The comments made by John Redwood, the Conservative MP for Wokingham, on Twitter on 31 October 2022.
The PM was right to concentrate on the budget and not fly to Cop 27. His critics will say he is weak if he gives in to pressure and changes his mind. This is not the most difficult decision he has to make.
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 letter sent by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, to Diana Johnson, the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, on 31 October 2022.
The interview broadcast by Sky News with Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP for North Thanet, on 31 October 2022.
INTERVIEWER
[Mentioned Sir Roger Gale visited Manston yesterday and asked him what the situation was like]
SIR ROGER GALE
It’s much worse than it was on my visit last Thursday when there were 2,500 people there. The increase is because of the transfers from Dover, partly as a result of the fire bombing yesterday. There are now 4,000 people in a facility that was designed to hold 1,500 and that is wholly unacceptable. The staff are doing a fantastic job, the home office staff, the civilian staff, the catering staff, the medics are all showing compassion and doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances. But these circumstances I believe now were a problem made in the Home Office.
INTERVIEWER
[Asked Sir Roger Gale why he had put down an urgent question in the House of Commons]
SIR ROGER GALE
Well, because I think this is something that has to be aired on the floor of the House. The Home Office Minister of State, Robert Jenrick, took the trouble to come and spend three hours with me with Home Office staff going around the facility yesterday, I’ve been before of course. I’m delighted that Robert did take the trouble to come because I think he understands now what really the problem is and I got the impression that he is determined to go away and deal at least with the immediate problem, because there are two issues. There is of course the longer term problem, and very real issue, of cross channel migrants which also has to be addressed in a grown up fashion and not by dog whistle politics.
INTERVIEWER
[Asked if Robert Jenrick would have spoken to Home Secretary]
SIR ROGER GALE
I am absolutely certain that Robert Jenrick would have spoken to the Home Secretary last night.
INTERVIEWER
[What would he have said?]
SIR ROGER GALE
Without breaking confidences, I think that Robert will be probably going back and saying not to book hotel accommodation as a matter of policy. Whether that policy was instigated by the previous Home Secretary or this one I’m not clear, but it clearly was a matter of Home Office policy. I think Robert will be saying that was a mistake, we’ve now got to get people out of Manston. So the job that it was doing very efficiently indeed of processing and moving people on can be done again. Until about five weeks ago probably the system was working as it was intended to very well indeed. It’s now broken and it’s got to be mended fast.
INTERVIEWER
[Asked if Suella Braverman the right Home Secretary to tackle the issue?]
SIR ROGER GALE
I’m not seeking to point fingers at the moment, but I do believe that whoever is responsible, and that is either the previous Home Secretary or this one, has to be held to account because a bad decision was taken. And it’s led to what I would regard as a breach of humane conditions.
INTERVIEWER
[Asked Sir Roger Gale if this might end up in the courts?]
SIR ROGER GALE
That’s a matter for the courts and not for me. I am concerned obviously with the people that I represent locally, who are concerned about what’s happening in Manston. I’m also concerned for the staff who are trying to do a good job under impossible circumstances and for the human beings including women and children. I saw a kid there yesterday who was younger than my youngest granddaughter who crossed the Channel in a rubber dinghy. It is appalling what has happened at that level, trafficking is appalling and that has got to be dealt with as well. But that’s got to be done on a Pan European basis and in bilateral cooperation with the French. That’s the only way we’re going to solve it. Not by dog whistle knee jerk policies that will not work.
The comments made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 31 October 2022.
Congratulations, @LulaOficial , on your election as President of Brazil. I look forward to working with you to address pressing global challenges, from food security to trade and climate change.
The comments made by Mark Spencer, the Minister for Food, on BBC News on 31 October 2022.
INTERVIEWER
[Mentioned that another incident about sewage being pumped into the sea. Why was this happening?]
MARK SPENCER
It’s something that we need to stop. It is again when we get huge downpours of rain, it is quite a challenge to deal with that volume of water within those sewage facilities. We can all help as individuals, we can all check where the water spout from the roof, it shouldn’t go into the sewage system. Actually, one of the challenges as people build an extension on their house or put their conservatory up, they drop the down pipe into the sewage system and not into a soakaway or into a top water drain. One thing that you could do as an individual is check your own down pipe and check where they go.
INTERVIEWER
[Asked what the Government was going as they’ve been in power for 12 years and things aren’t getting any better]
MARK SPENCER
It is getting better.
The comments made by Adrian Ramsay, the Joint Leader of the Green Party, on Twitter on 31 October 2022.
Huge congratulations to @LulaOficial on his election as President of Brazil. His victory marks a real sense of hope for the people of Brazil and for protecting the Amazon.
The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 31 October 2022.
Congratulations to @LulaOficial on the great news of his election as President of Brazil. This win must also be the start of a new era of global cooperation and action in the fight against climate change.
The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 31 October 2022.
Congratulations to @LulaOficial on his victory in Brazil’s election. I look forward to working together on the issues that matter to the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promoting democratic values.
The comments made by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, on 30 October 2022.
There was a distressing incident in Dover earlier today. I am receiving regular updates on the situation. My thoughts are with those affected, the tireless Home Office staff and police responding. We must now support those officers as they carry out their investigation.