Tag: Emily Thornberry

  • Emily Thornberry – 2026 Speech on Security Vetting

    Emily Thornberry – 2026 Speech on Security Vetting

    The speech made by Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, in the House of Commons on 20 April 2026.

    The truth is that my Committee did ask. We asked on the record, and we got a partial truth that could hardly be the whole truth. We are on record as asking the very questions that hecklers on the Opposition Benches say should have been asked. The answers are there, on the record; people can see what we got when we did ask.

    A month before Mandelson’s appointment was announced, the then Cabinet Secretary advised that the necessary security clearance should be acquired before a political appointment was confirmed. That does not seem to have been the usual practice. I am glad that it has changed, because the process was clearly abused. Someone—probably Peter Mandelson himself—leaked his appointment as US ambassador to the press, which effectively bounced the Government into confirming it. When the confirmation of his appointment came forward, neither the offer letter to Peter Mandelson nor the Government’s press release made it clear that the appointment was subject to vetting. Does it not look as though, for certain members of the Prime Minister’s team, getting Peter Mandelson the job was a priority that overrode everything else, and security considerations were very much second order?

    The Prime Minister

    I thank my right hon. Friend for her question. Her Committee did ask relevant questions, and that is why I have indicated that it was unforgivable that the Foreign Secretary was asked to sign a statement in response to those very questions without being told about the recommendation. The questions were asked; the Foreign Secretary was advised and asked to sign a statement without being told the relevant information. That is unforgivable. As for the appointment before developed vetting, I have changed that process now, so that it can never happen again; my right hon. Friend the Committee Chair heard me quote the evidence of the former Cabinet Secretary and the former permanent secretary in relation to that.

    Let me deal with my right hon. Friend’s third point, which is that somehow Downing Street’s wish to appoint Peter Mandelson overrode security concerns—[Interruption.] No, Mr Speaker, let me be very clear: if I had been told that Peter Mandelson, or anybody else, had failed or not been given clearance on security vetting, I would not have appointed them. A deliberate decision was taken to withhold that material from me. This was not a lack of asking; this was not an oversight—[Interruption.] It was a decision taken not to share that information on repeated occasions.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2026 Speech on Venezuela

    Emily Thornberry – 2026 Speech on Venezuela

    The speech made by Emily Thornberry, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in the House of Commons on 5 January 2026.

    If a large and powerful country abducts the leader of another, however abhorrent that leader is, and tries to intimidate the smaller country to, as it says itself, gain access to its resources, does the Foreign Secretary not agree that this should be called out not just by Britain, but by our western allies? We should be calling it out for what it is—a breach of international law. It is not for the country breaking the law to say whether or not it has broken the law; it is surely for the west to stand up and call it as it is. Does she not therefore share my concern that there may be a profound risk of international norms changing? If we do not call it out, this may become okay, and we risk living in a world where might is right, which is surely not in Britain’s interests.

    Yvette Cooper

    I thank my right hon. Friend for her question, and I recognise that she has been consistent in her opposition to the Maduro regime, even when she was under pressure not to be through many years. She and I would probably agree that a man who is currently being investigated for crimes against humanity and has such a history of political repression, as well as economic destruction and corruption, should not be leading a country.

    My right hon. Friend rightly referred to the issues of international law. I have set out our commitment to international law, and she will know that my predecessor as Foreign Secretary talked about progressive realism. We have set out the progressive principles we follow—including how important international law is, because the framework it sets does not just reflect our values, but is in our interests—but also that we have to engage with the world the way it is. I can assure her that, as part of that, I have raised the issue of international law with Secretary of State Rubio and made it clear that we will continue to urge all countries to follow it.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2025 Speech on the Middle East

    Emily Thornberry – 2025 Speech on the Middle East

    The speech made by Emily Thornberry, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, in the House of Commons on 1 September 2025.

    I read with alarm yesterday’s report in The Washington Post detailing a plan for the future of Gaza that is circulating among the Trump Administration. They call it the “GREAT” plan. It proposes the total transformation of Gaza into a tourist region—a high-tech hub under temporary US administration. What is going to happen to the Gazans? Well, 2 million of them will be temporarily relocated to other countries, including Somaliland and South Sudan. Forced population transfer is contrary to, and a complete violation of, international humanitarian law.

