THE Tory MP who single-handedly blocked the criminalisation of upskirting in England and Wales has said the “vulgar, humiliating and unacceptable” act should be outlawed.
Sir Christopher Chope said he was acting on a long-held principle that has seen him routinely oppose backbench private member’s bills when he opposed the legislation on Friday. The 71-year-old MP for Christchurch in Dorset told his local newspaper, the Dorset Echo, that he felt “scapegoated” and hit back at Conservative colleagues who criticised him.
He said: “The suggestion that I am some kind of pervert is a complete travesty of the truth. It’s defamatory of my character and it’s very depressing some of my colleagues have been perpetuating that in the past 48 hours. I feel a bit sore about being scapegoated over this.”
He urged the government to find the “fastest, fairest and surest passage” for a bill banning people from taking pictures up someone’s clothing without consent, and accused ministers of “hijacking” backbenchers’ time with the debate.
Without a specific law, victims in England and Wales must seek prosecution of upskirting through other legal avenues, such as outraging public decency or harassment. The blocked bill would have seen upskirting offenders face a maximum of two years in prison. A specific law covering the practice already exists in Scotland.
Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday that the government would provide time for anti-upskirting legislation to be passed.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel