This MP column comes from Bradford South MP Judith Cummins 

BEFORE Christmas, I went to Ukraine with the British charity Siobhan’s Trust, supporting the humanitarian response to the war.

The charity provides food and practical support to the many millions of Ukrainians displaced by Putin’s invasion of their homeland.

In the week I was there, I spent time with a local military volunteer unit. I went to the newly-liberated parts of the country in the region of Kharkiv.

There I saw for myself the destruction caused to people’s homes, livelihoods, and families.

This is not a distant conflict in a far-flung part of the world that does not affect us. Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has a global impact and we are feeling that here in the UK, not least from the monumental leap in gas and energy prices which has been a major contributor to the recent cost of living crisis.

My time in Ukraine and meeting its people only reinforced my belief that we must work with democracies around the globe in the face of aggression from potentially hostile states.

Tomorrow, I will speak in Parliament on a debate on Russia’s grand strategy.

I am certainly no stranger to criticising Putin’s Russia.

In fact, his Government sanctioned me last year for doing just that.

It is something I still wear as a badge of honour.

Back here in the UK, I have kicked off the year fighting for tougher laws to protect people from spiking.

Recent figures that show there were nearly 5,000 reports of spiking in England in just one year. Although a shocking statistic, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that as many as 97 per cent of incidents are not reported at all.

While there is a lot of work done to help keep people safe at pubs and clubs, there is one area that is still a blind-spot when it comes to crime prevention and reporting – outdoor music festivals.

Music festivals are big business. They are seen as a right of passage for many young people to enjoy the unique atmosphere and top music for long summer days on end. Leeds Festival alone brought in more than 80,000 festival-goers over three-days last year, and the country’s biggest festivals attract over 200,000.

That is the population of a town crammed into a field that not a week earlier might have been home to a flock of sheep. Yet the presence of the police and emergency services at festivals is usually minimal, as it is the organisers themselves who provide security and first aid.

Imagine a town that size without proper policing – it just would not happen. And once the festival is over and has packed up and vanished, those crimes leave with them, and victims are left unsupported.

This means that many crimes like spiking go unrecognised and under-reported. In fact, my research shows that just ten incidences of spiking were recorded by police in the last ten years of outdoor festivals before the pandemic – a completely unrealistic figure. Independent research shows that these crimes are happening, and that they are almost always perpetrated against women and girls.

What is needed is a specific criminal offence for spiking so that incidents can be properly reported and recorded. On top of that, festival staff need to have training in safeguarding to better recognise crimes like spiking, and to ensure victims have the support they need to get justice.

The Government has promised to act before but has now refused to take these proposals forward. I have renewed my calls for Government to take this seriously and implement these simple and effective changes to law. We cannot afford to keep putting people at risk and I will continue to fight for tougher laws and better support for victims

As we settle into 2023 and the year ahead, I wish you and your family a safe and Happy New Year.