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PRESS RELEASE : Violence affects women and girls everywhere – UK statement to the OSCE [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 October 2022.

At OSCE’s Human Dimension Conference, Eily Craig voices UK’s deep concern about rising reports of gender-based violence in Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr Convenor.

Global estimates show that 1 in 3 women will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetimes. Violence affects women and girls everywhere.

Gender equality and fighting all forms of violence against women and girls are crucial to the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security and stability and the UK commends the work of the OSCE executive structures in implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

I’d like to highlight the utility and value of two OSCE sponsored toolkits. Firstly, the toolkit for “Inclusion of Women and Effective Peace Processes”, a valuable resource for conflict mediation in all OSCE conflicts. And, secondly, the Gender and Security toolkit, which provides practical policy and programmatic guidance for governments, for regional and international organisations and for justice institutions.

I’d like to thank all those who have contributed to advancing gender equality and the Women, Peace and Security agenda at the OSCE.

We know that violence against women and girls further escalates in scale and severity in conflict and crisis, and this has been seen in the detrimental impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on women and girls.

We welcomed the publication of the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism reports, which help expose the truth of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. We remain deeply concerned about rising reports of gender-based violence, including horrific acts of sexual violence, with most cases committed in areas controlled by Russian armed forces.

In April, the UK launched the Murad Code, a code of conduct for documenting the experiences of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in a way that upholds survivors’ rights. We are now urging governments, national authorities, international organisations and civil society to commit to taking a survivor-centred approach to such documentation – in line with the standards set out in the Code.

In November the UK are hosting an ambitious international conference that marks 10 years since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. We will use this to strengthen global action and deliver real change for survivors.

Mr Convenor, we know that violence against women and children is preventable. The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to working toward a future for women and children that is free from discrimination and violence.

Rigorous evaluations have shown that harmful attitudes and norms can change in less than three years – this does not have to take generations.

Thank you.

October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 51 – UK statement following Putin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 October 2022.

The UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, underlines the UK’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity in a statement at the UN Human Rights Council.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action stressed the importance of democracy for the enjoyment of human rights. And it states, in the clearest terms, that democracy is based on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.

Yet what we have seen last week in Ukraine sought to make a mockery of these long-recognised principles. Putin’s sham referenda must be seen for what they are: a desperate attempt to justify an unprovoked and illegal land grab of sovereign Ukrainian territory. A blatant continuation of the Kremlin’s playbook, as seen before in Crimea in 2014. And a clear violation of international law.

This is not democracy, nor the will of the Ukrainian people. This is a farce – carried out with complete disregard for Ukraine’s legal and constitutional framework, and down the barrel of a gun.

Let me be clear: the United Kingdom will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as anything other than Ukrainian territory.

Mr President,

The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, so central to the UN Charter, are principles which all of us have a responsibility to uphold. As the UN Secretary General said last week, Putin’s decision to proceed with the annexation of these regions has no legal value and must be condemned in the strongest terms.

We call on the international community to join us in unequivocally rejecting Russia’s attempts to illegally annex Ukrainian territory, and to restore the ability of all people in Ukraine to express their will in a free and democratic society.

Thank you.

October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Offenders to face mandatory testing to cut drug-fuelled crime [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 3 October 2022.
- new enhanced tests will detect more drugs to tackle substance abuse and cut crime
- offenders who fail tests face being recalled to prison
Thousands of offenders will face compulsory drug testing after release from prison to help keep them clean and cut drug-fuelled crime.

From today (3 October 2022), offenders supervised in probation hostels, known as Approved Premises, will be randomly tested for 14 different types of drugs as part of a £1.2 million initiative to reduce reoffending.

Offenders whose drug habits are directly linked to their crimes, such as heroin addicts, will be legally required to take a urine test up to once a week to prevent their addiction from spiralling into further crimes. All other offenders will be tested at least twice whilst being supervised in Approved Premises.

New enhanced tests will also make it easier to spot a range of drugs including heroin, cocaine and synthetic substances like Spice, with around 30,000 tests being carried out each year.

Those who test positive will be required to undergo intensive drug treatment or face being recalled to prison.

