Tag: Speeches

Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Speech to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 6 October 2022.

Dear Secretary-General!

Dear representatives of the free nations of America!

Dear friends!

I am grateful for the opportunity to address you at this particular time when we have entered a defining phase of our war for independence – when our heroes drive the occupying army out of our land.

Russia sent this army to our country to turn us into their colony. As it was, unfortunately, before – in the time of empires.

But millions of Ukrainians stood up to defend our freedom and our country and will definitely not allow Russia to bring back that old unfair time.

We have no doubts about winning this war and our ability to protect the independence of Ukraine. Daily victories at the front and dozens of liberated Ukrainian cities and villages prove it.

There is only one question for us right now – how many of our people Russia will manage to kill before it admits a defeat. How much more will Russia manage to steal from Ukraine – grain; resources; industrial enterprises, which the occupiers simply disassemble and take out to Russia; as well as people. They are stealing people.

More than one million and six hundred thousands of Ukrainians were forcibly deported to Russia. They are dispersed across the territory of this state, scattered throughout remote Russian regions.

Many of them had their documents taken away, and many of them passed through terrible Russia’s filtration camps, where they were abused and intimidated.

These are people. But for Russia, it is also a resource.

We are doing everything to free our land as soon as possible, to save all our people from this invasion as fast as we can. We are doing everything to put an end to the long list of Ukrainian victims that Russia is creating.

This is the reason I am addressing you.

We need your support to bring back peace faster for our people.

I will be honest – I know that in some member countries of your Organization, unfortunately, the Russian view of this war is dominant. And this is a false view.

It is possible in your part of the world simply due to the fact that Russia spends billions of dollars annually on its propaganda media and other projects that create an illusory impression about it.

But there are facts on the side of Ukraine. And I am asking you just to look at these facts.

Look – from your point of view. In terms of what your great American continent has been through. From the point of view of the struggle for independence that your people led. In terms of simple human justice, which means so much to your countries and people. And in terms of what your national heroes fought for.

I am turning to the pages of the history of the American continent and asking:

On whose side would Simon Bolivar be in such a war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine? Who would Jose de San Martin support? Who would Miguel Hidalgo sympathize with?

I think they would not help someone who is just looting a smaller country as a typical colonizer. I think they would not support someone who constantly lies and does not even call a war a war, hiding behind the definition of “special military operation”.

I think they would not sympathize with someone who deliberately puts different countries on the brink of starvation – through an artificial food crisis. Who drives people into poverty – through price and energy crisis, both artificial. And who is so mean that he makes war against civilians, destroying all the foundations of normal social life using rockets and artillery against residential buildings, hospitals, schools, churches.

I thank those of you who have already strongly supported Ukraine and condemned Russian war against our freedom and independence. I thank your Organization for suspending Russia’s observer status.

But we need more for the sake of peace and for the Russian army to leave all captured Ukrainian land.

So I am asking you to support us on several levels.

The first level – international organizations, particularly the UN General Assembly. Please support us in voting to condemn Russia’s aggressive policy.

It is of our common interest – so that no one in the world can start wars of aggression like the Russian war against Ukraine. And so that no one in the world thinks that he has right to illegally annex lands of other nations, as Russia thinks.

The second level is national. We need integrity from your states.

Do not allow your economies to be used to finance criminal war and war crimes. Do not associate yourself with those who will inevitably be condemned by the international community.

The crime of Russia’s aggression against our country, the mass murders of civilians on Ukrainian soil, forced deportations, numerous cases of torture and rape – all this will certainly receive its verdicts.

Please avoid your companies and countries to be connected with those individuals and legal entities in Russia through which it carries out its terror against Ukraine. Support sanctions against Russia. Limit your trade operations with Russia. Protect yourself from the risk of tarnishing your reputation with ties to a terrorist state and its companies, and limit its opportunities to continue this war of aggression against Ukraine.

And the third level of support we need – is the level of ordinary people.

I’m not asking for much. Just spread the truth about this war and the casualties caused by the Russian aggression. Just talk about it. Let your people know what evil Russia has brought to the absolutely peaceful Ukrainian people. A nation that has never started any wars of aggression.

The greater the support for those who fight for freedom and independence – the stronger freedom will be in general in the world and the faster we will go all the way to freeing our land from the Russian invaders.

I thank you for your attention!

Long live freedom! ¡Viva la Libertad!

Слава Україні!

07/10/2022
Janet Royall – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon)

The tribute made by Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, I guess I am about two-thirds of the way between the most reverend Primate’s granddaughter and the right reverend Prelate’s mother, but I too wept. It was such a moment to hear that our wonderful Queen had died. The right reverend Prelate mentioned peace and reconciliation. Our country and our world are in great need of those now, and I have no doubt that they will be firmly on the agenda of our new King.

I am proud to join in this celebration of the life of Her Majesty the Queen—an inspirational life, a life truly well lived and a life for which we are grateful. She was a remarkable woman, and the tributes made in your Lordships’ House both yesterday and today have also been remarkable. The tributes we have seen in the media have been quite exceptional, and I hope that continues with our new King.

It is impossible to say anything new, but repetition does not detract from the fact that Queen Elizabeth was an extraordinary woman whose dedication to our country and its people was second to none. Hers was a life of service and steadfastness, leadership and love, dignity and integrity—a reassuring constant in a turbulent world. It is difficult to comprehend the breadth of the economic, social, political and technological changes that took place during the second Elizabethan age. She was the continuity Queen who embodied our nation. Hers was a life to be celebrated throughout the world.

I was in Mumbai when news of the Queen’s death was announced. So many people came up to me late that evening and the following morning to give their condolences on the loss for our country and to express their sadness and respect. I did not know these people but clearly, I look like a Brit and therefore was somebody who should be concerned, as I was.

I was privileged to be Lord President of the Council, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms, and in those tasks I met the Queen quite often. I was certainly not the first woman captain, but it seemed to give the Queen pleasure to introduce a female captain—although together we lamented the fact that the women captains did not have the gorgeous uniforms of the men. We talked about that quite often.

Much has been said about the Queen’s sense of humour. Once, when I was lunching at Windsor Castle with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, there was a conversation about the intrusion of mobile phones. We lamented the fact that people did not turn them off at mealtimes. Suddenly there was a loud ring beneath the table. Yes, it came from my handbag. I was mortified; they thought it was hilarious.

