Contributions
1,690 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)On a point of order, Mr Mundell. Can the Minister slow down? I am finding it difficult to understand all that he has to say.20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)The Minister says not. It will be interesting to see whether we can have definite clarification. That case was taken against the MOD in the mid-2000s for events that took place in…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)No, because some of those cases, especially with vibration white finger, were taken on limitation hearings, because those things happened a long time ago. That is the fundamental…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)It is a right. Okay—it will not be straightforward, because in my experience of asbestos cases, even with a clear diagnosis and an autopsy report, getting someone to admit…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Is the Minister saying that that 62.7% were all cases that went before a judge under the Limitation Act 1980 and were deemed to have enough evidence and special circumstance to…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Yes, but that can lead to other problems, such mental health issues. I think I referred to the 1902 situation when submarines were first invented, and there were issues with…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Yes it would. That, and doing away with the six-year backstop. My hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon makes a good point. The individual might not know that they were suffering…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Yes, it concentrated the minds of people. I will refer to that case in a minute. The important thing is that the Bill shifts the burden of knowledge to the combatant in terms of…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend for moving amendment 76. He makes a good point: whatever legislation we put in must be future-proofed. There are claims that it will do x, y and z, but we…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)They do not—I am reading it wrongly as one big group, but they are two separate groups. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South made a point about the backstop. I am sorry,…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)The Minister said these rights protect people, but the covenant is not about taking rights away from people. I know we fixate on the date of knowledge, but when he is no longer a…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)rose—20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Is it not for a lawyer, when they are arguing a limitations case, to make the case for special circumstances? They can do that now in law. If the measure goes through unamended—I…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am sorry—I do not agree with that. There is a way to improve the Bill, as with the issue of investigations raised earlier. We have talked about the Human Rights Act 1998, but if…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)There is nothing fair about taking rights away from veterans. On the Human Rights Act, the one-year limit to bring a claim is clearly still there, but at present someone could…20 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement that he has no plans to move the north-east into tier 3. He is right that in County Durham covid numbers are plateauing, especially…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)A peacekeeping operation?20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)The Minister is taking rights away from servicemen and women. He talked about overseas operations, but let us say, for example, someone is in British Army Training Unit Suffield…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)To me, that does not matter. Why should armed forces personnel be treated differently when something happens in this country, as opposed to overseas? It might not be in combat; it…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Right. Nevertheless, there have been times—the Snatch Land Rover cases, for example—where there was quite a good reason why the case should have been argued out. Why is the…20 Oct 2020