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Category: Parliament

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    Ben Bradshaw – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    The speech made by Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter, in the House of Commons on 26 October 2022.

    It is notable how much support the Home Secretary has on the Government Benches. She did immense damage, in her previous brief tenure in the job, to our relations with India through her comments about Indian visitors overstaying their visas. The consequence is that the British people are now the only people in Europe who do not have access to e-visas to visit India. That is doing great damage to our tourism sector and jeopardising the travel plans of thousands of British families. Will the hon. Gentleman please use his good offices in the Cabinet Office to bang heads together in the Government, get this sorted out and try to repair the damage that the Home Secretary did when she was in the job last time?

    Jeremy Quin

    Our relationship with India is clearly important. I know that the right hon. Gentleman would not expect me to go into detail about that. I note from the Annunciator ticker that we have an urgent question on India following this one, and I am sure he will use that opportunity to make his point.

  • Stuart McDonald – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    Stuart McDonald – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    The speech made by Stuart McDonald, the SNP spokesperson on Home Affairs, in the House of Commons on 26 October 2022.

    New Prime Minister, same old Tories—a Government just like their predecessors who clearly do not think the ministerial code is worth the paper it is written on. This appointment is an absolute disgrace. So many questions simply have not been answered. How many so-called errors of judgment have there been? Do Ministers behave like this all the time, as one source close to the Home Secretary apparently said? Did the Cabinet Office raise concerns prior to this particular breach? Who first alerted officials to the breach? Who is undertaking an inquiry? Will there finally be an independent ethics adviser? Is it not shocking that there is not one just now?

    However, as the Minister has acknowledged, the real question here is for the Prime Minister, because there are a million other reasons why the Home Secretary is unfit for office, from her trashing the Office of the Attorney General to her refugee-bashing policies; from her trash talk of “Benefits Street” to her advocating our withdrawal from the European convention on human rights; and from her anti-migration, anti-growth policies to her being the last defender of tax cuts for the rich. And then there is her Rwanda “dream”. How can the Prime Minister ever talk again about integrity and compassion in politics after blatantly making an appointment in his own interest that is completely against everybody else’s interests? Actions speak louder than words.

    Jeremy Quin

    I reiterate that my right hon. and learned Friend made a mistake, she acknowledged that and she stepped down. The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about the independent adviser, and I am glad that he has done so. He will be reassured that it is the absolutely the Prime Minister’s intention to appoint an independent adviser. That is the right thing to do, and I know that it is absolutely his intention.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 26 October 2022.

    My questions are about security breaches and the protection of our national security. They are questions to the Home Secretary, who was here just five minutes ago and who then left.

    Yesterday the Prime Minister promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability”, yet the Government have discarded the ministerial code and reappointed someone who breached core professional standards and has now run away from basic accountability to this House. It is the same old Tory chaos, and it is letting the country down.

    I have questions for the Home Secretary that the Government need to answer. The Home Secretary accepted that she had sent an official document via her personal email to someone who was not authorised to see it. Is that the only time she has done that? Has she shared other documents, or other sensitive information? The Home Secretary is responsible for national security, so has the Home Office, the Cabinet Office or the Security Service now undertaken an investigation of her security breaches to establish how many others there have been? If not, may I urge the Minister to ensure that that happens as a matter of urgency?

    What security clearance has the Home Secretary been given? Does she still have access to the most sensitive documents and information, and did the Cabinet Secretary warn against her reappointment? She has been Attorney General, she has been a Minister on and off for four years, so she knows the rules about Government documents, yet she sent one to her own private email, to someone outside the Government, and also copied it by accident to someone else entirely. How is anyone supposed to believe that she is such a novice that she did not know exactly what she was doing, and if she really is that much of a novice, why on earth are the rest of us supposed to trust her with our national security? It has been reported that she sent this as an error of judgment because she was tired after going on an early-morning raid. Is the Home Office just supposed to block her phone and email if she has been up half the night because she might do stupid things while she is tired? There are suggestions that the Home Secretary while she was Attorney General was investigated for a leak of information relating to the Security Service; is that true?

    The Minister is a former policing Minister; does he think that if police officers breached their code of ethics and were sacked or forced to resign, they should then be reappointed to their jobs six days later because they said sorry, or is it just one rule for the Cabinet and another for everyone else? Everyone knows this was a grubby deal to get a coronation, to put party before country, but national security is too important for this.

    Jeremy Quin

    The Prime Minister has made it clear that this Government will act with professionalism, integrity and accountability; that is exactly what this Government will be doing. As the right hon. Lady will be aware, I cannot comment on what the Cabinet Secretary may or may not do; that is a matter for the Cabinet Secretary. On the speculation the right hon. Lady raised—I am not going to comment on speculation either; the right hon. Lady would not expect me to do so.

