UK justice secretary says victims should have chance to give impact statements as new bill goes through parliamentDefendants who refuse to appear in court for sentencing are giving a “final insult to victims and their families”, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said, as an impact statement from the mother of a murdered girl was read to MPs.During the second reading of the victims and courts bill, the Labour MP Anneliese Midgley read a statement on behalf of Cheryl Korbel, the mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her Liverpool home in 2022. Continue reading...