Cheryl Korbel wants offenders like Thomas Cashman to face the full consequences of their actions
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00:00The words of Olivia Pratt-Corbell's heartbroken mother have been spoken in Parliament by an MP as measures to compel criminals to appear in the dock for sentencing were brought to the Commons.
00:11In an emotional contribution, Annalise Midgley read out Cheryl Corbell's victim statement, which her nine-year-old daughter's killer refused to hear in court.
00:20Thomas Cashman, the gunman who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who tried to run into her home in knotty ash, did not appear to hear his life sentence in April 2023.
00:32As Ms Corbell watched tearfully from the gallery, the Labour MP for Nosley praised her for her campaigning on Olivia's law.
00:41Under the legislation, judges will be given the power to sentence offenders for up to two more years in prison for avoiding justice.
00:48For offenders who already face lengthy imprisonment or whole-life orders, judges could also impose a range of prison punishments on offenders,
00:56such as confinement to their cells and being stripped of privileges, such as extra gym time.
01:02Prime Minister Sakiya Starmer promised to carry on the pledge to change the law first made by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, when he met with Ms Corbell in January this year.
01:12The measures are part of the Victims and Courts Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday.
01:19In her victim's statement, Ms Corbell described Olivia as the light of our lives, our beautiful, sassy, chatty girl who never ran out of energy.
01:28Concluding her speech, Ms Midgley said,
01:30Let Cheryl's words be heard, let them be honoured, let Olivia's law pass and make sure that no victim's voice is ever shut out of justice again.
01:40The Victims and Courts Bill will now progress to the committee stage.