Contributions
348 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEU Withdrawal: Protection of Human RightsTo answer the question, as amended, I quite understand my right hon. Friend’s frustration. To the outsider, it does not look sensible for us to be holding European elections when…11 Apr 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal: Protection of Human RightsAs the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government are committed to a close and special relationship with the EU in relation to security. The question of our participation in a system…11 Apr 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal: Protection of Human RightsI am grateful to my hon. Friend for the question. He knows that I am acutely conscious of his desire to have the maximum transparency upon the legal advice I give to the…11 Apr 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal: Protection of Human RightsI find myself in total agreement with what the hon. Lady has said. I will share them with my colleagues. We are not in any way going to permit our departure from the EU to detract…11 Apr 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal: Protection of Human RightsThe United Kingdom has a long tradition of ensuring that rights and liberties are protected domestically, and of fulfilling its international human rights obligations. The…11 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EUNo, I do not accept that. The withdrawal agreement was the product of two years of exhaustive negotiation. It settles citizens’ rights for millions of British citizens in Europe…11 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EUI have been saying this since 2016, as the Hansard record will witness, and indeed most recently on 12 March. I take the view that we need to take a complex and careful view of…11 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EUThat is a subtle enticement by the hon. and learned Lady, but I know that she knows that I am not going to tell her about what discussions the Cabinet may have had. What I can…11 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EUI agree with my hon. Friend. That is one of the most important negotiating objectives in connection with our security and law partnership, and it is a matter that we are…11 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EUI am extremely grateful for the question. I regularly meet ministerial colleagues to discuss important issues of common interest, including on matters relating to the United…11 Apr 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionWill the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how, compliant with the Speaker’s ruling, he would have brought a vote that fulfilled the conditions he has just set out?29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI will not give way now, but I will give way to Members in due course. I want to set out the choice before the House. As the motion acknowledges, the political declaration is open…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI will take interventions. I did not refuse the hon. Gentleman’s; I was just asking whether he would be patient. Let me deal with his point now. The Government were considering…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI am not taking interventions at the moment; I will in due course. [ Interruption. ] I do not intend to take long. I want to set out clearly the choice before the House today. The…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI will in a moment, but not now. This is, therefore, the last opportunity to take advantage of our legal right. The Government have taken the view that it would have been wrong to…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionPrecisely: we are where we are. I intend not to review how and why we have arrived at this point, but to explain the motion that the Government have placed before the House. On 21…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI beg to move, That this House notes the European Council Decision of 22 March 2019 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom extending the period under Article 50(3) of the…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionWhat I can say to my hon. Friend is that we would certainly give it very careful consideration. We have taken the view up till now that, before the withdrawal agreement is…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionI understand the right hon. Gentleman’s point. I say straightaway that the answer is that this is the only right we have to an extension. If we move into next week without…29 Mar 2019HANSARDUnited Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European UnionMy right hon. and learned Friend is a very distinguished and able lawyer, but I never knew that he had a crystal ball. The fact of the matter is that the European Union has not…29 Mar 2019