Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke), who I know is a vocal champion of tackling antisemitism, which I will focus on in my remarks.
In Tower Hamlets last week, a young man was filmed saying the most chilling antisemitic words:
“The Jews…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
This is not a series of isolated crimes; this is a pattern of frequent and repeated targeting of Jewish sites and communities across London, designed to intimidate and make people feel unsafe in their daily lives. If foreign-linked actors like Iran are using individuals in the UK to carry out attack…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wish to clarify the record in response to the point of order raised by the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) on Monday, following the statement on Iran, in which she claimed that the reputation of the Green party deputy leader, Mothin Ali, h…
indicated assent.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
It has been heartening to see the scenes of jubilation from Iranians, from Syrians and from British Iranians in this country at the death of the evil ayatollah. They hope that it will enable them ultimately to finally gain their freedom from this horrific regime. As the situation evolves, may I ask …
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Ukraine
It is an honour to speak in this debate, and I associate myself with the remarks of everyone who has spoken in the Chamber so far, not least in making the point that there continues to be cross-party agreement for resolute support behind Ukraine, and there is still, I believe, resolute support for t…
The Minister noted the absence of Reform from this debate. I also note the absence of the Green party. Perhaps they are too busy spreading sectarian hate up in Gorton and Denton, or undermining NATO at every corner. Does he agree?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 February 2026
Post Office Green Paper
I welcome the Minister’s statement, in which he referred to post offices being multi-carrier parcel hubs. One such carrier is Evri, and I visited its depot in my constituency of Hemel Hempstead last week with the GMB London region rep Danni Egan. I met dedicated couriers who were doing vital and oft…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Iran
I wish to associate myself with the remarks that have been made by a number of Members, particularly those of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden). I continue to advocate for ways in which the west can degrade the ability of the IRGC to kill protesters, such as targeted strike…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
On behalf of the all-party parliamentary group on Japan, may I say arigato gozaimasu to the Prime Minister for his visit? I hope that he had a sugoi time.
I think that all of us in the House are proud of the global combat air programme, which holds great opportunities not only for global, regional …
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
Official Development Assistance
I hate to disagree with the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell), who I respect greatly, but in an era when we have less money I wonder whether we should focus on reaching the poorest people the most. There are other models, including the International Finance Facility for Ed…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Iran: Protests
The Trump Administration initially indicated that they would protect protesters when they came out, which they have done in droves, but, as many Members have indicated, thousands upon thousands of them have now been killed. We worry about outside interference, but if we listen to a lot of the protes…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
3 contributions
Ukraine
I shall try to follow your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Let me begin by paying tribute to what Members have said already, and also to the fact that a number of Members in all parties have contributed in many different ways in trying to stand up for the Ukrainian people, not only in speeches in the…
I think we know who Putin’s friends are, and that is a matter of public record. I completely agree, and if I had had time during my question on the Iran statement yesterday, I would have spoken about the role that Iran is playing in Ukraine. Shahed drones, which all of us who have been to Ukraine ha…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Iran
It is telling that, in the past few weeks, we have heard absolutely nothing from Your Party, the Greens, the Socialist Campaign Group or the “stop some wars” coalition. Where have been the marches in solidarity with the Iranian people? You cannot claim to be a progressive and to care about social ju…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
I associate myself with the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), the Chair of the Select Committee—of which I am a member—and the remarks of others who have spoken about the horrors unfolding in front of our eyes. We have heard reports that Tawila is next. There are 6…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Police Reform
I welcome today’s announcement. I want to ask about the transfer to council and mayoral oversight in the context of a challenge I have locally. I have an amazing local police force in Hemel police. Officers often encounter instances of individuals and families who are responsible for antisocial beha…
Commons
Proceedings
5 November 2025
Conflict in Sudan
I associate myself with the remarks made by my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) yesterday. He noted that in previous conflicts, concerted efforts had been made to bring in some form of UN peacekeeping force, but unfortunately, that does not seem very popular in today’s world. I will f…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
Vehicle Headlight Glare Standards
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) for securing this important debate, for bringing this issue to national attention and indeed—forgive the pun—for shining a light on it. [Hon. Members: “Ooh.”] I know, I could not…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
15 September 2025
Police Stations
A constituent of mine tried to act as a good samaritan by handing in a handbag that they had found in the town centre, but they could not do so because Hemel Hempstead police station’s front desk had been closed under the last Government. They were told that they would have to travel to Hatfield pol…
Commons
Proceedings
8 September 2025
Palestine Action: Proscription and Protests
Last August, a police officer was hospitalised after being hit with a sledgehammer while responding to a Palestine Action attack on a business near Bristol—a fact that was absent from our debate when we voted to proscribe that organisation recently. The attackers had sledgehammers, axes, whips and o…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
2 contributions
New Nuclear
7. What assessment he has made of the role of new nuclear in supporting a clean energy transition.
I was grateful to the Secretary of State for showing his love for Hemel Hempstead when he came to launch a new scheme on solar panels the other month. On the question of new nuclear and clean jobs, could the Minister outline how communities like mine in Hemel Hempstead will benefit from these new jo…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
2 July 2025
Engagements
Q6. Hemel Hempstead is a new town that was built by a Labour Government after the second world war and provided decent housing to families like mine, yet 80 years on, the No. 1 issue in my case work is a shortage of housing. I therefore welcome this Government’s commitment to build thousands of new …
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
30 June 2025
2 contributions
Supporting Veterans
2. What steps he is taking to support veterans in Hertfordshire.
I thank the Minister for his answer and for his kind words about Roy Briggs. His family and I are also grateful for letter that he wrote to them. I had the privilege of attending his funeral last week. He was a real servant to our country, having flown in many brave missions over Europe. He was part…
Commons
Debate
23 June 2025
UK Military Base Protection
I commend the Government for the swift action they took to proscribe Palestine Action after its brazen actions at Brize Norton. I would like to raise concerns about another related group called the Islamic Human Rights Commission. It has expressed support for proscribed terrorist groups and used UK …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 June 2025
Middle East
As well as the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, it has supported Assad to kill half a million people in Syria, including Palestinians, and it supplies Putin with the drones he is using to massacre people in Ukraine. We must also remember that the Iranian regime persecutes its own people, including…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
23 June 2025
Topical Questions
T9. A single parent in my constituency has worked full time for more than 20 years but is now in personal crisis because universal credit is unable to reimburse the childcare costs she has paid in advance. I hope the Minister agrees that it is deeply unfair that my constituent is left short every mo…