
Starmer pledges to review minimum barrier heights in multi-storey car parks
The Prime Minister said he wanted to 'prevent future tragedies', and the Government will conduct a call for evidence on minimum barrier heights in car parks.
This came after Labour MP Peter Dowd urged Sir Keir to back his calls to increase the minimum required height of guarding.
Mr Dowd's Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill also proposes 24-hour staffing of such car parks, to improve safety.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Dowd, MP for Bootle said: 'Gabe Santer, a 15-year-old, fell to his death from a multi-storey car park in Liverpool in 2020. He's one of the many dying in such tragic circumstances, including in my constituency.
'My Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill seeks to prevent such deaths.
'Will the Government look carefully at its content as part of a national suicide prevention strategy?'
The Prime Minister replied: 'The answer is yes, we will look at the content of it, and I'm grateful to him for raising it.'
He added: 'Across the House, we have all got tragic experience of suicide, and our thoughts are with Gabe's family and with his friends.
'We will conduct a call for evidence on part K of the building regulations about minimum guarding heights, so that necessary protections are in place to prevent future tragedies. We will also look at the contents of the Bill.'
Defence minister Maria Eagle previously presented 'Gabe's Law' to Parliament in 2023, in a bid to reform the safety of car parks.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Leader Live
10 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Rachel Reeves insists she is ‘cracking on with the job' after Commons upset
The Chancellor and Sir Keir Starmer shared a hug, and the Chancellor smiled throughout her first public appearance after she broke down in tears in the House of Commons. Ms Reeves would not, however, be drawn into answering questions about the 'personal matter' which had upset her ahead of Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions. She told broadcasters: 'Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I'm not going to go into the details of that. 'My job as Chancellor at 12 o'clock on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the Prime Minister, supporting the Government and that's what I tried to do. 'I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers' is that when I'm having a tough day it's on the telly and most people don't have to deal with that.' The Chancellor rejected suggestions that her tears were related to a conversation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle or another member of Government. 'People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today's a new day and I'm just cracking on with the job,' she added. Sir Keir gave a full-throated defence of his Chancellor, and said he had not appreciated how upset she was while he was focused on the cut and thrust of Parliament's most-viewed weekly event. On Thursday, the Chancellor appeared alongside the Prime Minister and Health Secretary Wes Streeting as the Government launched it's 10-year plan for the NHS in London. Ms Reeves made no mention of Wednesday's incident in the Commons as she made her first public appearance since crying in the chamber. Smiling as she spoke at a health centre in London, the Chancellor insisted the NHS plan was 'good for the health of our nation and good for the health of our nation's finances'. She also stopped to take selfies with nurses and other healthcare staff who were gathered for the launch. Sir Keir and Ms Reeves embraced as he made his way to the podium to give a speech after the Chancellor had finished. The Prime Minister poured praise upon her in an open show of unity, hailing the decisions made by the Chancellor as playing a part in the Government investing 'record amounts in the NHS'. Sir Keir said he did not 'appreciate' that Ms Reeves was crying behind him at PMQs as the event is 'pretty wired'. 'It goes from question to question and I am literally up, down, question, looking at who is asking me a question, thinking about my response and getting up and answering it,' he said. Sir Keir added: 'It wasn't just yesterday. No prime minister ever has had side conversations in PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there is a bit more time, but in PMQs it is bang, bang, bang, bang. 'That is what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber.' As the Prime Minister took questions from the media, several journalists invited Ms Reeves to comment on her tears, but only Sir Keir answered. Earlier, the Prime Minister said all people could be caught 'off guard' by their emotions, but the Chancellor had to deal with it while on camera in Parliament. He said she was doing an 'excellent' job, would remain in place beyond the next general election, and that they were both absolutely committed to the Chancellor's 'fiscal rules' to maintain discipline over the public finances. UK Government bonds rallied and the pound steadied on Thursday, after reassurances from the Prime Minister about the Chancellor's future. The sight of her in tears on Wednesday, and the £5 billion black hole in her public spending plans as a result of the welfare U-turn had spooked the markets, triggering a sharp sell-off of bonds, with the yield seeing the sharpest increase since US President Donald Trump's tariff plans shook up financial markets in April. Back in the Commons chamber, Commons Leader Lucy Powell defended her 'friend' Ms Reeves, and said 'she's got more class than most of the rest of the members opposite on the frontbench'. Leadership is hard. There are good days, some very good, and bad days, some very bad. The resilience you need for top jobs is superhuman. But if a Chief Exec cried in public, if a military chief said they hadn't read the operational plan properly because they had a bad day,… — Claire Coutinho (@ClaireCoutinho) July 3, 2025 The Conservatives meanwhile suggested Ms Reeves' public show of emotion was not acceptable. In a post on X shared by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: 'Leadership is hard. There are good days, some very good, and bad days, some very bad. The resilience you need for top jobs is superhuman. 'But if a chief exec cried in public, if a military chief said they hadn't read the operational plan properly because they had a bad day, they would not be forgiven for it.'


Wales Online
21 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Keir Starmer speaks out on Rachel Reeves' tears in the House of Commons
Keir Starmer speaks out on Rachel Reeves' tears in the House of Commons The Prime Minister spoke about Chancellor Rachel Reeves' emotions during PMQs Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton (Image: 2025 Getty Images ) Sir Keir Starmer has defended Chancellor Rachel Reeves after she was seen wiping away tears beside him during Prime Minister's Questions. Her emotional appearance in the Commons yesterday prompted speculation, but Starmer dismissed any political link. He told the BBC it was 'absolutely wrong' to suggest her reaction was connected to Labour's recent welfare policy U-turn. Starmer emphasised that the matter was personal, not political, and urged people not to draw conclusions from a moment of visible emotion in public. 'It's a personal matter for her,' he said, adding that people can be caught off guard by emotion, even in public life. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Asked by Chris Evans how the Chancellor is, he said: "She's fine. She's very resilient and strong is Rachel. "She's driven through lots of change in the Labour Party. "We had to change the Labour Party, we fought an election together and I've seen her resilience." Article continues below He went on: "She's a really powerful woman, and she's also very widely respected. "And I think the sort of messages of concern that have come in over the last 24 hours or so show the great affection and respect in which she is held." Rachel Reeves was seen crying during PMQs (Image: Parliament Live ) Her spokesperson also issued a short statement clarifying that her emotional response had no connection to the government's recent U-turn on disability benefits. The reversal, involving planned changes to Personal Independence Payments, came amid growing concern within Labour ranks. Today, Reeves is expected to make a brief public appearance before Starmer's major speech on the NHS. Speaking to Virgin Radio this morning, the PM reiterated that her tears were 'purely personal' and not tied to her work or party tensions. He said they had spoken at length on Wednesday evening, and reassured the public that she was "doing fine." Starmer added: "But we are humans in the end and sometimes personal things are obviously on our minds and, in this case, that was the situation." Article continues below


The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Reeves says she is 'getting on' with job as she responds to questions about tears at PMQs
Rachel Reeves says she is 'getting on' with the job of chancellor after her tearful appearance at prime minister's questions. 'Clearly I was upset', she said, but it was her job to be at PMQs 'supporting the government and that's what I tried to do'.