The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 3 November 2022.
Today’s rates rise is more bad news for the thousands of Londoners trying to get on the ladder or who must renegotiate their mortgages in the next year. The Tories took a gamble with the British economy, and households will pay the price for years to come.
The statement made by Matthew Pennycook, the Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, on Twitter on 1 November 2022.
Yesterday evening saw significant disorder on the Greenwich Peninsula involving a large group of youths discharging fireworks. This was deeply distressing for residents and I will be having further discussions with the police, council and others about how we tackle the problem.
The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 30 October 2022.
Since I was elected Mayor, around 13,500 people have been helped off our capital’s streets with eight in ten staying off the streets for good. Our outreach workers, charity teams, healthcare professionals and council staff are not only vital partners in this work but unsung heroes and deserve our heartfelt gratitude.
Despite this progress, extraordinary financial pressures are putting the poorest Londoners at growing risk of homelessness with the number of people sleeping rough already up by a fifth year on year. We continue to see a revolving door of people ending up homeless as a result of this escalating cost of living crisis.
This cannot be allowed to continue, this new Government must act now to prevent the circumstances that lead to people sleeping rough before thousands more are forced to face a winter on the streets.
The speech made by Lee Rowley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the House of Commons on 21 October 2022.
The convention in debates such as this is to start by congratulating an hon. Member on securing the debate, but congratulations absolutely do not feel right at all. I am incredibly sorry —incredibly sorry—that the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) has had to bring this debate to the House today and for the awful and tragic events that have happened to her and her community. I thank everybody present for their time and their willingness to come to this place today. On behalf of the Government, let me say how sorry I am for all of the challenges that the hon. Lady and the community have experienced in recent weeks. It has been extremely difficult to hear about this matter—that is just in the few minutes that the hon. Lady has been highlighting the incident, quite rightly, and standing up for her constituents.
I am grateful to everybody present today and grateful to the hon. Lady for outlining the very tragic events of just a few weeks ago. I am sure that there are people in the Public Gallery who are very personally affected by this; by what happened on the day itself and, as the hon. Lady has outlined, by what has happened subsequently. I hope those issues are resolved as quickly as possible, and I will come to some of them in a moment. The hon. Lady was absolutely right to highlight the challenges, and I will try to address some of those.
I have been a Government Minister for just over a year now, and have stood at this Dispatch Box a number of times. All debates are important, but a debate such as this, which I have the opportunity to respond to today, is one of the more important ones because of the impact, as we have heard, on individuals’ lives and on individuals’ communities. This is about the families who were affected by the really tragic events of 8 August, and I completely appreciate the challenge that the hon. Lady has outlined.
The hon. Lady has eloquently described the events of the day in question and the circumstances that led to the explosion on Galpin’s Road. I wish to put it on record that the whole House, as you have said, Madam Deputy Speaker, sends its condolences to Sana and to the family of Sahara, who tragically lost her life. I understand that it would have been Sahara’s fifth birthday just a few weeks ago and she would have been starting school. I am incredibly sorry for what has happened, and I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for passing on so directly the message from Sana. I will absolutely take that away and we will see what the Government can do to assist in the challenges that the hon. Lady has raised on behalf of her constituents and on behalf of Sana’s family, and we will come back to her as soon as we are able to do so.
Such an incident impacts not just one family but entire streets and neighbourhoods, as the hon. Lady outlined. Anyone who walked into the centre at the time would have seen the impact that the explosion had on the local community—500 people, 200 evacuated homes. The hon. Lady eloquently outlined the real-life consequences beyond the most tragic ones. Lives were impacted: wedding dresses not accessible, school uniforms not available, people not able to use their taxis to make a living. Whenever we see a tragedy like this, one of the few good things that comes out of it is the community’s ability to come together. The hon. Lady eloquently outlined how that happened. I want to put on record my thanks, and the Government’s thanks, to everyone who stepped in and helped during these difficult times.
I also thank Merton Council. As a former local councillor elsewhere in London, I know that local authorities are at the absolute forefront in times of difficulty and trouble such as this, as are Members of Parliament. The work of Merton Council should be recognised. Every council has plans to set up emergency rest centres in times of need, but not every council has to implement them. Councils do not want to do that. I pass on my personal thanks to all those who helped support people at New Horizons Centre in Pollards Hill, whether to provide food, shelter, water, medicines, wash facilities or housing advice. In many ways, that help continues. I pay tribute to the emergency services. Firefighters worked tirelessly to carry out searches, tackle the explosion and make the area safe, and the paramedics and ambulance service personnel were there when people needed them.