Last year my college, Somerville, was privileged to receive a wonderful visit from the King, the then Prince of Wales. Delving into our history in preparation for the visit, I learned that the Queen visited Somerville in 1968, when we were a women’s college. We have a glorious photo of the beautiful young Queen and the heads of all five women’s colleges. Happily for me, all the heads had studied at Somerville. I have no doubt that that point was proudly made to the Queen. On that visit the Queen signed a birthday book given to the college by Ruskin. It was also signed by her grandmother, Queen Mary, and latterly by her son, King Charles.

In our fragile world, we are embarking on a new era. The Queen will be greatly missed, but I know that the King, supported by the Queen Consort and his family, will also give extraordinary service to the country and the Commonwealth as we meet the great challenges of our time. Through all the work the King has done as the Prince of Wales, he is more aware of those challenges than many in our world.

07/10/2022
Christopher Cocksworth – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Bishop of Coventry)

The tribute made by Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Triesman. I will offer some words of tribute on behalf of the people of Coventry and Warwickshire, especially to express our great thanks for the Queen’s part in the renewal of Coventry after its wartime destruction and its discovery of a new identity, aspiring to be a city of peace and reconciliation.

A few days after the worst of the bombing of Coventry, the Queen’s father stood in the ruins of the cathedral and wept. In 1956 the young Queen laid the foundation stone of the new cathedral—a new cathedral for a new Queen, in an ancient city now being rebuilt for a modern age, in a nation finding its place on the international stage in a new Europe and a new world. In 1962, 60 years ago this year, the Queen—herself a consecrated monarch, of course—returned to Coventry for the consecration of the new cathedral. There was hope in the air, and Coventry became a national symbol of the traumas of war, with all its suffering still evident in the ruins, and the possibilities of peace built on reconciliation rising from the ashes of the past into the simple grandeur of the new cathedral. What better person than Queen Elizabeth to lay the foundation stone of a new future and to see a building, a people, a nation consecrated to serve the ways of peace?

Serving the cause of reconciliation for which Coventry Cathedral and its city have become known was remarkably demonstrated through the Queen’s service to the nation and the world, as we have heard in many ways. The Queen helped the nation to celebrate its past and carry forward its great traditions and noblest values while, at the same time, reaching out to the future, accepting its challenges, welcoming its opportunities and easing its coming. Whether steering the nation from imperial power to shaper and sharer in a Commonwealth of Nations, or facing head-on the harm that peoples have inflicted on themselves in families, in communities and between nations, and showing them how we may live better together, the Queen well used the strength of her character and the powers of her office to create new conditions for co-operation.

Among the many examples on the world stage, I pay particular tribute to the Queen’s part in Coventry’s and the country’s reconciliation with Dresden, that symbol of the brutality of war and its challenge to face our own past. Her visit in 1992 with one of my predecessors was a brave act and not without cost to her. It exposed emotions that were still raw in that city, but I know from my own many visits and close relationships that it was deeply healing, transformative even, on the long road to reconciliation.

As we have heard powerfully from the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, and the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, the Queen’s words and gestures—the way she used the combination of her status and credibility of character to serve the good of the future—were breathtaking in their effect during her state visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011 and then Belfast in 2012. Again, we saw something, as we have heard, of the risk and cost that walking the road of reconciliation involves. There are many other examples, of course, in her long years of service, as indeed there are in the untiring, unstinting work of her son, our King, in his now former life.

As has been acknowledged, the Queen’s own foundation, the rock on which she built her life, is well known. The cause for which she felt and knew that she was consecrated—God’s kingdom, peace, justice and mercy—served her well. We know that it will also serve our King well. It makes me wonder whether all our foundations and all the causes to which we give ourselves will be as secure and enduring as hers.

The most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York referred to his granddaughter crying when she heard the news. I cannot resist saying the same about my mother. She is 93 and frail. She wept for the Queen and, I think, all that great generation that is passing. She said, “She was always there”—we all feel that—but she also said something that got it for me: “The Queen had such a beautiful face. It was her smile.” That has been referred to already. I was blessed by that smile in the encounters I had with Her Majesty our late Queen. Genuine life-giving smiles can restore relationships that once looked irreparably damaged. Our world is a better place because of the smile of that gracious lady.

07/10/2022
David Triesman – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Triesman)

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

My Lords, it is a real privilege to take part in this debate and to follow the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Sentamu, and his inspiring words, and also the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, not least because I so strongly share his feelings about the first couple of short speeches by King Charles and the sentiments that they involved.

I do not think it would be to any purpose to repeat the many things that have been said about Her late Majesty’s graciousness, kindness and ability to respond to people in such a personal way—a pleasure which I enjoyed on a number of occasions. Those things have been said. It may well be that what we should remember are her comments when she described her first speeches as having been “green” but that none the less she was delighted to have made the commitments that she made and to have seen them through. I sometimes think that the best one can expect of one’s children is that after their long experience, we hope, of you as a parent they will say that they thought you a good parent and that you have contributed in a significant way to their lives. That is certainly the way I think with affection and humility about the late Queen.

A number of us have inevitably reached for anecdotes because they are not just expressions of the good luck and good chance of having met Her Majesty—in my case, a number of times—but illustrate things about her which, if you had not gone through those experiences, you would not necessarily know. When I first went as a Lord in Waiting, I had the great good luck of her inviting me to have lunch, and we sat, just the two of us, at a small table. She said, “I always have a light lunch”—I think I am allowed to say something about what she said—“I have ordered a ham salad but I thought you would not want a ham salad, so I have ordered a smoked salmon salad for you”. I thought how nice and good to have thought that, as it was absolutely true that, for various religious reasons, I would not have been able to eat a ham salad. It was a most enjoyable discussion and a very enjoyable lunch.

