Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 July 2026
NATO Summit
Further to the Foreign Secretary’s responses to questions about the defence, security and resilience bank and the multilateral defence mechanism, can she flesh out how the UK envisages those initiatives working more closely together, in practical terms and maybe in financial terms?
Commons
Debate
9 July 2026
Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for laying out her remarks so clearly—much better than I could have done—and to the Father of the House. Emotion rightly comes into this debate. We are not just legislators, and we need to bring that sense of feeling.…
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2026
Science, innovation and technology Committee
I am proud to represent Shoreditch, which has a lot of tech start-ups, so I welcome my hon. Friend’s report. Following on from the question from, and answer to, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South (Gordon McKee), will she expand on how we can get that money into tech businesses, so that they…
Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
2 contributions
Payment Scheme
I was interested in the Minister’s answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham and Chislehurst (Clive Efford). He said that, notwithstanding the regulations and all the work to set out the rules and scope of the compensation scheme, there is an opportunity for people who are affected or infected …
There have been occasions, in various roles I have had in this place, when we have looked at documents. The Government have a document destruction plan. At the Department for Work and Pensions, for example, a year after death one’s records will be destroyed; that has been an issue when there have be…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
I have had the opportunity to look over defence equipment plans for the last 13 years, and have repeatedly seen—a profiling from over a decade—huge optimism about savings and efficiencies, which is how plans get across the line of affordability. Will the Secretary of State commit to ensuring that th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
My right hon. Friend is right to highlight those challenges. Throughout the 10-year equipment plan, there was always a £14 billion deficit that never seemed to go away. It is great that we are seeing more investment, but could the Chancellor update the House on what conversations she or her Minister…
Commons
Debate
18 June 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
My hon. Friend may be aware of the work that the National Audit Office has done, looking at different compensation schemes. Does he think that there are lessons that this and any future Government need to take on board when proposing a compensation scheme? Some matters are dealt with by compensation…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Progression of Bills through Parliament
The challenge was that this Bill was launched very fast in the House of Commons, without pre-legislative scrutiny, whereas other private Members’ Bills have often been knocked around for a long while and discussed in detail, so that their flaws were recognised, adjusted and amended at different time…
I did not speak on Third Reading.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 June 2026
Milburn Review: Interim Report
I very much welcome this report by Alan Milburn, who highlights the need to work cross-sectorally to support young people. I wonder if the Minister could take away the thought that he could test and learn by doing a pilot with Choice in Hackney, which works with disabled people, and with my local Mi…
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
Defence Industrial Strategy
What consideration has my right hon. Friend given to joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank to make sure that we are really pushing the investment that we need to see in defence in the current world situation?
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Apprenticeships
I really welcome my right hon. Friend’s work in this area, given that so many young people are unemployed, but what is he doing to evaluate how many apprentices get proper, long-term, full-time jobs as a result? Clearly, that is the end goal that we all want to see.
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 April 2026
Engagements
Q5. Poor housing and temporary accommodation is having a devastating impact on families, their life chances, our schools and communities. Will the Prime Minister put the full weight of Government behind ensuring that new developments in London are delivering for Londoners, not private investors and …
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
2 contributions
Falling School Rolls
8. What steps she is taking to support schools with falling rolls.
Some of my borough’s schools are among the top 1% in the country, but we have a forecast drop of 6.1% for reception and 8.3% for year 7 over the next three years. The picture is poor across London, but Hackney is one of the worst-affected boroughs. Given the patchwork of local schools, with academie…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
2 contributions
Railway Stations: Accessibility
2. What steps her Department is taking to improve accessibility at train stations.
You know that you are making your mark when Ministers name your station before you do—or one does, I should say. I am delighted that it has got to the next stage. I invite the Minister or the Secretary of State to visit Dalston Kingsland to see the impact of not having a lift at this station when, a…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Defence
rose—
I have to say, the hon. Gentleman has some chutzpah, given that one of his Government’s many defence reviews had more pictures than pages. I agree with him that we should be serious-minded on this matter—we need to be prepared for defence—but under his Government, projects were delayed and aircraft …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we have no idea how long this conflict will be and he is not assuming that it will be over quickly. We live in troubled times, and it is quite right that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is making serious contingency plans as we move through spring and summer and…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Hatzola Ambulance Attack
I heard from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Sarah Sackman), who met Hatzola in her constituency, how only half an hour after the attack, volunteers were taking calls to support people. Hatzola does amazing work across Hackney, the borough that I partly represen…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
2 contributions
Publicly Owned Markets: Food Security
4. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of public ownership of markets on food security.
A number of us in London are concerned about the City of London’s proposal to put through a private Bill to relinquish its responsibility for providing the fish and meat markets, Billingsgate and Smithfield. A lot of our constituents rely on Billingsgate for selling and buying fresh fish, and it is …
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Topical Questions
T7. I have a number of constituents who have had serious delays to their immigration appeals as a result of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. One particularly tragic case involves someone who has no recourse to public funds and serious mental health problems. They applied in September 20…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
Youth Unemployment: Autumn Budget 2025
I am glad that the Government are introducing things like the youth guarantee and working to help those who are not in education, employment or training. However, as the hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) highlighted, AI is also an increasing concern. Businesses I have spoken to a…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My right hon. Friend is right to focus on the cost of living and de-escalation in the middle east. I am pleased to hear her confirm again that there is money for the Ministry of Defence and access to the special reserve to deploy additional capabilities to the middle east. Can she give us a figure o…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Could the Minister update us on the discussions about people who arrived in this country pursuing leave for five years, or whatever period their visa stated, to get status in the UK, and who are approaching the end of that period? I have a number of constituents who will reach that point in April, a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 March 2026
Spring Forecast
I have to say that the sound and fury from the shadow Chancellor is extraordinary, given that it was his Government who ran the country and its citizens into chaos, with interest rate and inflation increases under the Truss mini-Budget. I welcome today’s forecast partly because there has been so lit…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
The Prime Minister has spoken about repatriating British citizens in the region. Will that be through the Ministry of Defence? If so, who will foot the bill: the MOD, the Treasury or those being repatriated?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
My constituent Isabel Rose suffered a horrendous event in Hong Kong almost exactly two years ago. She was sexually assaulted and violently raped. She went to the authorities in trust to report this, but it was not properly investigated. Given the Government’s support for tackling violence against wo…