Contributions
1,269 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDepartmental Priorities: Covid-19 ImplicationsI can tell the hon. and learned Lady that, as part of our manifesto commitment, we have pledged to update the Human Rights Act, which is now 20 years old in terms of its…09 Jun 2020HANSARDDepartmental Priorities: Covid-19 ImplicationsThe hon. Gentleman can be reassured: he knows that I believe in equality before the law, and that is why I refrain from making comments about individual cases. I respect the…09 Jun 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. I can enlarge on the points that I made to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah). In February this…09 Jun 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman makes an important point, but what he has to remember is that the extra courts need to be compatible with social distancing. What we are looking for is space…09 Jun 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his work on this matter and I am happy to continue to meet him on it. I had hoped to publish our report on the consultation about…09 Jun 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the hon. Lady for that question. She knows that the Isle of Wight pilot is still ongoing and the precise nature of the app to be used has yet to be determined. I am quite…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI give way to the Chairman of the Justice Committee.09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The first duty of any Government is to protect the public from harm. Combating the unprecedented threat of coronavirus has,…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI can reassure the hon. Gentleman. As he knows, there have been developments in terrorism law since the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974, which he will…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillThe hon. Gentleman knows that the function of proscription is for the Home Secretary. From my knowledge of it, which is not as close as that of my colleague, proscription is a…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillThe hon. Gentleman can be reassured that the whole purpose of this UK-wide legislation is not to discriminate between different types of terrorists. It would be wholly wrong for…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI am very grateful to my right hon. Friend, who speaks with experience of these matters. He helps me to outline the point I was about to make about the complex and evolving nature…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI am sure the right hon. Lady will understand that it would be a little invidious of me to go into individual cases, but she will know from her long experience of this issue, and…09 Jun 2020HANSARD Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing BillI absolutely accept and understand the motivation behind my hon. Friend’s intervention, and he makes such a recommendation not just as Chair of the Select Committee, but as a…09 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about the caseload, which covid has exacerbated. He will be reassured to know that the senior judiciary and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals…08 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]First of all, no time is an easy time. This is a sensitive matter at all times. Secondly, these are not quickie divorces. We are regularising the position to end the so-called…08 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]I entirely agree with my hon. Friend on his last point. This is not—I repeat not—a quickie divorce bill, and he is right to say that we in this House owe it to all our…08 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]My hon. Friend has shared a difficult and sensitive experience with the House, for which we are grateful, and he puts it extremely powerfully. This is not about blame or guilt; it…08 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]I need to make some progress, because I am conscious of the time. The lack of transparency and objectivity means that a spouse who is trying not to cause unnecessary hurt risks…08 Jun 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords]I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Marriage will always be one of the most vital institutions in our society, but we also have to face the sad reality that…08 Jun 2020