Contributions
1,391 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsWell, at least the lorries were not polluting the air so much if the drivers were just sitting drinking coffee; I am sure they enjoyed the exercise anyway. This illustrates a key…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI thank the hon. Lady for that intervention. I assume she is speaking in particular about ports in the north-east of England, and it seems that the Department for Transport has…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsWe could argue that in principle the Department for Transport was trying to do the right things in terms of contingency planning because, let’s face it, a no-deal Brexit could…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI thank the hon. Gentleman for gamely trying to defend the Government position. Fair play to him; he is the only one willing to do that. I would like to see him argue to all the…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I spoke earlier about the systemic procurement failures in the Department for Transport. It is clear there is a common thread between…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI thank the hon. Gentleman for trying once more. The EU referendum was in June 2016, and as I have said, the Government are supposed to have been doing no-deal planning for over…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI am actually very surprised at that. I put in a written parliamentary question asking how much the Department for Transport had paid towards the dredging of the port at Ramsgate,…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI cannot confirm that. The right hon. Gentleman is quite comfortable with his legacy there, so I will leave that to him; what he said is on the record. No one else seems to…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI agree wholeheartedly. To be fair to the current Transport Secretary, he allowed VTEC, the Virgin-Stagecoach consortium, to walk away owing the taxpayer £2 billion and said that…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry Contractsrose—05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI will take your guidance, Mr Speaker, and perhaps spare the Transport Secretary any more of his litany of failures. The right hon. Gentleman has already survived what was…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry Contractsrose —05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI tried to intervene on the Transport Secretary on this point. Was the hon. Gentleman as surprised as I was that only after an out-of-court settlement with Eurotunnel had been…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsI welcome the hon. Gentleman’s congratulations on securing this emergency debate, which suggests that he agrees that it is needed because the Government are not answering…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry Contractsrose —05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsGiven that the hon. Gentleman’s robust defence of the Transport Secretary is that the fault lies not with him but with the entire Government, who does the hon. Gentleman think…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsWill the hon. Gentleman give way?05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsThe Secretary of State has argued that the £33 million will not be going directly to the Eurotunnel shareholders because of the improved services, border systems and security. Can…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsMy hon. Friend is making a fine point. Does he share my surprise that when the Government have effectively been shown to have broken a law of competitive tendering, the Transport…05 Mar 2019HANSARD EU Exit Preparations: Ferry ContractsOnce again, I thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this debate. I also thank all Members who have taken part, particularly the two Conservative Members, whose contributions in…05 Mar 2019