentences in a violent crime blitz unveiled in the Queen’s Speech.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will put safeguarding officers at the heart of a law and order crackdown with a Police Protection Bill.
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It will ensure officers who put their lives on the line have the resources and equipment they need — and the support of the criminal justice system.
Serious assaults on emergency service workers, including police, will be punished by up to two years in jail — double the current maximum.
Ms Patel faced resistance from Justice Secretary Robert Buckland but a source revealed: “It’s going to happen.”
Barely one in four of those convicted of attacking police has been jailed since the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act was introduced in November.
It doubled the maximum sentence from six to 12 months but so far the average term handed out is just eight weeks.
A government source said: “We are going to toughen up the system.
“A civilised society depends on support for the police. We are going to give our law enforcers the equipment they need.”
Police were victims of 30,977 assaults last year, 10,399 of which caused injury — up 32 per cent from 7,903 in 2015/16.
The police protection laws are among 22 new Bills to be announced in the Queen’s Speech.
Boris Johnson said people want the Government to first sort out Brexit — then sort out Britain.
He added: They want their NHS to be stronger, their streets safer, their wifi faster, the air they breathe cleaner, their kids’ schools better-funded – and this optimistic and ambitious Queen’s Speech sets us on a course to make all that happen, and more.”
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What’s in the Queen’s Speech
BIG BROTHER HOSPITALS
HOSPITAL equipment will be fitted with a “black box-style” feature similar to that on aircraft to help make the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world.
The Health Service Safety Investigations Body for patient safety — a world first — will be set up with powers enshrined in law. It will use the new equipment to avoid repeat errors, as airlines learn from crashes via black boxes.
SINGLE-USE PLASTIC RULE
ACTION to tackle throwaway plastic will be among a wave of new laws to protect the environment. For the first time, there will be a legally binding target for eliminating avoidable single-use plastic waste.
A bottle deposit scheme will be created, forcing producers to cover the cost of dealing with litter and to increase recycling.
There will also be measures to cut air pollution.
HELEN’S LAW PAROLE SNUB
KILLERS who refuse to reveal the location of victims’ bodies will be denied parole under new legislation called Helen’s Law.
It is named after Helen McCourt, murdered in 1988 by Ian Simms who won’t reveal the location of her remains. And serial sex fiends who fail to reveal the names of youngsters they have abused — such as Vanessa George — will serve longer sentences.