The noble Lord, Lord Jay—we do not sit on the same Benches, but I think of him as a very good friend, as many people in the Foreign Office become very close to the Diplomatic Service—was in Buckingham Palace at the time. As noble Lords probably saw yesterday, he is a very tall man and, wearing a hat with plumes which stuck up about another two feet, he looked like a basketball player on day release. He was introducing ambassadors, as he described. Her Majesty commented on the fact that there were more ambassadors arriving in London than she had ever seen in the course of her reign and that many of them were from countries she had had to look up. Bosnia-Herzegovina was one that day, and there were one or two others. It created in me a very strange memory. My father gave me stamp album—it did not have many stamps in it—when I was a small child, and I would looked through it and see all these countries, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, and wonder where on earth they were. There were all sorts of places. I kept that stamp album because it was such a strange moment in history. Her Majesty very graciously said that her grandfather had collected stamps and had some wonderful albums. She asked whether I would like to see them and said that perhaps they would compare with my stamp album. I thought that was extremely unlikely, but I was delighted to take up her offer.

That was not the first time I met her. The first time was in the context of a football match. I have to say that I never thought of Her Majesty as being a very keen football person. There are no horses involved in the game and, try as we might to devise it, we could never find a way of involving horses in football. I had been told that she had a wonderful sense of humour and that she was at the match. She was indeed very gracious and, at the end, when I asked whether she thought anybody had played particularly well, she said, “The band of the Scots Guards”. I thought that was probably a pretty accurate reflection.

Funnily enough, the Scots Guards come into another memory I have, of when President Lula of Brazil made his state visit. At the state banquet, one of the things that Her Majesty liked was to have the pipes of the Scots Guards walk round the outside of the banquet table playing, as only they can. This playing “as only they can” gave a profound shock to President Lula, who thought it was either a declaration of war or something which he had never come across before. He said, “Do you always do this?”, and before I could answer Her Majesty said, “Of course we always do it”.

I have those memories and I couple them with affectionate memories of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, who was also so important on so many of those occasions and who also deserves great credit.

It has been said in this House that, during the course of her long reign, a huge number of things changed. I want to focus briefly on one of them. The invention of atomic weapons took place earlier, and the first explosion of atomic weapons took place during the war. But when thinking about those 70-plus years it struck me that, in that time, we have created circumstances among humanity where we have a capability we did not have, and which was not really thought of when Her Majesty was in the forces, to destroy ourselves completely and wipe out everything we know about human existence. We have the capability not only to obliterate the whole of the past but to obliterate what would have been the accomplishments of the future. I think Her Majesty had a strong sense of the value of the accomplishments of the future as well as of the traditions of the past, and she was well able to talk about them and make you feel them. That is something that I feel at the moment.

At the heart of it was a love of peace and democracy. She espoused both of those, though not in the sense that she would not wish to stand up to ruthless dictators who would try to interrupt peace or destroy democracy; quite the contrary, she would certainly always have wanted to do that, but in the cause of peace and democracy. I treasure having lived through a period in which a monarch felt so strongly about those things.

Yesterday, the noble Lord, Lord Polak, said a little about Jewish tradition at the end of a person’s life, and with great respect to those who are going to shelter my faith under their umbrella—although it does not always seem to me to happen, but none the less I am very keen that they should—I want to do one other thing which is also from Jewish tradition. Many noble Lords may well know it: we wish the family and the people closest to the person who has died long life. It is not just because we wish for them a long life—though we do, of course—but because it is in the lives of the people who survive that memories survive to the greatest extent. We carry the memories. God bless the King. May he have long life and cherish those memories.

06/10/2022
Liz Truss – 2022 Keynote Article on the Future of Europe

The article written by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, published in The Times on 6 October 2022 and released as a press release by 10 Downing Street.

Security, energy and migration are three of the most urgent priorities for the British people, so they are top of my agenda too. That’s why I am travelling to Prague for today’s European leaders’ meeting.

These vital issues affect the whole of our continent, so it is right that we find common cause with our European friends and allies. It’s also why we want to see a strong voice for non-EU countries like Ukraine, Norway and Switzerland.

Today’s meeting is not an EU construct or an EU alternative. I am very clear about that. It brings together governments from across Europe, around a third of whom are outside the EU. A post-Brexit Britain, as an independent country outside the EU, should be involved in discussions that affect the entire continent and all of us here at home. We are taking part as an independent sovereign nation, and we will act as one.

Brexit was never about the UK stepping away from our proud and historic role as a leading nation in the region and beyond. We always believed we would find new ways of working that reflected our shared values and interests.

Our actions in Ukraine have shown this to be true. No European country has done more than the UK to arm the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom and to lead the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia. Yet our actions are all the stronger because of the way that we collaborated with our European friends.

We have worked with the EU through the G7 and helped Sweden and Finland with their accession to Nato, which remains the bedrock of our collective defence. We have co-operated militarily with European allies through the Joint Expeditionary Force. We are training Ukrainian soldiers together. And we are strengthening partnerships with other European friends, including Norway on energy security and Switzerland on science and research.

So I welcome the opportunity to work with leaders from across the continent in this new forum. But this must not cut across the G7 and Nato, and it must not be a talking shop. I want to see concrete action and delivery on three key priorities.

First, we must ensure that Putin is defeated. His attempts at mobilisation and annexation are a show of weakness. Ukraine’s counter offensive is succeeding, and Russia’s will is fracturing. This is the moment to redouble our resolve. The UK is sending £2.3 billion of military support to Ukraine this year — and we will match or exceed that next year.

I will urge my European friends to continue to work with us in providing more weapons, imposing more sanctions, and backing Ukraine in pushing Russian forces out.

Second, we must end our addiction to Russian hydrocarbons. Yesterday at the Conservative Party conference, I set out our plan for growth and the vital importance of becoming less reliant on authoritarians for our energy. It is right that we talk with our European allies about how we do that collectively. Putin is hoping he can divide us in a scramble for energy supplies. We must show him that he is wrong.

The UK sends and receives both gas and electricity through the undersea cables and pipelines that link us with neighbours like France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Today we must all commit to keeping those connections open this winter so we keep the lights on across the continent.

The UK will also play a leading role in protecting critical energy infrastructure. This week the Royal Navy deployed HMS Enterprise and HMS Somerset to work with Norway and our allies in the North and Norwegian Seas.

Together, we will deter any threat to underwater pipelines.

We must also act now to make sure we are never in this position again. We must usher in a new era of European energy independence, dramatically accelerating our own energy production. Today I will be discussing deeper bilateral nuclear co-operation with President Macron, including progress on Sizewell C. We are ready to work with our European friends to develop next-generation interconnectors in the North Sea. And I hope to make progress towards new partnerships on offshore wind, all of which will help to make the UK a net energy exporter by 2040.

