Contributions
808 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Safety of JournalistsI understand that time is very tight, and as a courtesy to those Members wishing to participate, I will be as brief as possible. A free and independent press is vital to…10 Jun 2021HANSARD 0.7% Official Development Assistance TargetThe decision by this Government to take essential, life-saving money from the world’s poorest people is absolutely shameful and it has confirmed, once and for all, that the idea…08 Jun 2021HANSARDA Brighter Future for the Next GenerationIt is a pleasure to be called to speak in this hugely important debate and to follow the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish). I thank my hon. Friend the Member for…13 May 2021HANSARDReligious Minorities: Land RightsIt is a pleasure to see you in the Chair for this afternoon’s debate, Dr Huq. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this important debate on land…22 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeWhat I would love to happen is for the Committee, when it meets, to examine that in detail to find out exactly whether it is true. What is inescapable is that if a company is 10…14 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeWe have absolutely no quibble with what the shadow Minister has been saying, but is she trying to draw an equivalence between what David Cameron did and what Fergus Ewing did in a…14 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeMr Speaker, “I believe that secret corporate lobbying…goes to the heart of why people are so fed up with politics. It arouses people’s worst fears and suspicions about how our…14 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeThe short answer is yes, and that is something that I will come on to in a moment. That is why this is so important. It is not just Members of this House who are questioning the…14 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I am sure that will not have escaped those on the Treasury Bench. The Government’s inquiry, led by Nigel Boardman, simply will not…14 Apr 2021HANSARDLobbying of Government CommitteeThe hon. Gentleman is right. I think we all know from our postbags that, regardless of which side of the House we are on in this debate, we are all tainted by this. Anything that…14 Apr 2021HANSARD Government Support for NGOs and Churches in Developing Nations: Covid-19It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his contribution and for securing the debate, and wish him a very…25 Mar 2021HANSARDPassenger Boats and the Maritime and Coastguard AgencyIt is pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dame Angela, for today’s debate on the future of passenger boats and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. I wish the hon. Member for Romford…17 Mar 2021HANSARDPress Freedom and Safety of Protesters: IndiaIt is a pleasure to see you back in the Chair for this afternoon’s debate, Mr Stringer. I am sure that I speak for everyone in thanking the House staff who have worked so hard to…08 Mar 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsSince December, Argyll and Bute’s shellfish exporters have been, in their words, haemorrhaging money. Last week, one small company even paid €1,400 to taxi prawns from Boulogne to…11 Feb 2021HANSARDNazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeLet me once again put on record the SNP’s unequivocal condemnation of the Iranian Government for the outrageous detention of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. I repeat our call for her…03 Nov 2020HANSARD Integrated Activity Fund: TransparencyOn being a hectoring bystander, I take the Minister’s point. We were paying through the nose to be that hectoring bystander. When there is transparency and accountability, that is…22 Oct 2020HANSARD Integrated Activity Fund: TransparencyIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I put on record that I am also a member of the all-party parliamentary group on democracy and human rights in the…22 Oct 2020HANSARD Integrated Activity Fund: TransparencyI think the Minister knows the point that I was making: having this debate once every 18 months or every two years is simply not enough, and having written questions fobbed off…22 Oct 2020HANSARD Free School MealsIt is a pleasure to speak in the debate this afternoon and to give the full support of the Scottish National party to this Opposition motion. We very much welcome this debate,…21 Oct 2020HANSARD Free School MealsThat is not really a question for me—I am not and never would aspire to be the Secretary of State for Education—but I take on board the hon. Member’s point, because it is about…21 Oct 2020