These changes were first introduced as a Private Members Bill by Rob Butler MP, who recently became Prisons and Probation Minister.

Rob Butler, Prisons and Probation Minister, said:

I’ve seen first-hand how drug addiction is too often at the heart of criminal activity and I have campaigned to change that.

This mandatory testing will act as a deterrent to anyone tempted to abuse drugs again, help cut crime and make our communities safer.

Illegal drug use costs the taxpayer nearly £22 billion each year, including NHS, prison and police costs. Clamping down on drug use will help break the cycle of crime which addiction causes.

This type of testing has been successfully rolled out in dozens of Approved Premises in England and will now be expanded across the whole estate by spring 2023.

‘Ian’, an offender currently housed in an Approved Premise, said:

Before I got clean from drugs, my life was chaotic, and I would do anything to get my next hit.

Regular testing in Approved Premises will reduce drug deaths and give people something to focus on and work towards.

At first, I was worried about being tested for fear of being recalled to prison but it was an incentive for me to stay clean, rebuild broken trust with family and loved ones and start applying for jobs so I can look for my own place.

The initiative represents one of the largest expansions of drug testing in the Probation Service and supports the government’s wider 10-year Drugs Strategy which is backed by £900 million of extra investment.

As part of this, the government is investing £120 million to roll out three pilot substance misuse problem-solving courts in the community to make offenders face their addictions. The investment will help establish 18 new drug recovery wings ensuring prisoners tackle their addiction head-on or face tough consequences – including further time in jail where necessary.

Approved Premises are used by the Probation Service to closely supervise and support offenders after their release from prison.
October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government pays tribute to Nuclear Test Veterans as UK marks 70th anniversary of first weapons test [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 3 October 2022.

Veterans of Britain’s nuclear testing programme have “played a crucial role in keeping Britain and our NATO Allies safe and secure”, Minister of Veterans Affairs James Heappey has said.

His comments come 70 years to the day since Britain first tested an atomic weapon. The veterans who participated in the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme, known as Op Hurricane, made the UK the third nuclear power and contributed to achieving the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty, and continues to keep us safe today.

To further recognise the contribution of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests, the government is investing £450,000 into projects which will commemorate and build further understanding of the experiences of veterans who were deployed to Australasia. The Government will host an event to recognise the contribution of nuclear test veterans later this year.

Minister for Armed Forces and Veterans James Heappey said:

Veterans who supported the creation of our nuclear deterrent have played a crucial role in keeping Britain and our NATO Allies safe and secure.

Their sacrifice contributed to achieving the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty and they forever have this nation’s gratitude.

In the year of the seventieth anniversary of Op Hurricane, I look forward to commemorating the incredible service and efforts of our veterans.

As part of this year’s commemoration, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs will launch a £250,000 oral history project to chronicle the voices and experiences of those who supported the UK’s effort to develop a nuclear deterrent.

The aim of this will be to create a digitised oral record of the experiences of nuclear test veterans which can be preserved for posterity. The project will expand the existing historical records to focus on the lived experience of nuclear test veterans, and can be used for exhibitions and educational resources in the future. Academic and cultural institutions will be able to apply for funding through an open competition to support the oral history project, with funding available from April 2023.

Charities will also be able to bid for a portion of a seperate £200,000 fund, to support activities for nuclear test veterans, and educate the public on the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrence efforts.

The government sponsored event to mark the 70th anniversary will provide an opportunity to bring together veterans, their families, representative groups and parliamentarians to celebrate the unique and significant contributions of those involved in testing and developing our nuclear deterrent.

The Prime Minister has previously spoken about the importance of recognising the sacrifice made by veterans, including by considering the case for medallic recognition. This case is being actively considered and any decisions will be made public in due course.

October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Vast former industrial sites set to be one of UK’s largest urban nature reserves [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 3 October 2022.
The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh set to become one of the biggest urban nature reserves with new declaration

738-hectare green beacon close to major urban areas will provide access to nature for over 300,000 local people

Nationally important habitat will help protect rare willow tits, bitterns and water voles

A former industrial wasteland which is now a nationally important site for rare wildlife such as willow tit and bittern is set to become one of England’s largest urban nature reserves.