Third, we must use the opportunity of this forum to focus on migration. We are proud of the way that we have opened our homes to 130,000 Ukrainian refugees. But we need a stronger response to the crime gangs that exploit desperate people. Today we will be deepening our joint working with France, the Netherlands and other countries along the migration route to step up our collective response to this trans-national tragedy.

I believe that with authoritarian states undermining stability and security around the world, democratic nations need to be bolder and more innovative in how they collaborate to ensure that our shared values prevail.

It is in this spirit that I will join my fellow European leaders today and ensure that this new forum delivers for the British people.

06/10/2022
Ursula von der Leyen – 2022 Speech on Russia’s Escalation of its War of Aggression Against Ukraine

The speech made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 5 October 2022.

Dear President Metsola, dear Roberta,

Honourable Members,

Since we last met to discuss the state of our Union, the Kremlin has escalated its aggression to a new level. Putin has launched Russia’s first mobilisation since World War II, treating hundreds of thousands of young Russians as cannon fodder. He uses sham referenda in an illegal attempt to change international borders by force. And since many months, he is using energy as a weapon. The Russian war causes economic and social hardship. It places a heavy burden on our citizens and on the economy in our Single Market. Rising energy costs in particular are leading to reduced purchasing power for citizens and loss of competitiveness for companies.

Over the course of the last seven months, together with our Member States, we have already taken important steps. We have diminished our gas consumption by around 10%. Russian gas supplies have decreased from 40% to now down to 7.5% of pipeline gas. We have compensated this reduction by increased imports of LNG and pipeline gas, mainly from our reliable suppliers like the US and Norway. Gas storage in the EU is now at 90%. This is 15% higher than on the same day last year. In addition, three weeks ago in this hemicycle, I announced that we will skim the exceptional profits made by energy companies and use them to support vulnerable citizens and businesses. Last week, this has been enshrined in EU law. We achieved this in lightning speed, also thanks to the outstanding work of the Czech Presidency. And yesterday, the Council reached agreement on REPowerEU.

So we have key instruments in place to make it through the winter – storage and savings; to jointly purchase gas – Platform; to get us out of the Russian grip – agreement with US; to redistribute the windfall profits to support those in need – electricity emergency intervention; and to invest in the future – REPowerEU.

The measures we have put in place provide us with a first buffer of protection. Thanks to these, we can and will now step up to the next level. I will lay out a roadmap in a letter to Leaders in view of our meeting in Prague later this week. It includes the following key components: We will step up our negotiations with trusted partners – for example with Norway – to dampen the price we pay for gas imports. As European Union, we have considerable market power. And many of our suppliers want to conclude deals with us, which are beneficial for both sides. We will also strengthen our Energy Platform. This is in our collective interest. We have to avoid a scenario where Member States are again outbidding each other on world markets and driving prices up for Europe.

My next point is on gas prices. We use gas in three domains: industry, heating and electricity. Let me start with electricity. High gas prices are driving electricity prices. We have to limit this inflationary impact of gas on electricity – everywhere in Europe. This is why we are ready to discuss a cap on the price of gas that is used to generate electricity. This cap would also be a first step on the way to a structural reform of the electricity market.

But we also have to look at gas prices beyond the electricity market. We will also work together with Member States to reduce gas prices and limit volatility and the impact of price manipulation by Russia. In March, we have already offered this as an option. We have said that it can give an important signal that the EU will not pay any price for gas. We qualified such a price cap as having an immediate impact on price levels. But that it entails drawbacks, in terms of security of supply of gas. The situation has critically evolved since then.

Today, compared to March, more Member States are open for it and we are better prepared. Such a cap on gas prices must be designed properly to ensure security of supply. And it is a temporary solution to cater for the fact that the TTF – our main price benchmark – is no longer representative of our market that includes more LNG today. It is a temporary solution until a new EU price index ensuring a better functioning of the market is developed. The Commission has kick-started work on this.

Honourable Members,

These are far-reaching measures. I wholeheartedly agree with you when you say in the resolution you will adopt today that exceptional times require exceptional emergency measures, where the Union needs to act as jointly and united as ever. So, in pursuing our action, two things remain paramount: acting in unity and acting in solidarity. We need to protect the fundamentals of our economy, and in particular our Single Market. This is the strength of the European Union. That is where the wealth of the European Union comes from. Without a common European solution, we risk fragmentation. So it is paramount that we preserve a level playing field for all in the European Union.

With REPowerEU, we have developed a crucial instrument to accelerate the transition to energy independence. It will allow to invest in infrastructure, like pipelines, interconnectors or renewables. And it allows to support businesses and households to invest in energy efficiency – like insulating houses or installing heat pumps. So I think we should further boost REPowerEU with additional funding. This way all European states can accelerate the necessary investments. We modernise the energy infrastructure. And we preserve the level playing field. And we secure our European competitiveness on global markets. And we have to do it as Europeans, together and jointly.

Honourable Members,

There is another pressing issue, which we have to address today. The acts of sabotage against Nord Stream pipelines have shown how vulnerable our energy infrastructure is. For the first time in recent history, it has become a target. Pipelines and underwater cables connect European citizens and companies to the world. They are the lifelines of data and energy. It is in the interest of all Europeans to better protect this critical infrastructure.

For this, we will present a five-point plan. First, we must be better prepared. We have very recently agreed new legislation which will strengthen the resilience of critical EU entities. The responsible Parliament committee will be voting on it next week. And we can and should already now be working on this basis.

Second, we need to stress test our infrastructure. We need to identify its weak points and prepare our reaction to sudden disruptions. We will work with Member States to ensure effective stress tests in the energy sector. This then should be followed by other high-risk sectors, such as offshore digital and electricity infrastructure.

Third, we will increase our capacity to respond through our Union Civil Protection Mechanism already in place. With this, we can support Member States in addressing the disruption of critical infrastructure – for example, with fuel, generators or shelter capacity.

Fourth, we will make best use of our satellite surveillance capacity to detect potential threats.

And finally, we will strengthen cooperation with NATO and key partners like the US on this critical issue.

