Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
4 contributions
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
Sometimes the wisdom of the House is crystallised in the comments of us ordinary Back Benchers. That was particularly evident today in the brave speech of the hon. Member for South Shields (Emma Lewell) and, indeed, the intervention of the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on the Le…
That is entirely true, and in fact, the current Trump Administration made the same point to the Government before the nomination of Peter Mandelson.
That perverse logic led to the most obviously unwise public appointment in modern times, and the implied message, unfortunately, was clear: “Governmen…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over)
I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and, given what I am going to say, to the fact that I was a trustee of the SAS Regimental Association for two decades up until a few years ago.
This Bill was sold to the House and the country on the premis…
No, but it is simply the rule that in Northern Ireland, it is easier to get legal aid for these issues. I can see that there was a reason for that in the past, but it has, in effect, perverted the course of justice in a case where soldiers did nothing more than their duty. That is what is going to h…
Commons
Proceedings
27 April 2026
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is a rather more mundane point of order. Last Thursday, my website, provided by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, was compromised. Malicious links were inserted, redirecting users to south-east Asian gambling websites. I guess it could…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
St George’s day is certainly a day to celebrate patriotism. This morning, The Daily Telegraph reported that the Attorney General, when he was in private practice, voluntarily gave advice on the pursuit of British soldiers over alleged war crimes—allegations that turned out to be bogus. The article s…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
Contaminated Blood: Compensation
6. What steps his Department is taking to ensure people impacted by contaminated blood receive appropriate compensation.
I thank the Minister and I welcome what he has just said, but the infected blood scandal left thousands of people with severe lifelong injuries. Many of them have waited decades—some nearly half a century—for justice, and with every week that passes the likelihood that any of them will die goes up. …
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
4 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
Our ambassador in Washington stands at the nexus of the Five Eyes, with more classified intelligence crossing his desk than crosses the desks of most Cabinet Ministers. It is obviously one of the most important appointments the Prime Minister makes, but it is also one of the most sensitive. A securi…
That is the public information. If the hon. Gentleman wants to get into the argument between UKVS, which we are now told was saying the risk was marginal, and No. 10, who are saying that the strike-off is a red, he can do that. I am talking about public data, and about what we should know before we …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
The Prime Minister rebuffed first the Leader of the Opposition and then the leader of the Liberal Democrats for saying that the then Cabinet Secretary’s advice to the Prime Minister was to get the clearance before the announcement. I will read one sentence from a document entitled “Options for HMA W…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
NHS Management
3. What steps he is taking to improve the effectiveness of NHS management.
Following on directly from the Secretary of State’s comments to my right hon. Friend the Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale), last month two national health service trusts in my constituency were found to be among the worst in England, one of them actually the worst. NHS England will …
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
5 contributions
Lucy Letby Case: Conduct of Cheshire Police
In 1998, Cheshire police arrested Sally Clark and charged her with the murder of her two baby sons. In 1999, she was convicted of their murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. That conviction and sentence was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2003 and recognised as a gross miscarriage of justi…
I am not easily embarrassed, but the hon. Member—
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
This morning’s papers report that my two national health service trusts are the worst in the country. One of the more stupid proposals of the management of one of those trusts was a plan to downgrade Goole and District hospital in my constituency. Under the leadership of the former chief executive, …
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. After the financial crash in 2009, a banker called Tom Hayes was wrongly sent to prison. Last July the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, and in January it instructed the Government to pay him just shy of £300,000. He has still not been paid—not becau…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
18 March 2026
Engagements
Q7. Last week, in the Government’s attack on jury trials, the Prime Minister’s own Back Benchers said that the plans were“unworkable, unjust, unpopular and unnecessary”, —[ Official Report , 10 March 2026; Vol. 782, c. 213.] “wrong in principle and wrong in practice”, —[ Official Report , 10 March…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address
Last week, the Government withheld the questions the Prime Minister put to Peter Mandelson and his responses, apparently at the request of the Metropolitan police. This is perhaps the most important documentation we could see and, as Madam Deputy Speaker confirmed, “Erskine May” confirms that:
“In …
Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals
I am going to take the unusual step of thanking two journalists—Lisa O’Carroll of The Guardian , and whoever writes for the BBC website—because they wrote about all this last week. That is relevant, because I have three constituents who would not have known about this, had it not been for the media …
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
11 February 2026
3 contributions
Troubles-era Violence: IRA Accountability
7. What steps he is taking to help ensure adequate accountability for troubles-era violence for members of the IRA.
Some 2,058 people died at the hands of republican paramilitaries during the troubles—2,058—but despite that fact, only 19 IRA members are currently in prison. The Secretary of State laughably claims there was no amnesty under the Good Friday agreement, and he gives us only the few he has just mentio…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
4 February 2026
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Today’s Opposition day debate will focus on Mandelson and his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, it will not cover his relationship with another alleged paedophile, murderer, gangster, specialist in bribery and corruption, and Putin favourite:…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On Wednesday 21 January, before my contribution to the debate on the Northern Ireland remedial order, I omitted to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. That was an oversight, as it includes a declaration of a major contribution…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
To follow on from the previous question, the Home Secretary has strongly supported digital facial ID and artificial intelligence. As her colleague, the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), has said, both of those technologies show significant error rates, particularly when it c…
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
11 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
The right hon. Gentleman changes the subject, from what the letter of comfort was given for to what it was not given for, which does not prove anything about the letter of comfort. What is the case is that the judge said at the time that he could not rule on the case because the state had made a pro…
The Secretary of State—who tells the truth—frequently says that the parties in Northern Ireland did not support the legacy legislation. I am speaking from memory, so these numbers are approximate, but when there was a poll of the population of Northern Ireland, 30-something per cent were in favour o…
+9 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Iran: Protests
This despicable regime goes in for state terrorism at home and abroad, and its principal instrument for terrorism abroad is the IRGC. This is now the sixth time that I have called on Prime Ministers and Ministers to proscribe the IRGC. The excuse given historically is that we want to keep our embass…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
19 January 2026
SEND Support: Access
Early access costs money. Last year, children with special needs in the East Riding of Yorkshire were funded to less than £1,000 per capita—the lowest level in England. Camden received £3,565 a head. The Government’s grant proposals increase East Yorkshire by £30 a head. They increase Camden by £267…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
In light of what was essentially a very sensible statement, may I ask the Minister a point of clarification? She talks about data technology and innovation, but have the Government considered an experiment in mandatory black box technology for very young drivers? The AA and the British Insurance Bro…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
7 contributions
Jury Trials
rose—
My right hon. Friend is being characteristically overgenerous to the Government when he talks about the requirement for modelling. This is not a “Mastermind” question; it is simple arithmetic. Three per cent of trials are by jury. If we do away with half of them, which is more draconian than even th…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
7 January 2026
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
The Secretary of State has stated many times that the previous Government’s legislation in this area had no support from political parties in Northern Ireland. Can he tell the House which political parties support his legislation?