The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh – a 738-hectare area of species-rich wetland, meadows and woodlands – will today (3 October) join England’s network of National Nature Reserves.

The designation, which will be the first in the Greater Manchester area, recognises the incredible transformation of the Flashes over the last 100 years. Lakes formed as a result of mining subsidence became home to wildlife like the ‘booming bittern’ as natural recolonisation and large-scale reclamation works healed the scars of industry.

The former industrial landscape is declared not only for its importance in protecting wildlife and natural capital but for its recreational value to the community. It is hoped the site, which is home to a variety of pursuits from fishing to cycling, nature walks and birdwatching, will provide new opportunities for sustainable tourism and visits from local residents and those further afield.

The new protected reserve will create an oasis for nature, with Wigan also now recognised as one of the greenest urban boroughs in the United Kingdom. The mosaic of shallow open water and wetland habitats (swamp, reedbed, tall herb fen, wet marshy grassland and wet woodland) supports a rich diversity of birds and other species. This includes over 52 pairs of willow tit, accounting for approximately 2% of England’s population, as well as the heron-like bittern, water voles and great crested newts.

Natural England Chief Executive, Marian Spain said:

National Nature Reserves help reconnect people with our natural world, providing much needed opportunities to explore our incredible landscape for our health and wellbeing.

A healthy natural environment and economic growth go hand in hand. By working together to build strong partnerships such as those we see here in the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh, we can provide space for rare species and provide vital greenspace. That will make Wigan and Leigh great places to live and great places to do business in, so helping to attract inward investment.

The unique wetlands in Wigan and Leigh were forged by nature reclaiming former industrial land. Today’s designation demonstrates how it is possible to reverse the decline in nature.

Nature underpins the British economy with our natural capital estimated in 2019 to be worth £1.2 trillion. The site will benefit over 300,000 people who live locally to the area, making sure communities and young people have accessible outdoor space for health, recreation, and wellbeing.

Working in partnership with communities has been key to realising this new National Nature Reserve. Declared by Natural England with Wigan Council, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Forestry England, the NNR brings together a total of 13 sites, including Wigan Flashes, Amberswood, Three Sisters, and Bickershaw Country Park. It also includes Viridor woodland, planted by Forestry England just over 20 years ago.

National Nature Reserves were established to protect some of the most important habitats for vulnerable species, and to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research. They create vital opportunities for the public, schools, and specialist interest groups to experience wildlife first-hand and to learn more about nature conservation .

This year is the 70th anniversary of the creation of England’s first nature reserve – highlighting a long history of restoring nature and helping to bring green space and wildlife to everyone.

There are now 220 National Nature Reserve sites, spanning a total of more than 103,000 hectares. These nature hotspots are key to efforts to restore nature across England, and will play a key role in the nation’s nature recovery network in line with the Government’s key target to halt the decline in wildlife populations by 2030.
October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : COP President Alok Sharma to attend pre-COP negotiations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of COP27 [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 2 October 2022.
- The pre-COP meeting in Kinshasa, hosted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Egypt, is the final formal multilateral opportunity for ministers to shape climate negotiations ahead of COP27 in November
- The COP President will represent the UK at the meeting to lay the foundations for a successful COP27 in Egypt that strengthens global climate commitments and builds on COP26
- He will also highlight the importance of the Congo Basin rainforest as the Earth’s most efficient carbon sink, as he calls on countries to honour their COP 26 promises to halt and reverse forest loss, whilst supporting sustainable development
COP President Alok Sharma will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for pre-COP, which runs from 3-5 October. Pre-COP is the annual preparatory meeting ahead of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP). Ahead of COP27 in Egypt, the COP President will continue to work alongside Ministers to build the foundations for successful negotiations at COP27 and progress on adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage and finance.

This year’s pre-COP is being held in Kinshasa, the first time in six years that the event has been held in Africa. The DRC is home to the largest proportion of the Congo Basin forest, which is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest region and part of the solution to climate change.

At COP26 in Glasgow, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon announced a donor pledge from 12 donors of $1.5 billion for the Congo Basin forests over 2021-25. Whilst in Kinshasa, the COP President will give an update on the progress of the pledge, ahead of its formal reporting on the Pledge at COP27.

