Enda Brady: UK correspondent on drink spiking becoming a specific criminal offence

The UK Government is set to introduce new laws making drink spiking a specific criminal offence in the upcoming King's Speech.

These law changes will be included within the 35 bills in the programme announced on Wednesday.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says the existing legislation hasn't been updated since the 1800s - so this change is badly needed.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time now to catch up with the UK correspondent in
the Brady Karinda, Hey jacka very well, thank you, sir.
King Charles is sit to open Parliament officially.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He is, and it's a big deal really because this
is obviously the first labor government of his reign and
a new prime minister just settling into the job in
kir Starmer. It's a big deal. So there'll be all
the pump and pageantry. He will read out all the
various different bits of legislation that will be brought in
during this term or the government has had the ambition

(00:31):
to bring in. There's about thirty five pieces of legislation
so far already, So all eyes on Westminster tomorrow. But
Charles is looking fantastic and I think it'll be quite
a spectacle.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
And if some of the legislation coming in will include
something that will make spiking a specific criminal offense, isn't
drink spiking right?

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yes, So this is something really that is badly needed
because would you believe the police are actually using a
piece of law from eighteen sixty one to deal with
spiking at the moment, I mean, criminals move on at pace.
The law seems to crawl eighteen sixty one. It's some
branch of the Public Order Act, so going back to
the time of Queen Victoria, that is what we're looking

(01:15):
at the moment, but that will change as of tomorrow.
Spiking is going to be a separate, specific criminal offense.
So this is when predominantly guys go to bars with
these little droplet things or whatever like or hypnol and
they're looking to spike women's drinks. We've seen incidents of
it with people being injected and men can be victims
as well, but it is predominantly a male offense against women.

(01:39):
We've seen syringes used, people putting drinks, spiking and what
have you. It's absolutely disgusting. It's so bad that in
twenty twenty four we're using legislation from eighteen sixty one.
So all of that is changing as of tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Indo, why are forty five European leaders in Oxfordshire So
this is a.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Big Actually Starmer's government have made no secret of the
fact that Britain will be rebuilding relationships in Europe. I
mean they were on the floor for the last few years.
Europe is looking in they see a new leader, a
new kind of political ideology and they're curious. So while
Britain has left the European Union, and that in itself
has been an absolute catastrophe for the UK, Starmer still

(02:23):
has Britain as a member of the European political community.
That can't change. Britain is still geographically in Europe and
will be forever. So all these European leaders are being
brought to Blenham Palace, which is a beautiful place actually,
if you ever ever get over this way, Jackets absolutely
one of the top notch destinations to go visit in Britain.
It's in Oxfordshire. Winston Churchill was actually born there. And

(02:47):
the plan is that forty five European leaders will arrive
here tomorrow. Starmer will get a look at them, they'll
get a look at him, and I think in particular
he wants to start building relationships and seeing what he
can do about myration and stopping those boats coming across
from France.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
And is this part of the reason is in trying
to improve relationships in Europe that Kiyo Salma's reaching out
to Italy's Prime Minister, Georgia Maliiney.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, so she's been a big leader on this. She's
a very interesting woman to watch. She is someone who
has surprised I think since she came into powers. She
had a lot of far right, kind of right wing
rhetoric before she got the job. She's toned a lot
of that down. She's quite smart, She's building alliances in Europe,
and she is a mover and a shaker. She is
absolutely a leader going places now. She helped change European

(03:35):
Union's policy on migration in the last twelve months, and
I think Starmer realizes that, you know, a lot of
the migrants who ultimately get on these dinghies in France
coming to the UK, their first port of entry or
point of entry in the Europe is the Italian islands
of Italy and off Sicily, So Starmer will want to
speak to her. She has ambitions to have her own

(03:58):
offshore kind of asylum application processing center. He's already killed
Rwanda plan dead on day one, so let's see what happens.
But I think, you know, having had fourteen years of
everyone here being told that, you know, be suspicious of
Europe and we don't want to be friends with these neighbors.
There are so many problems. We've got a war in Europe,

(04:18):
right now, Jack, I think Starmer is smart enough to
realize that you can only get places if you have friends.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah, well said hey, thanks Cinda, you take care. That
is Brady UK correspondent Right. For more from hither duplus
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