An ex-Government minister and former MP has been jailed for making and distributing indecent images of children.

Today (12 May 2023), Paul Clark, 66, who represented Gillingham between 1997 and 2010 and was the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport from 2008 to 2010, was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court today. He has also been issued with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders register. 

The following domestic abuse cases were prosecuted by CPS North East in April:

Under hate crime legislation the courts must pass increased sentences where prosecutors show evidence that offences either demonstrate or have been motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexuality. Below are examples of hate crime cases recently prosecuted by CPS North East, each of which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.