This pledge will protect and maintain the Congo Basin forests, peatlands and other critical global carbon stores whilst meeting local sustainable economic development needs.

The COP26 Presidency recently invited world leaders to come together at COP27 to establish the Forests & Climate Leaders Partnership. This new Partnership will accelerate implementation of the unprecedented commitment made at COP26 by more than 140 countries to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation, while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

Pre-COP will be the last time that ministers collectively gather ahead of COP27.

COP President Alok Sharma said:

“With just over a month to go until COP27, discussions here in the DRC take on an ever greater urgency.

“As the impacts of climate change become more extreme, the focus must remain on implementation and action – driving progress on what was collectively agreed in Glasgow. And we should be clear: the Glasgow Climate Pact and Paris Agreement must be the baseline of our ambition.

“Our hosts the DRC are the primary stewards of the second largest forest in the world. Forests are the lungs of our planet, absorbing one third of the CO2 which fossil fuel burning releases every year.

“COP26 laid the groundwork for more ambitious action, with more than 140 leaders committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. COP27 must be a moment for delivering on these commitments made to protect and restore forests.”
October 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Red tape cut for thousands of growing businesses [October 2022]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 2 October 2022.
- more businesses to be categorised as small businesses, meaning less red tape
- move will potentially exempt tens of thousands of the UK’s growing businesses from relevant future regulations, saving them thousands of pounds
- start of a sweeping package of reforms to cut red tape for business and stimulate growth
Thousands of the UK’s fastest-growing businesses will be released from reporting requirements and other regulations in the future, as part of plans aimed at boosting productivity and supercharging growth, Prime Minister Liz Truss announced earlier today (Sunday 2 October).

Currently, small businesses are presumed to be exempt from certain regulations. However, many medium sized businesses – those with between 50 and 249 employees – still report that they are spending over 22 staff days per month on average dealing with regulation, and over half of all businesses consider regulation to be a burden to their operation.

The Prime Minister has announced plans to widen these exemptions to businesses with fewer than 500 employees for future and reviewed regulations, meaning an additional 40,000 businesses will be freed from future bureaucracy and the accompanying paperwork that is expensive and burdensome for all but the largest firms.

The exemption will be applied in a proportionate way to ensure workers’ rights and other standards will be protected, while at the same time reducing the burden for growing businesses.

Regulatory exemptions are often granted for SMEs, which the EU defines at below 250 employees. However, we are free to take our own approach and exempt more businesses to those with under 500 employees. We will also be able to apply this to retained EU law currently under review, which we would not have been able to do without our exit from the EU.

The changed threshold will apply from tomorrow (Monday 3 October) to all new regulations under development as well as those under current and future review, including retained EU laws. The government will also look at plans to consult in the future on potentially extending the threshold to businesses with 1,000 employees, once the impact on the current extension is known.

This is the first step in a package of reforms to ensure UK business regulation works for the UK economy. The reforms will harness the freedoms the UK has since leaving the EU to remove bureaucratic and burdensome regulations on businesses, while streamlining and making it easier for them to comply with existing rules, ultimately saving them valuable time and money.
October 3, 2022
Jake Berry – 2022 Interview on Kwasi Kwarteng Meeting with Hedge Fund Managers

The interview between Jake Berry, the Chair of the Conservative Party, and Sophy Ridge on the Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on 2 October 2022.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if Berry had celebrated with the Chancellor and hedge fund managers at a campaign reception]

JAKE BERRY

We often have receptions for donors and the Conservative Party, and in fact, these people should be lauded because we don’t have public funding for political parties. These are people who go out and make money and donate to political parties in the same way as they do for the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. In terms of that get together, it wasn’t a get together of hedge fund managers, it’s actually Britain’s leading entrepreneurs. Yes, I was there, but it’s the sort of normal drumbeat of treasurer’s events as we call them in the Conservative Party that we have all the time.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if hedge fund managers were present]

