Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
3 November 2025
Topical Questions
The F-35 Lightning II aircraft is a cutting-edge system, the helmets for which come from my constituency, but the Public Accounts Committee has the MOD in missile lock over the cost of introducing the new nuclear freefall bombs with the F-35A. Can the Minister give the House some reassurance that th…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
4 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
Devolution is not working. Instead of two Governments working in harness, Scotland has one in Westminster with its back turned to the one in Holyrood, which daily plots to break up Britain. Labour took power convinced that they were the grown-ups who would reset relations with the SNP at Holyrood. T…
I just gently point out that I think more Scots voted for Brexit than for anything else in the history of Scotland.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
2 contributions
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Birmingham’s best band is, of course, Black Sabbath and it has counselled us that:
“If you listen to fools, the mob rules.”
This is a case of mob rule here. The Secretary of State has done a tremendous job of setting out the Government’s position. Will she review, while maintaining police independ…
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Back to the Sabs. Will the Secretary of State review the rules around sporting and entertainment events to make sure that this Government, and any future Government, are not rendered impotent in the face of the mob?
Commons
Proceedings
20 October 2025
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
A senior Chinese Government official invited Britain to
“fulfil its obligations and honour its commitments”
over the so-called super-embassy, but can the Minister shed light on what those obligations and commitments were? If he is going to say that no such commitments or obligations were offered, …
Commons
Debate
15 October 2025
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
For many years, I commuted by aircraft from Scotland to Dublin—so many years, in fact, that I can still recall there are eight emergency exits on a Boeing 737-800. There are two at the front, two at the rear and four over-wing exits. What a great pity that this Bill does not have an amendment that i…
Commons
Debate
14 October 2025
4 contributions
Energy Profits Levy: North-east Scotland
I am from the south-west of Scotland, which is as far from the north-east as one can get in Scotland. None the less, this is a huge issue for the whole country. My hon. Friend is making a point about the North sea basin being mature. We always hear that—it is mature, it is declining—but the Norwegia…
Will the Minister give way on that point?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
15 September 2025
Employment Rights Bill
Sadly, we are not here to relitigate this entire Bill, which is so wide in scope and impact, and yet so skimpy in detail, having been cobbled together for a headline under Labour’s “first 100 days” banner. I refer the House to Lords amendment 61, which without doubt will be dashed aside as Labour se…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Grooming Gangs: National Inquiry
12. What recent progress she has made on establishing a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
It beggars belief that the inquiry inches along at such a dreadfully slow pace. With the Scottish Government ruling out an inquiry there, will the Home Secretary please commit to fast-tracking a thoroughgoing inquiry into the grooming gang scandal, for the sake of the victims?
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
As a seasoned diplomat, does the Minister recognise that there is a danger that we are holding Israel to a different standard? When the Americans reached out into Pakistan to snuff out Osama bin Laden, the architect of 9/11, we were taking them to the bar; when Israel reaches out with a precision de…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief: Impact on Farming
6. If she will meet with representatives of the farming industry to discuss the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief on that sector.
