PMQs recap: PM challenged on women's safety

1. Boris Johnson tells MPs people's reaction to the death of Sarah Everard is "wholly justified" and says "we need cultural change"
2. Keir Starmer says Labour will try to make changes to the Policing, Crime and Sentencing Bill and calls for longer sentences for rape and sexual violence
3. The prime minister says he received the invitation to get his coronavirus vaccine, and it will be the Oxford AstraZeneca jab
4. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced all over 50s in England will now be invited for their coronavirus vaccine
5. The PM's former aide Dominic Cummings has told a committee of MPs there will have to be a "very hard look" at what went wrong with the government's handling of the pandemic
6. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said the government is looking at vaccine passports to allow people more freedom after they have been immunised
7. A report by the National Audit Office says the government's programme to help pupils catch up on missed school time may not be reaching the most disadvantaged children

That's all from us

BBC Politics

We'll close our coverage of this week's Prime Minister's Questions.

The team on board with you today were Lauren Turner, Paul Seddon and Richard Morris, with Johanna Howitt in the editor's chair.

Thanks for following along with us - do come back next week.

Recap: What happened at PMQs?

HoC

Violence against women dominated this week's PMQs, following the continuing unfolding news in the Sarah Everard case.

• Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson took a collegiate tone, but they disagreed on how best to tackle societal problem of violence against women and toughening sentences for rape and sexual violence.
• Boris Johnson said public reaction to Sarah Everard's death is "wholly justified" and said "we need cultural change"

• The Labour leader said the party will make amendments to the Policing, Crime and Sentencing bill.
• The PM said Labour should have back the bill on Tuesday said the party had made a “regrettable mistake” by claiming in a tweet that rape had been "decriminalised".
• SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford said the government has been "shamed" on free school meals. He also raised the government's strategic review of defence and security and said ministers should "prioritise bairns not bombs"
• Boris Johnson also told MPs he would be in line to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been under scrutiny this week in European nations as a small number of people reported blood clots after their jab.
• Mr Johnson apologised for the number of coronavirus deaths in the UK, and confirmed that there would be an inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic.

Watch: Johnson and Blackford on defence and security

Watch: Johnson and Starmer on women's safety

Reality Check

Reality Check: How many rape complaints lead to prosecutions?

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that “only 1.5% of rapes reported to the police lead to a prosecution”.

The prime minister agreed that “the prosecution rates for rape were a disgrace”.

The statistic to which they are referring comes from Crime Outcomes in England and Wales, 2019-2020.

It shows that the proportion of rape complaints that led to a charge or court summons in the year to the end of March 2020 was 1.4%.

You can read more about why rape convictions are falling, here.

Analysis: Johnson and Starmer keen to show common ground on women's safety

Laura Kuenssberg

Political editor

Both leaders decided to speak calmly to show that they are finding common ground in dealing with societal issues of attacks on women.

But, judging by the arguments back and forth, there is no common ground.

From a political point of view, there is no agreement on how to tackle the issue of violence against women, and what the next steps should be.

Last question on NHS pay

Welsh Labour MP Gerald Jones tells the PM that the Welsh government has announced a new bonus payment for NHS and social care staff.

Boris Johnson says he recognises the "amazing dedication and commitment" of NHS and social care staff.

They have "borne the brunt" of the pandemic, in many cases "personally in their lives", he says.

The PM adds how please he is to see a 34% increase in the number application for nursing, and says the target is for 50,000 more nurses.

And with that PMQs ends.

Rape crimes need to be 'treated sensitively' - Tory MP

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Conservative MP Nicki Aiken asks if issues of rape need to be "treated sensitively" and false claims made by the Labour Party on the Police and Crime Bill are "misleading and certainly not helpful".

Mr Johnson says the government must do everything it can to encourage victims of rape and sexual violence to come forward to the authorities.

PM defends NHS pay award

Labour's Tahir Ali accuses the PM of being "economical with the truth" over claiming a 1% pay increase for NHS staff in England is all the government can afford.

Unions have criticised the award, arguing it will represent a real-terms cut to pay if inflation rises over next year.

Boris Johnson says the fact NHS staff have been excluded from a wider freeze on public sector salaries shows the value ministers place on their work.

He says he "totally understands" the calls for a higher award but says the public finances are facing "real difficulty" in the wake of Covid-19.

Johnson apologises for coronavirus deaths

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Labour MP Richard Burgon says a year ago "a good outcome" would have been 20,000 deaths from Covid-19, but the overall death toll is now six times that.

He says the PM previously "pontificated" over lockdowns and "dithered and delayed". He asks for the PM to hold up his hands and apologise for these extra deaths.

Mr Johnson says he "takes all responsibility for everything the government did" and we "sympathise deeply with their families and their loved ones".

He says he is "deeply, deeply sorry" for what has happened to the country.

He adds there will be time for a future full inquiry into everything that happened.

HoC

Contractors who've behaved improperly 'should not be used by government'

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Felicity Buchan, Kensington MP, says she and her constituents have been "deeply troubled" by what was being said at the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire with regards to the building products industry.