    At the end of the day, it is very simple: the Home Secretary made a mistake, and has acknowledged that she made a mistake, but she offered her resignation and stood down. The Prime Minister has looked again, and has decided, as is his right, that she can return to Government. I believe in redemption; I hope the right hon. Lady can as well. The Home Secretary is busy today, doing the job of the Home Secretary: keeping our borders secure and helping the police do their job—and I am sure that the right hon. Lady welcomes, as I do, the fact that we now have over 15,000 additional police officers, delivering day in, day out for the country. That is what this Government can be relied upon to do.

  • Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    The statement made by Jeremy Quin, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, in the House of Commons on 26 October 2022.

    I was disappointed, on leaving my previous Department last night, that I would no longer be seeing the right hon. Lady across the Dispatch Box, and I am so glad that she has put that right for me today. She has a good memory, and I know she will recall that last week the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office—my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith)—said, in responding to a question that she had tabled, that questions relating to

    “breaches of the ministerial code”

    or related issues

    “are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office”.—[Official Report, 22 October 2022; Vol. 720, c. 834.]

    That is why I, not the Home Secretary, am here answering the question today.

    My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw set out the circumstances regarding the departure of the Home Secretary last week. The Home Secretary made an error of judgment. She recognised her mistake, and she took responsibility for her actions. The ministerial code allows for a range of sanctions when mistakes have been made. The Home Secretary recognised her mistake, raised the matter and stepped down. Her resignation was accepted by the then Prime Minister.

    The right hon. Lady will be aware that ministerial appointments are a matter solely for the Prime Minister, as the sovereign’s principal adviser on the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignations of Ministers. The Prime Minister was very clear in his speech to the nation yesterday when he said:

    “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”

    He has said that he will work “day in, day out” to earn the trust of the country and live up to the demands and expectations that the public rightly have of their Prime Minister. The Prime Minister expects all Ministers to uphold the values and standards set by the ministerial code, as the public would rightly expect.

    As I have said, the Home Secretary made an error of judgment. She recognised her mistake, and she took accountability for her actions in stepping down. After consideration, the Prime Minister has decided, given the apology issued by the Home Secretary, to reappoint her to the Government. They are now focused, together, on working to make our streets safer and to control our borders. However, while we should learn from mistakes, we should also look to the future, and the Prime Minister has appointed a team of Ministers to lead the country through the issues that it faces.

    All Ministers are bound by the ministerial code, and the Prime Minister expects his Ministers to uphold the code and hold the highest standards. As I have noted, the code allows for a range of sanctions for breaches, and on the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the code was updated in May to make that clear. On an ongoing basis, we will need—every Minister—through our actions and in how we conduct ourselves, to demonstrate that we can continue to command this Prime Minister’s confidence as we tackle the huge challenges that are to come for the country.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on Male Bias in Cabinet

    Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on Male Bias in Cabinet

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on 25 October 2022.

    Just one in five of the ministers around Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet table are women.

    I know the Conservatives struggle to add up, but women make up half the population.

    This isn’t a fresh start, it’s just jobs for the boys.

  • Dawn Butler – 2022 Statement on Comments Made by Kemi Badenoch about Ben Cohen

    Dawn Butler – 2022 Statement on Comments Made by Kemi Badenoch about Ben Cohen

    The statement made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, on Twitter on 27 October 2022.

    I’ve written to Kemi Badenoch regarding her inaccurate comments in the House of Commons, in which she used parliamentary privilege to spread misinformation about Benjamin Cohen and Pink News. I’m calling on her to follow ministerial code and return to the chamber to correct the record.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on the Death of May Blood, Baroness Blood

    Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on the Death of May Blood, Baroness Blood

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on 21 October 2022.

    Sad to see the passing of Baroness Blood, a political giant and tireless campaigner for women and on integration in Northern Ireland. She will be greatly missed.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments on a Return by Boris Johnson

    Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments on a Return by Boris Johnson

    The comments made by Michael Fabricant, the Conservative MP for Lichfield, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    To be clear: he [Boris Johnson] may not be the 1st choice of MPs (I may be wrong) but he most certainly is amongst the membership. He’s a #winner and the only MP with legitimacy having been overwhelmingly elected by the country. Without him calls for a General Election will grow.

  • Chris Bryant – 2022 Apology Over Taking Photo in Parliamentary Lobbies

    Chris Bryant – 2022 Apology Over Taking Photo in Parliamentary Lobbies

    The comments made by Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Rhondda, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    I have deleted the tweet I posted of a photo I took in the Commons lobby last night, at the request of the Sergeant at Arms. I accept I broke Commons etiquette in taking the photo. I did so to expose a wrong. I have apologised. I’m happy to take it down as requested.

  • Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    The statement made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, at Downing Street, London, on 20 October 2022.

    I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.

    Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills.

    Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent.

    And our country had been held back for too long by low economic growth.

    I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this.

    We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance.

    And we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy – that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.

    I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.

    I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party.

    This morning I met the Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

    We have agreed there will be a leadership election to be completed in the next week.

    This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.

    I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.

    Thank you.