Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
2 contributions
Digital ID
Thank you for calling me to speak, Sir Edward. The number of Members here and the demand for the debate show two things: first, it should be held in the main Chamber, not here, and secondly there are massive levels of public concern over the statement made by the Prime Minister. I will refer to two …
The right hon. Member makes an important point. The huge number of people who have signed this petition indicates to me that many in this country are deeply concerned about the direction in which we are travelling. ID cards are one thing; restricting jury trials is another. Facial recognition at tub…
Commons
Proceedings
3 December 2025
Venezuela: US Military
I compliment the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) on securing this urgent question.
Could the Minister be very clear? What the US is doing, in bombing vessels at sea in both international and potentially territorial waters, is illegal, as is the harassment of Trinidadian fishin…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Right to Trial by Jury
This is, I think, the third attempt by successive Governments to reduce the right to trial by jury. It is a fundamental right in our system that should not be undermined, and particularly not because the Government have a current and, hopefully, temporary problem with capacity. In answer to the hon.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 November 2025
5 contributions
Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations
I will be brief, Ms McVey. I simply say this: anyone who has observed what has happened in Gaza over the past 18 months must be disgusted and appalled at what they have seen—the deaths of children, the deaths of adults and the continued bombardment—and at the role that Britain has played in supplyin…
By any measurement of humanity, the people of Gaza have suffered as grievously as anyone has ever suffered in any conflict in the world. More than 60,000 are already dead, with the rest living among rubble, starving and unable to get the basic needs of medical attention. That also affects children, …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
May I ask the Foreign Secretary not to link two statements together in one in future, so that we can seriously examine one subject? Is she satisfied that the British arms and equipment sales that go to the United Arab Emirates do not end up in the hands of the RSF or as part of the ghastly conflict …
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
4 contributions
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
I welcome and support the Bill, which is an important step forward. It is a shame that it was not passed before the election so that it could have been dealt with in the wash-up of the previous Parliament. Will the Minister assure us that the Government will provide the necessary resources, and that…
The Antarctic treaty, which was long and hard fought for in this House and other places, has been important and, generally speaking, very successful. But there are issues about the increasing access to the Antarctic, the pollution that this causes and the need to clean up after the substantial numbe…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
Nowhere in the Home Secretary’s statement does she put this into any kind of global context. Millions of people have become refugees or homeless all around the world, and more than two thirds of them are housed by the southern countries—the poorest countries in the world—with the least resources to …
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I absolutely agree with the right hon. Member and support everything he has said about chalk streams and nature corridors. Does he think it would be helpful if the Bill went a bit further in trying to reinvigorate the natural world in densely populated urban areas? Since he has an enormous knowledge…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 November 2025
Curriculum and Assessment Review
Understanding history has a massive impact on social attitudes and people’s relationships with communities. Will the Secretary of State therefore look carefully at the primary school history curriculum to make sure that it includes a good understanding of global history and the concepts behind it, a…
Commons
Proceedings
5 November 2025
Conflict in Sudan
The 25 million people who are starving at the moment in Sudan are obviously victims of the most ghastly proxy war. What engagement do the Government have with the UAE on all this, and on its wider war objectives, given the vast mineral deposits that exist across Sudan, including in Darfur, which cle…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Huntingdon Train Attack
In the review, will the Home Secretary undertake to look at the very serious problems of some trains operating without any staff on them at all, some very busy trains having insufficient staff, and hundreds of stations all over the country having no staff at all, particularly in the evenings, when t…
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Gaza and Hamas
Every day since the ceasefire took place, at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the IDF. There have been numerous other breaches of the ceasefire and continued military activity in the west bank. Will the Minister assure the House that Britain no longer flies RAF aeroplanes over Gaza,…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
I, too, welcome the Bill becoming law. Personally, I wish that it also regulated rent levels, but my question is: how quickly will it become law to protect people? While this Bill has been winding its way through Parliament over the last year, many have faced the appalling situation of no-fault evic…
I will be brief, because this is a time-limited debate. I welcome the Bill, although it has deficiencies, because it does not regulate the amount of rent that is charged. In my constituency, a two-bedroom flat in the private rented sector goes for about £2,000 a month, which is way above what most p…
Commons
Proceedings
21 October 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. May I invite you to examine column 652 from yesterday’s Hansard , during the exchange about Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters travelling to Aston Villa. In reply to my question, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said she agreed with me about the safety of…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
4 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Will the right hon. Lady give way on that point?
The marine protection zone was agreed by all parties. It is a sustainable protection zone. There has never been any debate or dispute about it; Mauritius has fully supported it all along and guaranteed its continuation. I do not understand why the shadow Minister is raising these matters. Does she b…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Will the Secretary of State confirm that, in coming to the decision, the authorities in Birmingham took account of the behaviour of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on many other occasions in many other places and decided it was unsafe for the match to be played in Birmingham? It is absolutely not about bannin…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Ambassador to the United States
rose —
Does the right hon. Gentleman not think it slightly odd that sufficient due diligence was not done prior to the appointment of Lord Mandelson? On the day before Lord Mandelson was dismissed, apparently there were a lot of emails available to the Prime Minister that he either was not given or did not…
Commons
Proceedings
16 September 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to raise a point of order, of which I have sent given you notice. Have you had an indication from the Foreign Secretary that the Government will either come to this House today, or that they will make a statement concerning the UN independen…
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wish to apologise for inadvertently misleading the House yesterday, during the debate on the Chagos islands Bill. In column 816 of Hansard , I discussed the role of Olivier Bancoult in the relationship with David Snoxell, a previous high commissioner to M…
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
What security information is now shared with Israel? Is the information collected by the more than 600 Royal Air Force flights over Gaza being used to guide the Israeli bombardment of buildings in Gaza City and other places? Are we still continuing security co-operation with a country that has bombe…
Commons
Debate
9 September 2025
7 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Will the Minister give way?
Could I ask the Minister to return to the human cost and the human story? In 1968, the Chagossians first began to be removed from Diego Garcia and the archipelago. Their treatment was abominable and disgusting by any stretch of the imagination. It needs a bit more than a statement of regret; it need…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
8 September 2025
Palestine Action: Proscription and Protests
May I ask the Minister to reflect for a moment on the fact that this is the largest number of people arrested since the Terrorism Act 2000 came into force? Those people who were protesting on Saturday were protesting at the horror of the genocide in Gaza, and British complicity in it through arms sa…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Middle East
The Foreign Secretary chose very carefully his words about arms supplies that could be used in Gaza. Could he now be a bit clearer with the House? Are we still supplying parts for F-35 jets that are used to bombard people in Gaza? Is the information gathered by planes from RAF Akrotiri flying over G…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 July 2025
Orgreave Inquiry
First, I welcome the statement that has been made by the Minister today. It is an enormous step forward, and we should pay a huge tribute to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, and in particular Kate Flannery and Chris Peace and their colleagues, for all the great work that they have done for a…
Commons
Proceedings
22 July 2025
Birmingham Bin Strikes
Could the Minister explain this? I understand the issues of equal pay, and I think equal pay is essential, important and legally necessary, but what we have here is a reduction in pay for a significant group of workers. How can they possibly be held responsible for the financial problems that Birmin…