Contributions
324 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I rise to speak in support of new clause 10 on a duty of care, but before I begin it would be remiss of me not to mention the good work that the Minister has done since he came to…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)Sorry. Maybe next time; that is the third mistake I have made today. As my right hon. and hon. Friends said, the crux of the Bill is not just about the law but the investigation.…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)As I said, the military are not employing full-time investigators. Many of the people who are investigating are doing other jobs as well. It can get even more complicated. In…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)Whatever the figures are, these people are still vulnerable to social exclusion and homelessness. I well remember a harrowing case from when I was growing up of a boy who joined…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: the investigation should be effective and efficient. As I said while building up the background to this issue, if we could cut the…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The person who was recruited in this case was clearly unsuitable for the forces. He did not take advantage of the fantastic opportunities…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention: he is always thoughtful, and his intervention was helpful. I should apologise, because I should have put “allegedly” in front of…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)That is eminently sensible, and I hope that at some stage the Government will accept that and perhaps put it in the Bill. That is up to the Government, but I think that that is…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)There is still a huge stigma in relation to illiteracy, as my right hon. Friend knows. A lot of issues in the prison population concern people with undiagnosed learning…22 Oct 2020HANSARD Support for People and Businesses in Wales: Covid-19I beg to move, That this House has considered support for people and businesses in Wales affected by the covid-19 outbreak. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr…21 Oct 2020HANSARD Support for People and Businesses in Wales: Covid-19May I begin by apologising to you, Sir Edward? I called you Mr Leigh when I should have referred to you as Sir Edward, and I hope you do not think I was being discourteous to you…21 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. After the events of your beloved Manchester United’s visit to the north-east, I hope you had a very happy…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)As my right hon. Friend was speaking, I thought of an anomaly. The Bill now strikes out claims on the Ministry of Defence after six years. However, if new evidence comes to light…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)That goes back to my earlier point. As my right hon. Friend says, inserting a politician would mean only more cases where the courts are asked to review the decision of the…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)It is not. I would like the Minister to answer this conundrum that I came up with when I was listening to my right hon. Friend’s very good speech earlier. The trouble that I see…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)I am glad the Minister nods in assent. The present Attorney General has been accused of advising on legal matters from a political standpoint. The Scottish National party’s…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)My right hon. Friend was a member of the Defence Committee, which wrote to the Secretary of State in July 2020 saying that “the Bill may not be an effective way of achieving” the…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)It is important that we set an example, Mr Stringer. The title and role of the Attorney General is often entwined with politics, which complicates the matters of transparency. By…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am glad the Minister has confirmed that.20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Does my right hon. Friend agree that the nub of the problem that he is driving at is that clause 8 and schedule 2 take away the court’s discretion under section 33 of the…20 Oct 2020