Contributions
1,346 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRecent DisorderI am grateful to my hon. Friend for what she says, and I agree with her. There was terrible disorder in Ballymena last year, as a result of which a number of steps were taken to…08 Jul 2026HANSARDRecent DisorderI hope the hon. Lady will recognise that the common travel area, which is more than a century old, is of great benefit to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the Republic of…08 Jul 2026HANSARDRecent DisorderI join the hon. Gentleman in thanking and praising the brave officers of the PSNI. My hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) and I visited the officers at…08 Jul 2026HANSARDRobert Hamill InquiryI wish to inform the House that the report of the Robert Hamill inquiry, originally chaired by Sir Edwin Jowitt and now by Sir John Evans, will be published shortly after the…07 Jul 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI join others in congratulating the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), on having secured this extremely important, timely and…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeOf course I will give way to the former Health Minister.29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI absolutely acknowledge the work that Mike Nesbitt has been doing in health, and it shows what can be achieved if minds are put to it. It is a difficult balance between, on the…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI will reflect on that point. I do not know in what sense the right hon. Gentleman uses “remote”; if it is geographical, I agree with him entirely. I acknowledge that, as he said…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeWell, it is entirely the result of that. The funding that was made available was the fixed sum to which I referred a moment ago. That is the first point. Secondly, the Department…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeThe hon. Gentleman invites me to speculate on discussions I may or may not have had, and I will kindly resist the request that he has just made for reasons that I am sure will…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeThe hon. and learned Member shakes his head. With respect, I am afraid that it is a self-evident fact.29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI would indeed accept that point, if it was not for the fact that a decision had been made to leave the European Union when there is an open border between Northern Ireland and…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI think the hon. Gentleman was responsible for establishing the inquiry, and I pay credit to him for doing so. The real way to honour those who have suffered is to ensure that the…29 Jun 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland OfficeI congratulate the hon. Member on having established the inquiry, because when things go catastrophically wrong, it is what we do about it that counts, and that requires an…29 Jun 2026HANSARDBelfast Attack: Further InformationIn my response to yesterday’s urgent question, I committed to provide the House with a further update on the facts surrounding the horrific attack in north Belfast on 8 June. My…10 Jun 2026HANSARDNorth Belfast: Violent AttackI do agree with the hon. Gentleman. I think back to those who were attacked in the wake of the terrible events in Southport and in Ballymena. We know that in Northern Ireland…09 Jun 2026HANSARDNorth Belfast: Violent AttackI am very happy to say to the hon. Gentleman that I will report to the House in an appropriate form as soon as I am able to do so.09 Jun 2026HANSARDNorth Belfast: Violent AttackUntil I am in a position, by talking the— [ Interruption. ] The hon. Gentleman has asked me a question; will he do me the courtesy of allowing me to answer it? Until I am in a…09 Jun 2026HANSARDNorth Belfast: Violent AttackI say to the hon. Member that the public are right to be angry about what they witnessed in that appalling video and what they will have heard about the attack that took place. I…09 Jun 2026HANSARDNorth Belfast: Violent AttackFirst, the footage that many people have seen is, indeed, truly horrifying. On the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, as he will be well aware, any foreign national who abuses the…09 Jun 2026