Honourable Members,

This war has entered a new phase. The Ukrainian army keeps reporting impressive successes in its fight against the aggressor. We all saw the images of deeply relieved people welcoming Ukrainian soldiers. And I could see with my own eyes, three weeks ago, that life has returned to Kyiv. Of course, it is the bravery of the Ukrainian people that made it possible. But Europe’s contribution has also made a huge difference. Our backing has helped Ukraine face down the invader. Only a strong and steadfast Europe will stop Putin. This is the moment to stay the course and support Ukraine as long as it takes.

Long live Europe.

05/10/2022
John Sentamu – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Sentamu)

The tribute made by John Sentamu, the former Archbishop of York, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, I was three years old when, in a little village in Uganda called Masooli, we all gathered round a very small transistor radio and listened to the broadcast from the abbey of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. From then on in every school in Uganda on Empire Day we sang “God save the Queen”. We continue to do it; some still do it now. I stand here as somebody who is quite surprised that this little boy out in Uganda would today be part of the Accession Council and the confirmation of King Charles III. I have mixed emotions.

I want first to echo the words of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York, because on Thursday, as soon as we heard the news that Her Majesty had died, I put on Twitter this message:

“Today Churches Celebrate the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on this day is a great shock & Mary’s Magnificat should be our response: MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD: & MY SPIRIT HATH REJOICED IN GOD MY SAVIOUR; REGARDED & MAGNIFIED HER”.

I have stood, on a number of occasions, near Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth as she sang the Magnificat. She did not need the words; she knew them. In a real sense, that was her song too. She sang it from the heart because it expressed who she was. Her true greatness was her deep humility in knowing that the Lord in many ways “regarded” her “lowliness” and, by divine providence, made her Queen. For her, being Queen was an act of nobody but God.

Humbleness was, for her, born out of having Jesus Christ at the centre of her living, her thinking and all her goals, her rejoicing and even in moments of sadness. She knew the holy scriptures well and sang many hymns without needing to look at the words. She really imbibed the whole tradition. Therefore, it was also comforting to hear our new King say the same thing about the services that shaped him.

When in her presence, you were the person who mattered when you spoke to her. She never looked around. It was as if you were the only person in the room, and until that conversation ended her eyes were fixed on you and your smile.

Forgive this testimony. I had an audience with her to ask for her permission to step down from my role after an extra year. Her response was, “The decision is yours and yours alone—not me, not anyone else. Give me the date and so it shall be.” I took that to be a command. There was a matter that was causing me great heartache. I told her, and I asked for her prayers. I knelt down and put my hands together. She put hers outside mine. There was this deep moment of silence. I think it lasted about two to three minutes. It was ended by Her Majesty saying, “Amen.” I got up and, friends, whatever burdens I had come with were lifted. It was as if I was with my grandmother, who had a similar effect on me. If you want to know more, you have to wait until my autobiography is published next year. You will get a bit more story because permission has been given to me to write some of those words down.

Her hospitality was amazing. I stayed at Sandringham and at Windsor. I will tell your Lordships a bit about Windsor. At Windsor on her birthday, after dinner she and Prince Philip guided us to the library. They had already arranged with the archivist the section on Uganda. The books were opened and copies were made so that we could take some of this material with us. The thing that most surprised me was to see writing dictated by King Muteesa I requesting Queen Victoria to send missionaries to Uganda, and subsequently a request that Uganda became a protectorate. Those documents are there. I was speechless, really. We ended up in the restored chapel at Windsor. Again, there were silent prayers. I cannot remember how long.

The death of Queen Elizabeth has left all of us with mixed emotions. I want to end with the experience of our eight year-old granddaughter, Abigail. When she saw the news that the Queen had died she cried, uncontrollably and inconsolably. When she calmed down, she said, “I will never see a queen in my lifetime”. She then said, “Long live the King”. Queen Elizabeth rests in glory. Long live King Charles III.

05/10/2022
ASCL – 2022 Letter to Kit Malthouse Over “Hanging on to Mediocrity” Comments

The letter sent by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) to Kit Malthouse, the Secretary of State for Education, on 5 October 2022.

(in .pdf format)

05/10/2022
Liz Truss – 2022 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

The speech made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, in Birmingham on 5 October 2022.

My friends, it’s great to be here with you in Birmingham.

It’s fantastic to see the cranes across the skyline building new buildings…

…the busy trams coursing down the streets…

…and the bull standing proudly at the heart of Birmingham.

My friends, this is what a city with a Tory Mayor looks like – it’s positive, it’s enterprising, it’s successful.

And Andy Street is a human dynamo, delivering for the people of Birmingham.

And our Teesside Mayor Ben Houchen is also delivering new jobs and investment.

This is what modern Conservatism looks like.

Let’s get Tory mayors elected in London, in Manchester, in West Yorkshire and right across the country.

We gather at a vital time for the United Kingdom.

These are stormy days.

Together, we have mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the rock on which modern Britain was built.

We are now in a new era under King Charles III.

We are dealing with the global economic crisis caused by Covid and by Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine.

In these tough times, we need to step up.

I am determined to get Britain moving, to get us through the tempest and put us on a stronger footing as a nation.

I am driven in this mission by my firm belief in the British people.

I believe that you know best how to spend your own money, to get on in life and realise your own ambitions.

My friends that is what Conservatism is about.

It is a belief in freedom, in fair play and the great potential of the British people.

So, I’m not going to tell you what to do, or what to think or how to live your life.

I’m not interested in how many two-for-one offers you buy at the supermarket, how you spend your spare time, or in virtue signalling.

I’m not interested in just talking about things, but actually in doing things.

What I’m interested in is your hopes and fears that you feel every day.

Can you get a good job locally?

Is it safe to walk down the high street late at night?

Can you get a doctor’s appointment?

I know how you feel because I have the same hopes and fears.

I want what you want.

I have fought to get where I am today.

I have fought to get jobs, to get pay rises and get on the housing ladder.

I have juggled my career with raising two wonderful daughters.

I know how it feels to have your potential dismissed by those who think they know better.

I remember as a young girl being presented on a plane with a “Junior Air Hostess” badge.

Meanwhile, my brothers were given “Junior Pilot” badges.

It wasn’t the only time in my life that I have been treated differently for being female or for not fitting in.

It made me angry and it made me determined.

Determined to change things so other people didn’t feel the same way.

I remember growing up in Leeds, where I saw too many children being let down.

Let down by low expectations.

Let down by a Labour council who were more interested in political correctness than they were in school standards.

But I was lucky to have been brought up in a family that cared about education.

