Steve together with Seni’s parents, who came to him for help to get an inquest opened into their son’s death.
Steve became the first Labour MP to pass a major new Act of Parliament from opposition in 22 years with the passing of Seni’s Law. The law protects mental health patients from severe or abusive restraint and is named after 21-year-old Croydon North resident Seni Lewis.
Steve introduced Seni’s Law – officially the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act – into Parliament to ban the use of violent forms of restraint against mental health patients and to tackle deaths in custody.
Seni Lewis was a 21-year-old graduate from South Norwood. He died in a mental health hospital after police officers handcuffed him, put his legs in shackles, and took it in turns to sit on him until he had a heart attack and went into a coma.
Seni’s parents, Aji and Conrad Lewis, came to Steve for help to get an inquest opened into their son’s death. The inquest slammed police and mental health services, and called for change to prevent more deaths in mental health custody.
Seni’s Law was approved in 2018, making Steve the first Labour MP to pass a major new Act of Parliament from opposition in 22 years.
Steve said:
“I was so proud when Seni’s Law became an Act of Parliament. People with mental ill health deserve to be treated with care and compassion, not with cruelty. This law stands as a lasting testament to Seni Lewis’s life and will make sure no one else suffers and dies the way he did.”
Steve and mental health campaigners celebrating the passing of Seni’s Law
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