JAKE BERRY

I mean, I’m sure there were or there was, I think, one that I know of, but in terms of the rest of the people there, lots of them were people have grown and started businesses. In fact, the conversations I had, because it was my job before I did this, was people who work in the property industry. What they will say is they back this government’s drive to create growth in the economy because they understand that you cannot have a rising tide of prosperity that flows under every door in this country without first creating growth in the economy.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if Jake Berry acknowledged the Sunday Times story that as the markets collapsed he was at the Chelsea home of a Tory donor with hedge fund managers and financiers]

JAKE BERRY

I’m not sure that any of them did make money from the crash in the pound, but of course, you will know well that the pound had its best week against the dollar since 2020. People can read The Times if they want to.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked for clarity on whether he was at the home of someone who had taken short positions on the pound in the past]

JAKE BERRY

Let’s be absolutely clear this is part of the normal drumbeat of the treasurer debates within the Conservative Party. I was there, there was no confidential information that was discussed, it was a sort of a get together with some of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs, who by the way, we should thank for creating growth in our economy and being on this drive to create wealth for every ordinary working family in this country.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked about the Chancellor’s mood as he drank champagne]

JAKE BERRY

Well I’m not even sure the chancellor was drinking champagne, I think he was drinking a soft drink. But he was absolutely clear that he has set out a path for this country to create growth and the reason we want to create growth is to ensure that every family who is really worried about things like their mortgage rate would have been terrified if the government hadn’t taken action on energy bills. People seem to forget that just a few weeks ago, we were talking about 4 million businesses going bust, we were talking about tens of millions of people losing their job, we were talking about the average household having an energy bill of 6,000 pounds.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked about the Bank of England having to step in with a £65 billion bailout]

JAKE BERRY

With the action that the Government has taken, we have cut on average £1,000 from people’s energy bills and we have stopped those millions of budgets going bust. I accept there is concern about the mortgage market.

October 2, 2022
Tom McNally – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord McNally)

The tribute made by Tom McNally, Baron McNally, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, I rise with no sense of provocation in following the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York, but, when our new King spoke to the country last night, he mentioned a number of new responsibilities for the Prince of Wales and for his wife. He too had taken on a new responsibility from his mother—the Duke of Lancaster. I wear the tie today of the Association of Lancastrians in London because Her Majesty the Queen, throughout her long life, was our patron. Many noble Lords will have been at dinners where the toast was to the Queen, and heard someone in the audience say, “the Duke of Lancaster”. That responsibility as Duke of Lancaster is where I begin my remarks.

In the 1960s and 1970s, I had the honour and pleasure of working for two Prime Ministers, Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan. Both affirmed what has been said by all the living former Prime Ministers: what a comfort, guidance and help it was to them in doing their job to have the opportunity of an audience with the Queen, with no leaks, briefings or anything else—just the benefit of her wisdom.

The nearest I got to finding out anything about it was when I accompanied Jim Callaghan to visit President Mobutu in what was then Zaire. In advance of our visit, Jim told me that, when Mobutu had come on a state visit to London, he was put up at Buckingham Palace. It was only after he had arrived, and his suite was ensconced there, that they found he had brought a dog with him, which had come through without quarantine for rabies. Jim said that, quite often when meeting the Queen, she would refer to “That dreadful man who nearly gave the corgis rabies”. I wondered how this would be handled when we met President Mobutu. Sure enough, when Jim and the President met, he said, “And how is Her Majesty?” “Very well, Mr President”, said Jim, “She speaks of you often”.

The other memory, which again ties in with the Queen’s interests, is going to a Privy Council meeting at Windsor, after which she kindly invited the three privy counsellors present for lunch. Before lunch she invited us into her study. Two things stuck in my memory. One was that on her desk was a photograph of her sister, Princess Margaret. The other, as has been referred to, was the BAFTA that she won for her performance at the opening of the Olympics. That epitomises two of her strong personal virtues: her commitment to family, and a sense of humour that did not take all of majesty entirely seriously.