The community pulled together in the aftermath of the explosion, but as the hon. Member rightly pointed out, it is time for action. The community wants answers. Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? How can we stop such a tragedy from happening again? I hope that residents here today or watching online and the hon. Lady accept that there is a limit to what I can say about some of the specifics today, as she acknowledged in her speech. However, I will do my best to try to provide some answers where I am able to in the time left.
The Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), met the leader of Merton Council and the council’s chief executive on 11 August. The Minister heard at first hand Councillor Garrod’s concerns about the adequacy of gas safe inspections before and after the tragedy took place, and the role of Southern Gas Networks in preventing the explosion. Discussions between the council and SGN are ongoing. Residents have, quite rightly and understandably, been anxious about the risk of future gas leaks. I am glad that SGN has arranged further safety checks with an independent gas safe registered company.
The gas companies involved in the transmission and distribution of gas must comply with the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996—GSMR. The regulations are owned and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. Under those provisions, where an escape is notified, the gas conveyor must attend the scene and prevent the gas escaping as soon as is reasonably practical, if that is judged to be the case. In the event of a fire or explosion, the gas conveyor must investigate the cause and source of the incident, notifying the Health and Safety Executive that such an investigation is underway.
The hon. Lady highlighted the gas replacement programme funding. As she indicated, that is a programme of work to replace the old and deteriorating metal mains and services with plastic pipes. The majority of that is done under the iron mains risk reduction programme, regulated by the Health and Safety Executive, to decommission those iron mains within the gas distribution network. Like all programmes and projects, it takes time, but I had heard the hon. Lady’s concerns and the questions that she rightly has about where things are. I will endeavour to speak to my hon. Friend the Minister, and either he or I will come back to her.
Under the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996, pipeline operators have a duty to
“ensure that a pipeline is maintained…in efficient working order and in good repair.”
We need to understand what happened. I understand that the Metropolitan police continue to work closely with the Health and Safety Executive to work out why this tragedy occurred. We are keen to ensure that we understand what they find and what may or may not be needed subsequently.
In the few moments that I have left, let me turn to insurance. When the Minister of State met the leader of Merton Council, they discussed support for the families who had to leave things behind and the situation at the time. I know that the council has been supporting residents to contact insurance companies, but as the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden rightly outlined, some of them have been presented with large fees or are worried about facing large future premiums through no fault of their own. I know that Merton has been in touch with the Association of British Insurers to pass on its concerns; the ABI recognises that this has been a traumatic period for all concerned, with insurers wanting to ensure that claims are progressed, that repairs are carried out and that residents can be supported as much as possible.
For reasons that I hope are understandable, I cannot comment on individual cases, but let me say more broadly that in such challenging times I expect every insurance company to put its customers first. It will be very clear which companies do so and which do not, and we will be watching. I am grateful that the hon. Lady has had the opportunity to put further pressure on the ones that she has discussed today. Based on this debate, we will be speaking further to insurance companies about the matter, and subsequently I will be happy to talk to the hon. Lady.
The Minister of State has discussed with Councillor Garrod whether Merton Council’s response to the incident would be eligible under the Bellwin scheme, which leads me to the hon. Lady’s challenge about Government support. The Bellwin scheme enables the Government to consider a claim to help with some of the immediate costs following emergencies. It allows local authorities to receive help with the costs in the immediate phase of an emergency. We have been following the matter up with the council, and officials in the Department recently met a delegation from Merton to discuss a possible application under the scheme. I know that the council has a number of uninsurable costs that it incurred in the immediate response to the incident. I understand that work is under way, that Merton has formally registered its interest, and that officials in the Department stand ready to assist the council with its application.
I have only about a minute left, so I would like to take one final opportunity to pass on my condolences to the family of Sahara, to send my best wishes to Sana and her family through their recovery, to highlight more broadly the challenges that others have faced, and to say thank you again to all the residents today for coming at such a difficult time and after such an unexpected occurrence that will have changed so many people’s lives. I hope that the Metropolitan police and the Health and Safety Executive complete their investigation quickly, with clear conclusions that ensure that a tragedy like this can be avoided in the future and that, for those who have been affected, we can resolve the impact as quickly as we can.
