Contributions
1,690 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEducation RecoveryI join my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) in thanking teachers, support staff and parents, who, certainly in my North Durham constituency, have worked tremendously…07 Jun 2021HANSARDPost Office UpdateI thank the Minister for his statement. I also give him credit: in the 10-plus years that I, the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) and Lord Arbuthnot have…19 May 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMay I also say to my right hon. Friend that it will not in the future either, because it will not, as the Minister said, stop vexatious claims coming forward, because they will…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillThe hon. Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland) said that this was a good Bill—no, it is not. It is a bad Bill, and it is an unnecessary Bill. All of this could have been done…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI agree with my right hon. Friend’s comments about their lordships, but does he agree that if some of the amendments that were tabled in Committee had been adopted, the Lords…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillBut it was not for lack of trying. I moved three amendments in Committee, and not only were they fiercely resisted by the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer), but…27 Apr 2021HANSARDPost Office Court of Appeal JudgmentThe Minister said that this was a landmark judgment; I just wonder what it is going to take for the Government actually to take action. People’s lives were ruined. People went to…27 Apr 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeIn reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), the Minister made a virtue of the Prime Minister having paid for the refurbishment of the Downing Street…26 Apr 2021HANSARDCarrier Strike Group DeploymentA couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting HMS Prince of Wales with the Defence Committee and saw the two carriers alongside each other in Portsmouth. I agree with the…26 Apr 2021HANSARD Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Historical Inequalities ReportMay I first declare an interest as a former commissioner of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and as a current trustee of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation? I pay…22 Apr 2021HANSARD Armed Forces Bill: Special ReportMay I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland), who, although he said he is new, chaired this Committee excellently? Like him, I pay tribute to the…22 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI am grateful for the Minister’s offer to do that, but the problem, which I will address later, with the Bill is that it is being done ad hoc. The Minister’s predecessor promised…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillClearly those are the arguments we made in Committee, asking why sexual offences were excluded but these very serious crimes were not. If the Government have given way on two, I…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI have sympathy with the Lords amendment on investigations, but I think that the new clauses 6, 7 and 8 that I tabled in Committee would have been far better. My new clause 8—I…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMy right hon. Friend is correct, but the problem is that the previous Minister promised that investigations would be part of the Armed Forces Bill and, lo and behold, they were…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillThe hon. Lady is right, but the missing point in this is investigations. It was heartbreaking to hear Robert Campbell’s evidence to the Committee, but if the Bill goes through as…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillIn Committee, we spoke at lot about the famous case of Marine A. Under this measure, that individual would not have been prosecuted after five years, but it is clear that he would…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the only people who will benefit from this Bill are the lawyers? I cannot for the life of me think why a Government would want to put into…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillThe Bill aims to address issues that rightly need to be addressed on potential vexatious investigations and litigations, but was the Bill needed? No, it was not needed. All those…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI welcome the Minister to his position—it is a long overdue promotion and a vast improvement on what went before. He said that the Henriques investigation will make…21 Apr 2021