Public sexual harassment law will come if there is ‘clear need’, minister says

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Government will make new laws to make public sexual harassment a crime if it is “clear” that is needed. is clear that we need to make a new offence, then that is exactly what we will do Rachel Maclean In the Commons, Conservative chair of the women and equalities committee Caroline Nokes said: “I know the minister agrees with the Law Commission that misogyny should not be a hate crime. “Can we stop ‘looking at this hard’ and actually bring forward some legislation to make it happen?” Ms Maclean replied: “If the work that we are doing with the Law Commission… and others is clear that we need to make a new offence, then that is exactly what we will do.” The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is due to be debated in the Commons on Monday night. “Operation Bluestone found that the monitoring of previous offenders was failing to use intelligence to establish whether suspects had been named in previous offences.” She added: “I ask the Secretary of State to lay out to the House exactly where in the strategy and her plans is the proper monitoring and offending management that will stop any offender, let alone the most violent and repeat rapists, because it is not even nearly happening now.” Home Secretary Ms Patel replied: “We had the rape review.