Finally, I give my personal thanks and my thanks on behalf of the Government to the hon. Lady for raising the matter today. I am grateful to her for doing so. The Government will try to assist where we can. We hope that we can bring this matter to a conclusion after such tragic events, as soon as we are able to do so.
The speech made by Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, in the House of Commons on 21 October 2022.
Shortly after 7 am on Monday 8 August, a gas explosion caused devastation in my constituency, changing the lives of the residents of Galpin’s Road forever. Beautiful four-year-old Sahara tragically lost her life. Her brave mum, Sana, and her grieving family are watching these proceedings online. I say to them: “This debate is in memory of Sahara, and I pledge to stand with your family every step of the way on your fight for justice to come.”
Madam Deputy Speaker, as we have just discussed, the Public Gallery is filled with Sahara’s neighbours from right along Galpin’s Road. They were asked to move out of their homes with no notice, no belongings and no idea of when they would return. Many remain evacuated to this day. Their strength and fortitude have been nothing short of remarkable in the extraordinarily difficult months since. I look up to them in the Gallery and say loud and clear that I have never been more proud to be their MP.
There are constraints to what I can say in the debate. There is a live investigation, and I am sure that everyone in the Chamber and the Gallery recognises just how important it is that I do not say anything that could be a barrier to justice for Sahara. However, I promise all Galpin’s Road residents watching that I will raise their concerns and questions to the furthest possible point today without jeopardising the justice that they so desperately want and need.
I will start by explaining to the Minister what happened. On the morning of Monday 8 August, a huge gas explosion shook the heart of Galpin’s Road. For over a week, residents including Sahara’s family had been reporting the smell of gas on their street. Those same residents need the investigation to confirm that their concerns had been heard, why the problem took so long to fix and whether the reporting mechanism for smelling gas is still fit for purpose. No matter how the investigation determines the tragedy to have happened, we must ensure that it never, ever happens again.
The blast occurred shortly after 7 am, when some residents were getting ready for work. Some were still asleep. All say that it was indescribable. There was the horrifying fear of what was happening, the volume of the noise and the terrifying shaking of their homes. They fled into the street to witness the damage and rubble that the explosion had caused and to hear the streets of Pollards Hill filled with the worrying sound of emergency sirens racing to their road. Four-year-old Sahara died later that day. In the words of her grieving mum:
“Sahara was the most incredible little girl. Our pride and our joy. Our community will always remember her.”
The blast also hospitalised two of Sahara’s neighbours, causing severe injuries. I know that everyone involved and watching the debate will join me in praying for their full and speedy recovery. We say to their loved ones watching the debate that we will stand with them through what must be such an unimaginably worrying time.
Over the following 24 hours, hundreds of residents from Galpin’s Road were evacuated from their homes. They were given a moment’s notice, at best grabbing scattered belongings and, at worst, leaving with just the clothes on their backs. Almost 11 weeks on, many are still unable to return.
An evacuation point was immediately set up at the New Horizon Centre in Pollards Hill thanks to the support of Commonside Trust, led by Naomi Martin and her team. They have always been the pride of our community, and they were there for Pollards Hill in our community’s gravest hour. As residents fled to the evacuation centre, an army of staff from Merton Council were tasked with booking hundreds of hotel rooms across London for an indefinite, unknown period of time. It took a monumental effort, with the council needing to provide immediate accommodation, food, financial support, clothes and supplies to hundreds of residents.
Support should have come from the Government. I wrote to the Secretary of State on Friday 12 August calling for financial assistance; it took seven weeks to receive a reply. This is one of an abundance of questions that I think should be considered at the very highest level. It seems to me that when a tragedy such as this happens, the local council is left on their own. Why is Government support not immediately offered? Who should pick up the support bill? Most importantly, in a disaster such as this, who should be responsible for supporting the grieving family? Given the number of stakeholders, and the volume of important information being shared with them, I believe that there should be a single point of contact to support them. The Government should have a role to play.
Sana has asked me to share the following quote with Members today:
“My four children and I are Victims of the gas explosion that sadly occurred on Galpin’s road. I made the phone call to SGN on 30th July 2022, to save every single resident that lives on Galpin’s Road. What did I get as a result of this phone call? I tried to help and warn of a possible gas explosion and my own daughter and in turn our family are victims of such an explosion just days later. A dead child. I am the one who lost my beloved daughter. How does that make any sense? I called that number and I’ve been sentenced to life. What I find absolutely outrageous is that 10 weeks after this horrific tragedy, my children and I are still sleeping on the floor. As if we have not been through enough, we are still homeless. Why have we not been offered housing? Because at this stage I am getting sick and tired of hearing, week after week that the police are doing their job. I need answers, not excuses.”