I have one final reflection. I was alone in my office on Thursday evening, with the television on, when Huw Edwards suddenly interrupted what he was saying and said, “It’s just been announced that the Queen is dead.” I was shocked at how sad I was. I have worked around Whitehall and Westminster for over 50 years, and you become fairly hard-boiled to the passing of various personalities around this village. However, I really felt a sadness—I thought, “You’re getting soft, McNally”—but I found over the next 24 or 48 hours that that emotion, that initial feeling that she is gone and feeling sad about it was shared by millions of people in this country and around the world. In a way, that is the biggest tribute to a life of service that any words can convey. It was that we will miss her and that service, that dedication and that example but, in so doing, we know that she has worked so hard to pass that baton on to our new King, so that we can with confidence say, “God save the King.”

October 2, 2022
Stephen Cottrell – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Archbishop of York)

The tribute made by Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, like most Bishops from these Benches, I have stories to tell; stories of doing jigsaws in Sandringham on Sunday evenings and of barbeques in the woods at Sandringham in the middle of January—I even have a slightly scurrilous story about healing the Queen’s car. Perhaps I will tell it.

I had preached in Sandringham parish church. We were standing outside and the Bentley was there to get the Queen. It did not start. It made that throaty noise cars make in the middle of winter when they will not start, and everybody stood there doing nothing. I was expecting a policeman to intervene, but nothing happened. Enjoying the theatre of the moment, I stepped forward and made a large sign of the cross over the Queen’s car, to the enjoyment of the crowd—there were hundreds of people there, as it was the Queen. I saw the Queen out of the corner of my eye looking rather stony-faced, and thought I had perhaps overstepped the mark. The driver tried the car again and, praise the Lord, it started. The Queen got in and went back to Sandringham, and I followed in another car. When I arrived, as I came into lunch, the Queen said with a beaming smile, “It’s the Bishop—he healed my car”. Two years later, when I greeted her at the west front of Chelmsford Cathedral, just as a very grand service was about to start and we were all dressed up to the nines, she took me to one side and said, “Bishop, nice to see you again; I think the car’s all right today, but if I have any problems I’ll know where to come.”

When I became the 98th Archbishop of York, during Covid, I paid homage to the Queen by Zoom conference. I was in the Cabinet Office; everyone had forgotten to bring a Bible, including me, but there was one there—which is kind of reassuring. Just as the ceremony was about to begin, the fire alarm went off. The Queen was at Windsor Castle, but we all trooped out of the Cabinet Office, on to the road, and were out there for about 20 minutes until they could check that it was a false alarm and we could go back in. When I went back into the room, there was the screen, with Her late Majesty waiting for things to begin again. I do not know why I find myself returning to that image of her, faithful watching and waiting through those very difficult times. That was a very small part of a life of astonishing service.

The other thing I have noticed in the last couple of days is that we are all telling our stories. Yesterday, I found myself sharing stories with somebody in the street. I at least had had the honour of meeting Her late Majesty; this person had never met her, but we were sharing stories. I said, “Isn’t it strange how we need to tell our stories? It’s not as if she was a member of our family.” Except she was. That is the point. She served the household of a nation. For her, it was not a rule but an act of service, to this people and to all of us.

I remind us, again and again, that that came from somewhere: it came from her profound faith in the one who said,

“I am among you as one who serves.”

The hallmark of leadership is service, watchfulness and waiting. It was her lived-in faith in Jesus Christ, day in and day out, which sustained, motivated and equipped her for that lifetime of service. How inspiring it was last night and this morning to see the baton pass to our new King, King Charles, in the same spirit of godly service to the people of a nation.

Her Majesty the Queen died on 8 September, the day on which the blessed Virgin Mary is remembered across the world and the Church. Another Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, said of her when she knew she would be the mother of the Lord:

“Blessed is she who believed that the promises made to her would be fulfilled”.

Shot through all our tributes in this House and another place, and across our nation, is that which we have seen, especially as it was only on Tuesday—I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, for reminding us—that the Queen received a new Prime Minister. Can it really be possible? She served to the end—a life fulfilled.

I will finish with a handful of her words. This is what the Queen wrote in a book to mark her 90th birthday, reflecting on her faith in Jesus Christ in her life:

“I have indeed seen His faithfulness.”

I am not supposed to call noble Lords “brothers and sisters”, but dear friends, we have seen her faithfulness too, and we see it now in our new King. May Her late Majesty the Queen rest in peace and rise in glory. God save the King.

October 2, 2022