Shailesh Vara MP has been asked to serve on the Bill Committee for the Crime and Courts Bill which is currently going through Parliament. Amongst other measures, the Bill will put into law the proposal on self defence in the home put forward by Mr Vara in a Private Member’s Bill in 2006. In a debate in the House of Commons last week, Mr Vara welcomed the Bill and referred to the section on self defence in the home as “unfinished business”. In the debate, the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, specifically mentioned Mr Vara’s previous work, along with others, to change the law.

In his Private Member’s Bill, Mr Vara sought to change the test for self defence in the home from a defendant being allowed to use “reasonable force” to a higher test of not using “grossly disproportionate force.” Clause 30 of the new Bill seeks to amend the law to fit this criteria.

Having had a debate in the Commons, the Second Reading of the Bill, the proposed legislation will now go through a more detailed process whereby each section of the Bill is considered in detail.

Mr Vara said:

“I am delighted to serve on the Bill Committee for the Crime and Courts Bill. It will help put on the statute books a measure I have long advocated, of enhancing the test for self defence in the home. This legislation is long overdue and is supported by the vast majority of the public. On a personal level, this is unfinished business and it will reinforce the message that an Englishmen’s home is still his castle.”