I am encouraging the council to help resolve Sana’s case as a matter of urgency.
Meanwhile, who should be responsible for providing the emergency accommodation for owner-occupiers when no one has accepted liability? The reality is that insurers were warning residents that they would be unable to pay out without being able to attend the location to assess the damage. They could not access the road because it was a crime scene. What more evidence could they possibly need when they could see the damage as the top story on the national news? The council stepped in when in many cases it clearly should have been the insurers. There needs to be clarity. I put on record my thanks to Chris Rumsey from the Association of British Insurers for taking up so many individual cases. There is clearly a systemic issue that needs fixing so that this does not happen to any other community in their time of crisis.
I turn now to the ongoing gas pipe replacement programme around the country. The pipes under Galpin’s road are described as the M25 of gas pipes, running down a densely populated area. How can this possibly be allowed in 2022 when we have known for almost 50 years that pipes such as these represent a risk? Have people’s previous tragedies not been enough? Some context here is important. It was a 36-inch cast-iron pipe on Galpin’s road. I understand that a tragic gas explosion in Scotland led to a gas mains replacement programme across the UK. I further understand that those works are approximately two thirds of the way through and that the programme continues to upgrade and make safer the gas pipes that are deemed to be of high risk.
There is a “but”. Under the coalition Government, the funding for that programme was cut. Many pipes that were originally set for replacement were suddenly to remain operational. While it is vital that the investigation determines whether the size and material of the pipe had any part to play in this tragedy, it must quickly be established whether this pipe was originally designated for replacement before the funding was cut by the Government. Why? Because there are other 36-inch cast-iron pipes around the country that are not set to be replaced. Will the Minister confirm that he will urgently review this matter and the funding of the programme? This should not need to wait until the investigation is complete.
That is not the only question that residents desperately want answered. What ongoing support will be available to them? What ongoing support will be available for Sana and her family? How long will it take for the investigation to be completed? How long is it likely to be before a coroner’s inquiry? Why were Southern Gas Networks possibly tasked with removing the gas pipe in Galpin’s Road when it is part of the investigation?
I acknowledge that this issue has been under the close watch of the Health and Safety Executive, but I share residents’ bewilderment at how evidence in an investigation could possibly be allowed to be removed by an organisation forming part of the investigation. Of course I recognise that the task of removing a gas pipe requires significant expertise, but is it really the case that no other company was able to complete the task? Surely the Minister shares my concern.
At times of desperate sadness we see the most extraordinary generosity. I can think of few more notable examples than in my caring community in the days and weeks following the explosion. When the residents of Galpin’s Road gathered at the evacuation centre, many of them had absolutely no belongings other than the clothes on their back. Community groups and local businesses responded to the call for help by delivering food, clothes and supplies within hours.
I am worried that I will miss somebody out, and I sincerely apologise if I do so, but I would like to put on record my gratitude to the following organisations: the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for bringing food every lunch and dinner time; the Dons Local Action Group for van loads of supplies; the Loving Hands International nursery school for children’s toys and hot meals; the Casuarina Tree restaurant, the Golden Anchor, Aya restaurant, Domino’s, Franco Manca, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Greggs and Krispy Kreme for sending so much hot and cold food; Uber for hundreds of free taxi journeys; the charity Kids Count for offering hundreds of bowling and cinema vouchers; and Morrisons and Sainsbury’s for offering food vouchers as residents return home.
I am also grateful to all the selfless local residents and groups who came by with such a remarkable abundance of generosity The evacuation centre was staffed by dozens of volunteers, including from the Red Cross, who worked around the clock to ensure that the centre was open 24/7 as somewhere safe for residents to go. I know that everyone watching will share my gratitude to each and every one of them.
It is difficult to imagine how upsetting, distressing and challenging the past few months must have been for the residents of Galpin’s Road. Behind every door is a real, personal story. There was Mr B, whose son was getting married later in August but was unable to access their wedding outfits and items for their celebrations. Mr and Mrs D could not get passports for their family holiday. Ms C desperately wanted the school uniform for her young son who was about to start secondary school. A resident who is a self-employed taxi driver could not access his car trapped in the investigation cordon, so he could not make a living. A special needs primary school pupil’s teacher contacted me, concerned that the child was falling behind on his schoolwork and putting on weight because of the takeaway food he was living on at his temporary accommodation.
