Contributions
410 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillI was nine years old at the time of the Hillsborough tragedy, and I remember listening to the news of the terrible events on the radio, sitting behind my parents in the car. I was…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillI am confused by that intervention from the hon. Lady, who was the Minister in charge of this Bill. The argument I am making is consistent with the position she brought to the…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillI am not sure I follow the hon. Member’s question. If he wants to repeat it more clearly, I will happily listen.14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillThe point is that this is a new duty, which is backed by criminal sanction, and that is why it is different from the status quo. As I was saying, the Justice Secretary is a Privy…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillWhat the hon. Lady says is not entirely relevant to this proposition. This is about the provision of information to particular investigations and inquiries, and we do not…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillWe are sent here to scrutinise legislation. That is what we are doing. We have talked to people in the intelligence agencies, the police and others who are very concerned about…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillMy hon. Friend is exactly right. The Prime Minister said this was going to be one of his first acts as Prime Minister; it turns out it is going to be his final act as Prime…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillI am tempted to say that the hon. Lady should have a conversation with the Attorney General, who used to prosecute British soldiers and was still appointed to one of the highest…14 Jul 2026HANSARD Public Office (Accountability) BillI think the hon. Lady, whether it is by design or by mistake, misunderstands my point. Of course, there should be accountability and transparency, and there are many ways in which…14 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI beg to move, That this House calls on the Government to exempt from automatic early release under the provisions of the Sentencing Act 2026 any offender who has been convicted…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersThe hon. Gentleman resembles one of those Japanese soldiers found in 1950 who were still fighting the second world war. The Whips and the Labour party have given up on this…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersMy right hon. Friend puts his finger on the button. This is what we have been saying, and the Government have been saying in response: “No, this is absolutely necessary. We must…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersThank you for correcting me, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was quoting the tweets so exactly that I forgot my responsibilities. As I was saying, this is an ideologically anti-prison…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI think the hon. Gentleman would do well to not take the Whips’ questions, when the Whips have just given up, in the face of the wall of opinion in the parliamentary Labour party,…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI completely agree with my hon. Friend. What I was trying to say gently to the hon. Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia) was that, if the argument is still that this Government…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI completely agree with my hon. Friend. Over a period, the construction of prisons has become needlessly expensive and needlessly time-consuming, as has the development of other…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI strongly agree with my right hon. Friend. The statistics show that between 1993 and 2012, our prison population grew very significantly, and through that period, crime fell. It…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI agree; prison works. It works because it punishes the guilty, gives justice to the innocent and takes dangerous people out of circulation, away from the rest of society, and, in…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersI completely agree. I am happy to say that if the Government want to bring forward emergency legislation to fix this in primary legislation or, if they want to buy themselves a…07 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release of PrisonersWill the Minister give way?07 Jul 2026