The Chancellor elicited much public sympathy with her recent tearful appearance on these Benches, but over the summer I have had Dumfries and Galloway farmers in tears at the loss of the next generation of farming. A new Centre for the Analysis of Taxation report says that HMRC’s own figures indicat…
Commons
Debate
8 September 2025
Defence Industrial Strategy
I am delighted that the face of procurement is changing and that, hopefully, we will see a telescoping of the time between the flash of inspiration and the bang of kinetic effectors, as they say. The neutral vendor framework for innovation is a very important part of that, but will the Minister give…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
8 September 2025
Defence Sector: Skills
Charles Stewart Parnell came to this place and used British institutions against the British state. Now, in Scotland, we have First Minister John Swinney, who is a kind of pound-shop Parnell. Although we are hearing much about defence infrastructure across the UK, the SNP Government have a presumpti…
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Hospitality Sector
It was a great moment when my daughter pulled a pint for me as part of her duties as a barmaid in her first job as she worked her way through university. Although that job put vital cash in her pocket, it also gave her people skills and proof on her CV that she was reliable and trustworthy with cash…
Commons
Debate
2 September 2025
Speciality Steel UK: Insolvency
It is good news that Liberty Steel Dalzell in Scotland is not involved in this immediate crisis, but it is not shroud-waving to suggest that the difficulties in the wider industry may mean that one day it will become involved. When the overdue steel strategy arrives, will it be a 360° look at steel …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Ukraine
I should declare an interest in that my eldest son today started work at Rosyth royal dockyard, a key part of British military infrastructure for more than 100 years. Over the summer, we saw Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney meet with Ukrainian military personnel at the Edinburgh military tatto…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Middle East
Many happy returns, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Druze in Syria are suffering nothing short of atrocities, and that situation continues. What practical help can the UK give as the Israelis try to set up safe zones and humanitarian corridors for them?
Commons
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
2 contributions
Welfare Fraud
7. What steps she is taking to help tackle fraud in the welfare system.
I think we can all agree that fraud strikes at the heart of the system, kicking away its underpinnings. I hope that the Government will undertake a zero-tolerance approach, unlike in Scotland, where we recently heard that £36 million of benefit money paid out in error is now not to be recovered. Doe…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
Topical Questions
T9. The citizenAID first aid charity provides excellent education in emergency situations to children and young people. I have written to the Scottish education department to invite it to introduce it to the curriculum. Is there any interest from the Department for Education down here?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 July 2025
Ukraine
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I can confirm that it was not my phone. My ringtone is “633 Squadron”, which is very distinctive.
It is tremendous that the planning for the coalition of the willing has been put together so quickly, but plans are paper tigers. We need flying tigers. If we are to se…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
17 July 2025
Topical Questions
We have heard this morning that the review of the UK Internal Market Act 2020 somehow tramples on Holyrood, but in fact, the Government say:
“Devolved Governments will have greater flexibility to set rules”.
Is there not a danger that this invites the SNP Government to introduce change for the sak…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2025
9 contributions
RAF E-7 Wedgetail Programme
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the RAF E-7 Wedgetail programme.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. Victory in the battle of Britain means we are having this debate in this place in English, but how was that aerial triumph secured? Of course, it had muc…
As the Chair of the Defence Committee, the hon. Member is very knowledgeable about this subject, and I hope that we will tease out today much of what he raised—we may actually get some of the answers we seek.
As I was saying, the RAF has a problem: it cannot offer a complete package, and we could b…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
9 July 2025
2 contributions
Supporting Scottish Agriculture
14. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on supporting Scottish agriculture.
We Conservatives were vilified when we pointed out that the vindictive changes to farming reliefs were going to damage jobs in rural Scotland. The Scotland Office conducted its own roundtable with agriculture figures. Will the Minister share the results of that with the House, the Scottish Governmen…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 July 2025
Post Office Horizon Inquiry: Volume 1
As a member of the Business and Trade Committee, I was aghast to find that the Capture system predates Horizon and goes as far back as 1992; so we are 33 years on. The Minister has touched on the difficulties of getting evidence from that time. Has he made any assessment of how many victims might be…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
2 July 2025
2 contributions
A75 and A77 Roads: Economic Impact
1. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the adequacy of the A75 and A77 roads leading to Cairnryan ferry port on the Northern Ireland economy.
There cannot be a person in Northern Ireland who has not either been along the A75 or the A77 or had something delivered to them that has been driven through the ferry port at Cairnryan. We in Dumfries and Galloway and people across Scotland know that these are the highways from hell. This morning, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2025
Business Energy Supply Billing: Regulation
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. It is customary to congratulate the hon. Member who secured the debate, but I would like to go further: the hon. Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) is an outstanding champion not only for her constituents—through the Select Committee on Bu…