There is sadness and difficulty behind every door along the road, and there is no question but that every family has faced the most challenging few months. I do not for a second dismiss how unbelievably difficult this must have been for each and every one of them. Eventually, they will return to Galpin’s. Sahara will never come home. Many of the residents believe that the explosion could have happened anywhere on that street. They count themselves lucky to be alive. They want to know how this tragedy happened and whether it could have been prevented. Above all, they stand ready to fight for justice for the beautiful little girl that they lost as their neighbour. Madam Deputy Speaker, I will be standing with them every step of the way.
The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.
When I asked the Met to establish this independent review a year ago following a series of shocking scandals involving serving police officers, I was concerned that a serious cultural problem had developed within the Met which was allowing racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour to be downplayed or left unchallenged. The interim findings of this review not only confirm my concerns, but reveal a situation even worse than feared.
It’s clear the Met’s misconduct system is simply not fit for purpose. I now expect nothing less than every single recommendation of this review to be implemented in full, and quickly. All misconduct allegations must be acted upon, cases must be resolved much faster and the disproportionality in the way allegations are dealt with must be eliminated. The majority of those serving in the Met will be appalled by these latest findings and the decent officers who want to speak out – who have clearly been let down for far too long – must be properly supported.
As Mayor, I’ve ensured the Met is now set on a path of far-reaching systematic and cultural reform, with the appointment of a new Commissioner who acknowledges the scale of the problems within the Met. I want to assure Londoners that I will continue to hold the Met to account as I support Sir Mark in taking urgent action to reform the culture and systems of the Met and to root out all police officers found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying or harassment.
The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.
With the markets in turmoil, high inflation and interest rates soaring, the Chancellor had no choice but to take immediate action to prevent even more economic chaos. But so much damage has already been done, with Londoners and people up and down the country paying higher mortgage and borrowing costs as a direct result of the Government’s failed approach.
The Government is also still refusing to take the basic steps required to help those who need the most support during the worst cost-of-living crisis we have seen in decades. I will continue to call on Ministers to provide free school meals to all primary school children, to uplift Universal Credit by inflation and to ensure that the most vulnerable receive a basic amount of free energy this winter. They should also grant City Hall the power to freeze private rents in London, which would save people £3,000 over two years.
The Chancellor has massively scaled back the Government’s energy bill support scheme. He should now do what should have been done all along – introduce a windfall tax on energy producers to help foot the bill.
The Chancellor was also wrong to scrap the reintroduction of tax free shopping for tourists. This is something I have repeatedly called for to help boost sales and growth and to make London and the UK a more attractive place for international tourists to visit, bringing in far more money to the Treasury than it costs.
The speech made by Brandon Lewis, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, at the Robing Room at the Palace of Westminster on 17 October 2022.
My Lord Mayor Elect, I am commanded by His Majesty the King to express His Majesty’s express approval of the choice of the citizens of London in electing you to be Lord Mayor for the coming year.
I think we’ll all be acutely aware that the last time those words were spoken, it was on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s behalf – and that this will be the first time in living memory that this ceremony has referred to His Majesty the King.
I am delighted to welcome you, Lord Mayor Elect, as well as your wife and soon to be Lady Mayoress, Felicity and other distinguished guests – to formally convey this message on His Majesty’s behalf.
Let me also thank the Recorder of London and High Steward of Southwark for his address – and congratulate on him on being one of the few people in public life with a title as long and complicated as mine.
I would also like to recognise the late Lord Mayor, Vincent Keaveny’s time in office. My late Lord Mayor, your year at Mansion House has been characterised by the theme of “People and Purpose”.
You have visited countless countries to promote the City and UK legal services, received ministers and ambassadors from around the world, and spoken out on a range of issues – from social mobility to climate change and digital trade.
As the first Irish citizen to be the Lord Mayor of London, it was no surprise to see you award the Freedom of the City to Ed Sheeran, who is himself of Irish descent. However, I don’t think there could be anything more British than seeing you lead 1,000 people driving sheep over London Bridge! Thank you again for all that you have done for the City of London.