They taught me the value of hard work and enterprise.

And I stand here today as the first Prime Minister of our country to have gone to a comprehensive school.

That taught me two things.

One is that we have huge talent across the country.

And two, that we’re not making enough of it.

This is a great country.

I’m so proud of who we are and what we stand for.

But I know that we can do better and I know that we must do better.

And that’s why I entered politics.

I want to live in a country where hard work is rewarded…

…Where women can walk home safely at night.…

…And where our children have a better future.

To deliver this, we need to get Britain moving.

We cannot have any more drift and delay at this vital time.

Let’s remember where we were when I entered Downing Street.

Average energy bills were predicted to soar above £6,000 a year.

We faced the highest tax burden that our country had had for 70 years.

And we were told that we could do nothing about it.

I did not accept that things had to be this way.

I knew that inaction would be unconscionable.

Families would have been unable to heat their homes.

Businesses would have gone bust.

Jobs would have been lost.

And we would have had worse public services, including the NHS.

I could not allow this to happen.

I refused to consign our great country to decline.

That is why I promised on entering Downing Street to act.

Now later on in my speech my friends I am going to talk about the anti-growth coalition.

But I think they arrived in the hall a bit too early, they were meant to come later on.

We will get onto them in a few minutes.

But what we did is we acted.

We made sure that the typical household energy bill shouldn’t be more than around £2,500 a year this winter and next.

We followed up with immediate action to support businesses over the winter.

We are determined to shield people from astronomically high bills.

So much so, that we are doing more in this country to protect people from the energy crisis than any other country in Europe.

Our response to the energy crisis was the biggest part of the mini-Budget.

It was the biggest part for a good reason – because we had to do it.

But it’s not the only challenge that we face.

For too long, our economy has not grown as strongly as it should have done.

I know what it is like to live somewhere that isn’t feeling the benefits of economic growth.

I grew up in Paisley and in Leeds in the 80s and 90s.

I have seen the boarded-up shops.

I have seen people left with no hope turning to drugs.

I have seen families struggling to put food on the table.

Low growth isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.

Low growth means lower wages, fewer opportunities and less money to spend on the things that make life better.

It means our country falling behind other countries, including those who threaten our way of life.

And it means the parts of our country that I really care about falling even further behind.

That is why we must level up our country in a Conservative way, ensuring that everywhere everyone can get on.

Conference it is wrong to invest only in places which are thriving, as economic models often have it.

We need to fund the furthest behind first.

And for too long, the political debate has been dominated by the argument about how we distribute a limited economic pie.

Instead, we need to grow the pie so that everyone gets a bigger slice.

That is why I am determined to take a new approach and break us out of this high-tax, low-growth cycle.

And that is what our plan is about: it is about getting the economy growing and rebuilding Britain through reform.

The scale of this challenge is immense:

War in Europe for the first time in a generation…

…A more uncertain world in the aftermath of Covid…

…And a global economic crisis.

That is why in Britain we need to do things differently.

We need to step up.

As the last few weeks have shown, it will be difficult.

Whenever there is change, there is disruption.

And not everyone will be in favour of change.

But everyone will benefit from the result – a growing economy and a better future.

That is what we have a clear plan to deliver.

I have three priorities for our economy: growth, growth and growth.

Growth means more money in people’s pockets it means businesses creating jobs.

Growth means people can feel secure and they can plan for their future.

Fundamentally, growth helps people fulfil their hopes and their dreams.

That is why our dynamic new Chancellor and I will be taking action in three areas.

First of all, we will lower our tax burden.

Over the summer, we had a robust debate.

The Conservative party will always be the party of low taxes.

Cutting taxes is the right thing to do morally and economically.

Morally, because the state does not spend its own money. It spends the people’s money.

Economically, because if people keep more of their own money, they are inspired to do more of what they do best.

This is what grows the economy.

When the government plays too big a role, people feel smaller.

High taxes mean you feel it’s less worthwhile working that extra hour, going for a better job or setting up your own business.

That, my friends, is why we are cutting taxes.

We have already cut Stamp Duty, helping people on the housing ladder – especially first-time buyers.

We are reversing the increase in National Insurance from next month.

We are keeping corporation tax at 19%, the lowest in the G20.

We are helping 31 million working people by cutting the basic rate of income tax.

We need to be internationally competitive, with all our tax rates attracting the best talent.

Cutting taxes helps us face this global economic crisis, putting up a sign that Britain is open for business.

The fact is that the abolition of the 45p tax rate became a distraction from the major parts of our growth plan.

That is why we are no longer proceeding with it.

I get it and I have listened.

Secondly, we will keep an iron grip on the nation’s finances.

I believe in fiscal responsibility.

I believe in getting value for the taxpayer.

I believe in sound money and the lean state.

I remember my shock opening my first paycheque to see how much money the taxman had taken out.

I know this feeling is replicated across the country.

And that’s why we must always be careful with taxpayers’ money.

It is why this Government will always be fiscally responsible.

We are in extraordinary times.

It would have been wrong not to have proceeded rapidly with our energy and tax plan.

I am clear we cannot pave the way to sustainable economic growth without fiscal responsibility.

So we will bring down debt as a proportion of our national income.

We are seeing rising interest rates worldwide in the wake of Putin’s war and Covid.

The Federal Reserve has been hiking rates in America and has signalled more rises to come.

Inflation is high across the world’s major economies.

We will do what we can as a government to support home-owners, such as cutting stamp duty.

But it is right that interest rates are independently set by the Bank of England and that politicians do not decide on this.

The Chancellor and the Governor will keep closely co-ordinating our monetary and fiscal policy.

The Chancellor and I are in lockstep on this.

Thirdly, we will drive economic reforms to build our country for a new era.

We are taking a new approach based on what has worked before.

Previously, we faced barriers to growth like militant unions, nationalised industries and outdated City regulation.

Now, we must breakdown the barriers to growth built up in our system over decades.

Decisions take too long.

Burdens on businesses are too high.

Infrastructure projects get delayed for years, and years and years.

As a result, we have seen economic growth choked off.

Houses have not been built where they are needed and wanted.

We have become averse as a nation to doing things differently.

I love business.

I love enterprise.

I love people who take responsibility, start their own businesses and invest.

They generate profits, they create new jobs and they power our success.

I want to see more of that.

