PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
PENALTIES FOR DANGEROUS DRIVING (7 December 1999)

That this House notes with concern that the killer of PC Jeff Tooley, who was run down by a driver who failed to stop, whilst on active duty in Shoreham, West Sussex, has been sentenced to a term of just seven years imprisonment, and will be eligible for parole in three years; further notes that the judge in the case highlighted the inconsistencies in the law when passing sentence when he stated that 'Parliament has decided that the maximum penalty for death by dangerous driving is 10 years, whereas the maximum penalty for burglary is 14 years'; agrees with the comments by the judge that 'this might strike the public as an odd approach to the value placed on human life'; and calls on the Government urgently to review the level of penalties for causing death by dangerous driving with a view to making life sentences available for the worst offences.

Sponsored by:
Tim Loughton (Conservative)