She asked the PM to agree that contractors who had "behaved improperly" should not be used in future for government contracts.

She also asked him to consider a tax on the building products industry, in the same way as has been done in the residential property sector as a way of partly paying for cladding remediation.

Boris Johnson says the chancellor will look at the issue of such a tax.

And he confirms the government is already looking at new rules to exclude contractors from government business where "gross professional negligence has been shown".

I will get AstraZeneca Covid vaccine - PM

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Conservative MP Steve Brine asks what the PM can do to restore trust in the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after several European countries paused their rollouts.

Boris Johnson reveals that he has received news that he will be getting his own jab "very shortly".

And he adds it will "certainly" be the AstraZeneca jab he receives.

Conservative MP supports new policing bill

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Conservative Andrew Jones also raises the policing bill saying he wants to see the right of protest protected, but he also wants to see people go about their daily lives and be able to get to school and hospitals without being affected.

He says this is tackled as part of the new bill, and strikes that balance.

Mr Johnson says there has to be a balance between protest but also people being able to live their lives.

He says the Bill does introduce tougher sentences and punishments for child murderers, sex offenders and ending the practice of early release.

Green MP criticises police powers over protests

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Green MP Caroline Lucas criticises the new police powers over protests contained in the policing and sentencing bill.

She argues they will curtail the "fundamental right" of people to protest peacefully.

Boris Johnson says the government must "strike a balance" between the right to protect and "vital parts of the UK economy".

He adds though that he thinks people "do understand" the need to restrict gatherings at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Blackford: This week exposes 'tale of two governments'

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Joining by video link SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford says this week, for people across Scotland, "again exposed a tale of two governments, with two very different sets of values".

He says the SNP passed landmark legislation that will put the UN convention on the rights of the child into Scots law.

On the other hand, he adds, "we have a UK government that has to be shamed into providing giving free school meals", will "clap for nurses but won't give them a fair wage" and "ploughs billions into a nuclear arsenal that sits redundant on the Clyde".

He asks if the PM understands the Scottish people are best served by a government that "lives up to their values" and "prioritises bairns not bombs".

Mr Johnson replies that the people of Scotland need and deserve a government that tackles education, drug addiction and crime, and a government in Scotland that "weans itself off an addiction to constitutional change and constitutional argument".

What is the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill?

Dominic Casciani

Home Affairs Correspondent

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a mammoth piece of legislation that includes major government proposals on crime and justice in England and Wales. It's been debated by MPs this week.

Key parts of the bill are:

• Changing sentencing rules so that serious criminals spend more time in jail before they can be conditionally released
• Judges will be allowed to consider jailing child murderers for their entire lives
• Maximum sentences for low-level assaults against emergency service workers doubled to two years
• On terrorism, the bill creates powers to more closely monitor offenders released from prison
• Community sentences for less serious crime to address underlying problems in offenders' lives
• Changes to sexual offences law to tackle abusive adults in positions of trust, such as sports coaches and religious figures

Read more from Dominic about the bill here.

Crime Bill has higher sentences for damaging statues than rape - Starmer

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Sir Keir Starmer says the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill presented last night has longer sentences for damaging statues, rather than rape cases he gives examples of.

He says Labour are about to publish a load of ideas and practical changes that could take place in order to help victims. He says he "doesn't care" if this becomes a government bill or not, he says he wants to work together in order to address this problem.

Mr Johnson says it is "entirely right in these circumstances" that Sir Keir is offering to work together with the government on these issues. But, he says, until women feel they are being heard "we will not fix this problem".

He says if he wants to work with the government on this, he should be voting in favour of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

HoC

Starmer calls for 'toughened' rape sentences

Sir Keir says he doesn't "need lectures" from the PM about enforcing the criminal law, given his time as director of public prosecutions.

He urges the prime minister to urgently look at "toughened" sentences for rape and sexual violence.

In reply, Boris Johnson says the policing and sentencing bill - which MPs gave their initial backing to yesterday - would have toughened sentences for sex offenders.

Labour has criticised elements of the bill and decided to vote against the legislation yesterday.

The prime minister criticises Labour for this, calling it a "crazy" decision.

Analysis: Leader try to find political harmony on women's safety

Vicki Young

Deputy Political Editor

The Labour leader and the PM are attempting a harmonious approach to the issue of violence against women.

But doesn’t last long as Mr Johnson says Labour should have supported police bill yesterday and Sir Keir calls on government to act more quickly on a new victims’ law.

Both leaders are talking about a collegiate approach to improving women’s safety, while demonstrating that it’s easy to say and much more difficult to achieve.

What is the government going to do to fix victims safety? - Starmer

HoC

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says for ten years, the Conservatives have been promising a "victims' law" and yet one has not yet materialised. "We just need now, to get on with it," he states.

He says there are practical challenges, the vast majority of women reporting crimes against them lead to no prosecution. He asks what the government plans to do about this now.

Mr Johnson says "the prosecution rates for rape are a disgrace in this country" and the CPS is trying to speed up the process of the law in rape cases. He says there are going to be tougher penalties for men "and it is overwhelmingly men" who commit rape.