    Serious thought must be given to the day after for Gaza, and my Committee recommended as much in our report that was published in July, but this unserious, illegal and deeply dystopian plan cannot be the sum of that thinking. What are the Government doing to dissuade Donald Trump from following this path? What, alongside regional and European allies, are we doing to put forward a serious plan for a peaceful future in Israel, Gaza and the west bank that is ready for the day after this terrible war finally comes to an end?

    Mr Lammy

    I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend —my dear friend—for her remarks, and I commend the work of her Committee on the day after and the thoroughness of approach that is required. I have read the reports, but it is speculative stuff that I have seen in different news articles; it is not a comprehensive approach. In my discussions with the US system, I have seen nothing confirmed along the lines of what she said. The day after requires the removal of Hamas; it cannot be about the further displacement of the Gazan people. It is going to require a degree of finance and stability, which I think will require other states, particularly Arab partners. They would set themselves against the sorts of reports I have seen in the papers.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2023 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Nadhim Zahawi

    Emily Thornberry – 2023 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Nadhim Zahawi

    The comments made by Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Attorney General, on Twitter on 22 January 2023.

    Next up in today’s cavalcade of Tory corruption, Nadhim Zahawi spent more than £1,000 of taxpayers’ money on a ‘keep the meter running’ luxury car service when visiting COP26 to preach about children being taught to conserve the planet.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many social housing providers in the four pathfinder areas for universal credit have applied for trusted partner status to allow for direct payment of the housing costs element in certain circumstances.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The first phase of the ‘Trusted Partner’ pilot started on Monday 28th September with 6 landlords all of whom are located within the Pathfinder areas.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to increase the number of qualified staff working on early education settings.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The extended free childcare entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds will provide eligible parents with 30 hours of free childcare per week. The government provides guidance in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which sets out the ratios within which providers must operate. We expect providers to recruit accordingly, and that the market will respond to demand in local areas. The childcare market has proven that it is adaptable as demonstrated by the increase of 230,000 places since 2009. The timetable for implementation of the extended entitlement ensures that the market has time to expand.

    The quality of provision is central to ensuring benefits to children, and the main driver of quality in a setting is its workforce. The qualification levels of the childcare workforce has risen over recent years and we want the sector to continue to attract highly qualified staff with a strong aptitude for working with young children to deliver good quality childcare.

    We are taking steps to improve the process for those training to become Early Years Educators and Early Years Teachers. In 2016, the government will review progression routes within the sector to determine what more can be done to enable good quality staff to maximise their potential and forge a successful career within early years. This will build on existing investments in staff training and development that have brought high performing schools and private, voluntary and independent providers together to share good practice and improve transition into school for young children.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary, published on 9 November 2015, which prisons the Government plans to sell to property developers; and what estimate he has made of the value of land on each of those sites.

    Andrew Selous

    On 9 November the Chancellor and Secretary of State announced their intention to build a prison estate which allows prisoners to be rehabilitated, thereby enabling them to turn away from a life of crime. This will involve building nine new prisons and closing old and inefficient prisons which do not support the aims of a redesigned estate. No decisions have yet been made on where new prisons will be built.

    We are currently considering which of our old and inefficient prisons will close. We will engage with stakeholders during the process of sale including valuation experts and potential developers in order to maximise the value achieved.

    Any relocation of prisoners will be done with careful planning. Where staff are affected they will be managed through the process of change using processes deployed during previous closures.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) referrals to the Work Programme since 2011 and (b) current participants in the Work Programme had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working households in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) universal credit have marginal deduction rates of (i) less than 70, (ii) between 70 and 80, (iii) between 80 and 90 and (iv) more than 90 per cent on earned income above the level of the applicable disregard.

    Priti Patel

    In 2010 we estimated that in the existing system half a million people had marginal deduction rates of 80% or above. See page 55 of Universal Credit: Welfare that Works report, below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48897/universal-credit-full-document.pdf

    Further information is not available as we have not updated these estimates.

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of vacancies in each region and nation of the UK which were advertised on Universal Jobmatch were advertised as paying the National Minimum Wage in the most recent month for which figures are available.

    Priti Patel

    As part of the terms and conditions which employers must agree to in order to be able to post their vacancies on Universal Jobsmatch, it states that employers must ‘provide a rate of pay equal to, or more than the National Minimum Wage, unless a lawful exemption applies.