Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
Violence Against Retail Workers
The Minister has mentioned new offences, more resources and more charges. Does he accept that the effect of these welcome measures will be undermined unless offenders are brought to court speedily? Does he accept that, at the moment, the delays in bringing these matters to court are far too great an…
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Covid Fraud
My Lords, can the Minister say how much of the billions of pounds of public money which was wasted due to fraud and corruption in relation to Covid has now been recovered?
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Immigration and Asylum: Appeals
My Lords, I quite understand that the Minister cannot give us the details until the Bill is published tomorrow, but he will know that we currently have a body of independent impartial adjudicators who deal with immigration matters. Of course, I understand that we need more of them to deal with the b…
Lords
Proceedings
23 June 2026
Social Media: Use of X by Government Departments
My Lords, the Minister says that there is a reason why the Government use X. Why is it that the Attorney-General’s department can manage without using X but other government departments cannot?
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Lord Mandelson Humble Address
My Lords, can the Minister confirm whether the Prime Minister and other Ministers have been using a WhatsApp system that permanently deletes official messages, and, if so, whether she thinks that is acceptable?
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Lebanon: Israel Defense Forces Operations
My Lords, does the Minister have any sympathy for the people of northern Israel, who have been under constant bombardment from Hezbollah? Given that Hezbollah has made it absolutely clear that it has no interest in a peace settlement, is not the reality that unless Israel deals with Hezbollah, nobod…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Windrush Compensation Scheme
Have the Government actually conducted any research into whether unrepresented claimants receive lower awards than represented claimants, and if so why, to address the concern of the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin?
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Local Government Pension Scheme
My Lords, can the Minister confirm that any new guidance in this context will approve the principles stated by the Law Commission in 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020? Those principles assert that local government investment decisions
“must not involve a risk of significant financial det…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
We were very clear when the legislation was passed that we needed to have a period of implementation for a number of reasons, not least so that small and medium-sized organisations and others could have the guidance. We are on track to deliver this within a timeframe around, we hope, that two-year p…
Lords
Proceedings
27 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
The Minister rightly said that it is vital for politicians of all parties to stand up against antisemitism. Does the Minister share my disgust at the comments of the leader of the Green Party, Mr Zack Polanski, who suggested that the problem was a “perception of unsafety” and antisemitism for the Je…
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, we return to this highly important matter once again. I know that the Government will not appreciate this, but it is our duty in this House to hold them to account for their promises.
When in opposition, the Labour Party committed to proscribing the IRGC; it has now voted against this six…
Lords
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Student Visas
I am grateful to the noble Lord. He will know that the Government are taking extremely serious action on the removal of people who do not have the right to be here. That involves several mechanisms. First, we have to speed up the results of asylum claims in the first place. Then, when individuals ha…
Lords
Proceedings
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
My Lords, is it possible that the reason the Foreign Office did not inform the Prime Minister that it had overruled the security advice—which it is perfectly entitled to do—was that it knew very well that the Prime Minister was so wedded to the appointment of Mandelson and had appointed him, as we h…
Lords
Debate
16 April 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I supported the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, throughout, and I continue to do so. I also thank the Minister for the time he has taken to engage on the issue and for recognising that this is a serious and pertinent problem. The glorification of terrorism has real consequences, as we have be…
My Lords, I have already spoken to Motion P. I beg to move.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
13 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I agree with the powerful speeches made by the noble Lord, Lord Banner, and my noble friend Lord Grabiner. I just want to emphasise two points on Amendment 248, to which I have added my name. The first point I want to emphasise is that the law already provides that, if the local authority …
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for confirming that she knows that already. I will comment, I hope politely, on Amendment 248D in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook, and the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, to which the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson spoke. They wish to ins…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
27 March 2026
3 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
The noble Baroness is making a point that contradicts the words of the Bill, as the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, has explained. Clause 31(1) says in unambiguous terms:
“No person is under any duty to participate in the provision of assistance in accordance with this Act”.
We all agree with that. …
My Lords, I just want to respond to the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, on the importance of conscientious objection. The strength of Clause 31 and Schedule 3 is that they are not confined to those who can show that they have a conscientious objection to assisted suicide. Any doctor or any other pers…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Nobody here is saying that consultations are all a waste of time. What we are saying is that this particular consultation is deeply flawed in its construction.
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I point out briefly that the essence of where the noble Baroness, Lady Owen, is coming from is that she speaks directly from the experience of the victims who have suffered from this. It is the victims themselves who have been struggling with the existing system, often in vain and with hug…
My Lords, I have great respect for the views of the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan. We understand where she is coming from. But, as the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, said, this has been democratically passed by both Houses. The very graphic descriptions of the physical aspects of abortion are intended to p…
Lords
Debate
20 March 2026
4 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to see the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis of Banbury, back in her place. She has been very much missed, and I hope this is the first stage on the road to full recovery. She, like me, may have a feeling of Groundhog Day because we have made lamentably slow p…
The Senedd has given its consent —that is what the noble Lord seems to be ignoring. Why should this Parliament not proceed to deal with what we all agree is a reserved matter?
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
5 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
It was suggested by the noble Baroness, Lady Lawlor, that Clause 208 would undermine respect for the law. On the contrary, it will enhance respect for the law, because it will express in statutory form compassion for women who have the misfortune to suffer the loss of their baby at late term for wha…
Of course, the unborn baby, until it is born, has no legal identity. That is the law of the land. The unborn baby has no legal identity, and the mother is in the prime position in relation to that baby. We have to balance the interests of all concerned. My view is that Clause 208 does contain the ba…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
4 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I am saddened by the attack from the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, on the Ministers, because they have sat through hours of debate on the Bill and listened most patiently. I have not always agreed with them, but they have responded with the utmost courtesy. They should be thanked, rather tha…
My Lords, my answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, is that this amendment is not going to solve all problems in this area, but it is going to make a significant contribution. She is concerned about hard cases, and she identifies some of the possible hard cases. My answer to that is that the CPS wi…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
Would the Minister agree that one of the ironies of this sorry saga is that His Majesty’s Government had a highly competent ambassador in Washington DC, Karen Pierce, who had the confidence of the Trump Administration and was widely respected in that city? Does the Minister agree that no Government …
Lords
Debate
13 March 2026
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
How are we looking after the most vulnerable at the most vulnerable time of their life if we isolate them from those who have given them care in the most difficult time of their life, when they are about to die?
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I hope the Minister will give me as satisfactory a response in relation to this group as the other Minister just gave to the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey.
Amendments 393B to 393F in this group are in my name. They address Clauses 168 to 171, which will create a presumption of anonymity for…
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister and to all noble Lords who have spoken in what has been an interesting and important debate on a vital question. I am also grateful to the Minister and her officials, who have devoted considerable time to meeting me and others concerned about this matter,…