Now let me turn to the Lord Mayor Elect. Nicholas, I note that you were also born in Ireland – as they say, you wait 692 Lord Mayors for an Irishman and then two come along at once! Your career in the City has spanned more than four decades and your specialism – advising on mergers and acquisitions and raising capital – is indicative of the theme for your year in office: ‘Financing our Future’.
The Lord Mayor is, of course, an ambassador for British business, financial and legal services – exporting all that is best of our great capital city at home and abroad. I know a focus for you will be how we use capital and expertise to boost our economy.
My own job as Lord Chancellor is to promote English and Welsh law and the legal services that underpin our economy; and the Government has been very clear that economic growth is our first priority – so, our aims are very much aligned.
London is, of course, at the heart of that world-beating legal services sector. The facts speak for themselves. Legal services contribute some 29 billion gross value added to our economy each year… Including billions in trade surplus and tax, as well as employing over 350,000 people directly.
It isn’t just British businesses that benefit from the UK’s legal excellence.
Companies from around the world carry out their business transactions here in the UK – because of our system’s reputation for probity and predictability. In fact, last year more than half of all commercial cases in the UK were brought by international businesses.
Our legal services are undoubtedly one of our greatest exports – supporting the growth of global trade and investment not just in London but across the UK. That’s why, through our GREAT Legal Services campaign, we are doing even more to promote the English and Welsh law abroad… and, of course, London as the world’s pre-eminent centre for dispute resolution.
It’s no coincidence that the largest international law firms in London have between 45% and 65% of their lawyers based outside of the country, demonstrating again that London is at the forefront of the way the world does business.
But I know another focus for you, Lord Mayor Elect, will be competitiveness. As ever, we have competition – from the likes of the USA, Germany and Singapore among others. Competition is healthy but, particularly in challenging times – a world still recovering from the pandemic, and now rising to immense cost-of-living challenges – it’s crucial that we do everything to stay ahead of the game.
So, ensuring our legal services continue to keep pace with the rest of the world… That they continue to innovate… and stay at the forefront of new ways of working… Couldn’t be more important. Similarly, we must also make sure that the law evolves to provide certainty on emerging technologies – providing certainty to the businesses that use them.
As Lord Chancellor, I have pledged to do all I can to support legal innovation. I want the UK to be a global hub for lawtech, in the same way it has been with fintech. And I want to see our regulatory system continue to enable legal innovators to do what they do best – to innovate in the interests of better outcomes. It’s this combination of the two that will enable us to keep our world-leading status.
My Lord Mayor Elect, I know you share our goals. The City has a long, successful history and the theme for your year in office – ‘Financing our Future’ – is all about promoting both resource and resilience. Your focus on getting capital and expertise in the right places will undoubtedly drive our economy and make us even more competitive.
As we look ahead, I am convinced that together we can achieve so much for the City of London and for the UK more broadly. I’m looking forward to working in tandem with you to promote UK legal services and get the economy growing again. I think I might give the sheep drive a miss, however!
I wish you and the future Lady Mayoress well for your year in office. Thank you.
The statement made by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, on 17 October 2022.
The public rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from police officers and the vast majority meet this expectation.
But recently too many high-profile incidents and reports, especially in London, have damaged trust.
This cannot continue.
It’s unfair on the public and lets down other serving officers.
Culture and standards in the police must improve.
And where an officer has fallen seriously short of these expectations, demonstrable, public action must be taken.
It’s absolutely vital that the police act to restore trust, return to common sense policing and treat the public and victims with the respect they deserve.
I welcome the Met Police’s commitment to tackling the issues raised in the Baroness Casey report and hope this review will also help to address underlying concerns.
The statement made by Sam Tarry, the Labour MP for Ilford South, on 11 October 2022.
I am utterly crestfallen by the result in the Ilford South selection last night. Not for myself, but for the good people of Ilford who deserve better than to have been at the centre of a manufactured political circus.
I am extremely concerned about the result, which does not reflect the feeling my campaigners met on the ground talking day in day out to members, or the extensive meticulous data we gathered on the campaign.
I am taking some time to consider what’s next, but in order to be assured of the integrity of the result I am asking the party to share with me the full information of who cast electronic votes, by what method, and when they were cast, which I understand is available in the ‘anonyvoter’ system.
In the meantime, I will continue to represent the people of Ilford South the way I have done for the past three years – with integrity, generosity and inclusivity. Thank you to my amazing team of volunteers on the ground who are the best of Ilford.
Sam.