That is why we will back businesses to the hilt.

We are cutting taxes and simplifying red tape to help businesses realise their ambitions.

This is what our new investment zones will do, helping us level up across the country.

We will be inspired by the great hubs of industry like Bournville, here in the West Midlands.

That is what zones in places like here and around the country will deliver.

We want to create the zones in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Now is the time to harness the power of free enterprise to transform our country and ensure our greatest days lie ahead.

This is the United Kingdom at its best, working together and getting our economy growing.

And we will face down the separatists who threaten to pull apart our precious union our family.

Next year, we will host the Global Investment Summit.

This will show the world’s top investors there is nowhere better to invest than the UK.

And we are seizing the new-found freedoms outside the European Union.

We are the party who got Brexit done and we will realise on the promise of Brexit.

We are building an economy which makes the most of the huge opportunities Brexit offers.

By the end of next year, all EU-inspired red tape will be history.

Instead, we will ensure regulation is pro-business and pro-growth.

Leaving the EU gives us the chance to do things differently.

And we need more of that.

That is why over the coming weeks, my team of ministers will set out more about what we are going to do to get Britain moving.

We will make it easier to build homes, to afford childcare and to get superfast broadband.

We will help you set up your own businesses and get a mobile phone signal wherever you are in the country.

We are in tough times.

But I want you to know that day in, day out, I’m thinking about how we get this country moving.

I’m working flat out to make sure people can get through this crisis.

So let me be clear, we have your back.

That is why the Government took decisive action to tackle the energy crisis.

It is why we are pushing ahead with our plan for growth.

Economic growth makes life better and easier for everyone – and it will level up our country.

I know that is what people want to see.

Economic growth will mean we can afford great public services such as schools, the police and the NHS.

Our fantastic Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary will deliver for patients so they can expect a GP appointment within two weeks.

She will ensure that those who need urgent care will be seen on the same day.

And she will get ambulances out there faster and she will improve A&E.

And she will bust the Covid backlog.

That is not all and she will bolster social care so that everyone gets the care they need.

We are working to put this country on the path to long-term success.

That means ensuring we are safe and secure.

One of the reasons we are facing this global crisis is because collectively the West did not do enough.

We became complacent.

We did not spend enough on defence.

We became too dependent on authoritarian regimes for cheap goods and energy.

And we did not stand up to Russia early enough.

We will make sure this never happens again.

So we are taking decisive action to reinforce our energy security.

We are opening more gas fields in the North Sea and delivering more renewables and nuclear energy.

That is how we will protect the great British environment, deliver on our commitment to net zero and tackle climate change.

We are also taking decisive action by strengthening our borders by beefing up our Border Force and expanding the Rwanda scheme.

Our brilliant new Home Secretary will be bringing forward legislation to make sure that no European judge can overrule us.

And while she is acting meanwhile, the Labour Party has absolutely no plan to tackle illegal migration.

But my friends we cannot have security at home without security abroad.

That is why our tough Foreign and Defence Secretaries are updating the Integrated Review to make sure we can face down these threats.

It is why we are increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade.

This will ensure that our Armed Forces are ready to tackle new and emerging threats.

We are working with our friends and allies to support Ukraine in the face of Putin’s brutal war.

The brave Ukrainian people aren’t just fighting for their security but for all our security.

This is a fight for freedom and democracy around the world.

Putin’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory is just the latest act in his campaign to subvert democracy and violate international law.

We should not give in to those who want a deal which trades away Ukrainian land.

They are proposing to pay in Ukrainian lives for the illusion of peace.

We will stand with our Ukrainian friends however long it takes.

Ukraine can win, Ukraine must win, and Ukraine will win.

I know that President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine will welcome our solidarity with them at this very very difficult time.

To take on Russia and other authoritarian regimes, free democracies need strong economies.

Economic growth makes us strong at home and strong abroad.

We need an economically sound and secure United Kingdom.

And that will mean challenging those who try to stop growth.

I will not allow the anti-growth coalition to hold us back.

Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP…

…The militant unions, the vested interests dressed up as think-tanks…

…The talking heads, the Brexit deniers and Extinction Rebellion and some of the people we had in the hall earlier.

The fact is they prefer protesting to doing.

They prefer talking on Twitter to taking tough decisions.

They taxi from North London townhouses to the BBC studio to dismiss anyone challenging the status quo.

From broadcast to podcast, they peddle the same old answers.

It’s always more taxes, more regulation and more meddling.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

We see the anti-growth coalition at work across the country.

Keir Starmer wants to put extra taxes on the companies we need to invest in our energy security.

And his sticking plaster solution will only last six months.

He has no long-term plan and no vision for Britain.

Mark Drakeford in Wales is cancelling road-building projects and refusing to build the M4 relief road.

Nicola Sturgeon won’t build new nuclear power stations in Scotland to solve the energy crisis in Scotland.

Have these people ever seen a tax rise they don’t like?

Or an industry they don’t want to control?

They don’t understand the British people.

They don’t understand aspiration.

They are prepared to leave our towns and cities facing decline.

My friends, does this anti-growth coalition have any idea who pays their wages?

It’s the people who make things in factories across our country.

It’s the people who get up at the crack of dawn to go to work.

It’s the commuters who get trains into towns and cities across our country.

I’m thinking of the white van drivers, the hairdressers, the plumbers, the accountants, the IT workers and millions of others up and down the UK.

The anti-growth coalition just doesn’t get it.

This is because they don’t face the same challenges as normal working people.

These enemies of enterprise don’t know the frustration you feel to see your road blocked by protesters, or the trains off due to a strike.

In fact, their friends on the hard Left tend to be the ones behind the disruption.

The anti-growth coalition think the people who stick themselves to trains, roads and buildings are heroes.

I say the real heroes are those who go to work, take responsibility and aspire to a better life for themselves and their family.

And I am on their side.

We will build roads, rail, energy and broadband quicker.

We will be proudly pro-growth, pro-aspiration and pro-enterprise.

That is how we will forge ahead on our long-term path to national success.

In this new era, we are taking a new approach.

My friends, we are focused on boosting growth and opportunity across our country.

This mission will be difficult but it is necessary.

We have no alternative if we want to get our economy moving again.

I am ready to make hard choices.

You can trust me to do what it takes.

The status quo is not an option.

That is why we cannot give in to the voices of decline.

