THE Tories are very good at spouting off about law and order, but they never ever talk about justice.

They can whip up a moral panic about one isolated piece of graffiti on a statue of Churchill, but do nothing to protect women from, violent partners, rapists, gropers and sex pests.

On average two women are murdered by their male partners or ex-partners every week , but the Tories take no action.

Over 85,000 women reported being raped in 2019-2020, but fewer than two per cent of cases resulted in a conviction. Moreover, 97 per cent of young women aged between 18 and 25 have suffered sexual harassment, and as the tragic events in south London demonstrate, women can’t even walk home safely at night. However, the Tories care more about a statue of a slave trader.

The Tories’ priorities can also be clearly shown in the Police and Crime Bill 2021 which is currently being debated in Parliament.

This Bill mentions memorials on eight occasions, but women are not mentioned once.

Under the Bill a person can be sentenced to 10 years in prison merely for defacing a statue or monument, which is almost twice as long a sentence as a rapist would receive – assuming that the police and the Crown Prosecution Service even bothered to properly investigate it in the first place.

This Bill shows that the Tories don’t care about justice for women, or any other disadvantaged social group for that matter.

John Gilmore, Bishop Auckland.