We cannot give in to those who say Britain can’t grow faster.

We cannot give in to those who say we can’t do better.

We must stay the course.

We are the only party with a clear plan to get Britain moving.

We are the only party with the determination to deliver.

Together, we can unleash the full potential of our great country.

That is how we will build a new Britain for a new era.

05/10/2022
Claude Lancaster – 1967 Speech on Aberfan Inquiry

The speech made by Claude Lancaster, the then Conservative MP for South Fylde, in the House of Commons on 26 October 1967.

I do not intend to comment on the speech of the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydvil (Mr. S. O. Davies) because I have a number of things to say and I know that many other hon. Members wish to speak. A fortnight ago the Annual Report on accidents at mines was published. It is a very encouraging Report. Last year, deaths from accidents totalled 160—the lowest figure ever. But Mr. Stephenson, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, said that in view of advances in engineering technique applied in recent years, we should not be complacent about that.
The Aberfan disaster was not reportable under the Mines and Quarries Act, 1954. Nevertheless, Mr. Stephenson says that the disaster will have a world-wide impact. I was abroad when it occurred, visiting the Trucial States. Immediately on my return, I happened to have a conversation in the Lobby with the hon. Member for Bedwellty (Mr. Finch), who has given me permission to refer to it.

The hon. Gentleman asked me what I thought and I said that I knew no more about it than what I had read in the newspapers abroad. He inquired what my opinion was of the possible cause of the disaster and I replied, “I fancy that you will find that it was a trickle of water”. I shall refer to that later.

In its first-class Report, the Tribunal puts the cause of the disaster on a breakdown in communications both horizontal and vertical. I suggest another dimension —the psychological. It was endemic in the formation of the National Coal Board, which was hurriedly put together in 1947, that it should take on an over-centralised aspect. I am certain that if the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) were here he would be the first to say that, with the passage of time, it needs seriously overhauling.

Unfortunately, the only important inquiry, the Fleck inquiry, did nothing to bring about any decentralisation. Indeed, the Board solidified something which was already too over centralised. The result has been that, progressively, all decisions have come to be made at Hobart House.

Hobart House is responsible for every aspect of mining, including the administration of coal production. Thus, there has arisen a tendency for the men in the regions to look to Hobart House for decisions in all sorts of directions, be they the shape of shafts or the use of props at the coal face. There was, there-for a tendency not to give the soil tips the attention that the problem deserved.

It is true that there were no regulations about coal tips before Nationalisation, but in the East Midlands there was a common practice, which I believe was fairly general throughout the coal industry—I do not think that we were any more enlightened than anybody elsewhere the control of tips was a regular feature of the day’s work. Soil tips are a necessary evil. For every ton brought out of a pit almost a quarter of that weight goes on to the coal tip. It is the difference between the run of mine coal and saleable output. It was necessary to take considerable precautions to settle on a piece of land which was not unduly soft or broken ground and had no previous encroachments and to have very careful regard to the type of debris being tipped.

As an example, a change-over from dry slag to effluent, or what is now called tailings, could have a definite effect on the angle of repose. Therefore, the matter had to be watched very carefully and, above all, it was against all tradition to site a tip either on a spring or in the vicinity of a stream.

There was normally a gang of men working on the tip and they were responsible for whatever mechanical devices were being employed. Over that gang was a man called a chargehand and among his various duties were two very important ones. One was to report any unusual movement of the tip, and certainly he had to report any signs of water emerging from the base of the tip. He made his report either to the surface manager or, in a smaller pit, to the surface foreman who in his turn reported it to the colliery manager. The colliery manager went up every three or four weeks and had a good look at the tip, decided where the tipping for the next period would occur, and drew the charge-hand’s attention to any aspect of the tip which was giving him cause for concern.

These precautions were carried out in the East Midlands not because life was at stake—at least we hoped not—but because undue spreading of the tip involved compensation to farmers for destroyed buildings and the like in the vicinity.

1933In South Wales, the need for precautions on the sides of hills with a 60 in. rainfall is all the greater. It would be presumption on my part to talk about South Wales, but it so happens that a few years after nationalisation two of my original staff went there. One was chairman of the South Wales district and the other was the chief mechanical officer. I used to go down and talk to them, so, although I never talked about tips, I have some familiarity with what went on down there.

That is all I have to say about tips in general. As has been said, it is essential that we take a fresh look at these matters and do everything possible to rectify this appalling situation, more particularly in South Wales.

I come now to Lord Robens’ part. Lord Robens has been a very distinguished Chairman of the National Coal Board. He has been there since 1961 and has proved himself a supreme salesman and a doughty fighter on behalf of the coal mining industry. I think that his greatest contribution was restoring the morale of the industry after the setback from a seller’s to a buyer’s market after the year 1958. He restored confidence to the industry. Moreover, as regards pits being closed and redundancy, he has acted with a great sense of imagination and charity.

I have had a number of discussions with Lord Robens and I have accompanied him up and down the coalfields visiting pits and the like. He is a friend of mine. Therefore, what I have to say is the more invidious.

I consider, first, that his public image has been immensely spoiled by this tragedy. He should have gone down there on the first day. Years ago, when I was first learning something about coal mining—I had no executive position—I went away on a Saturday and the colliery manager rang me that night and said that there had been an over-wind in the shaft, two men had been killed, and I must come back straight away. He was a wise old man. He said. “You must be here because you are the boss class.”Today, Lord Robens and the people around him are the boss class, and they should have been there if for no other purpose than showing their sympathy at that moment with the bereaved.

The second thing I must say about him is that he was most unwise to make any comment about the cause or otherwise of the tragedy. He is wholly untechnical. He was bound to make mistakes, and he did so. He would have been much wiser to have said nothing about it.

Thirdly, and most important, he should have gone to the Tribunal when it was set up and should have said not only, “I will put all the resources of my organisation at the disposal of the Tribunal”, but,” I have two or possibly three men I would like to nominate whose evidence you should take. It is up to you, the Tribunal, to call whom you wish, but I have two or three men I would like particularly that you should call. I think that they can give you great help.”The Tribunal, in its early days, said, and said rightly, that it wanted no delay in its proceedings, it wanted no evidence which in any way would mislead it, and it wanted a ready acknowledgement of mistakes that there had been.

There are three men I have in mind. One has been mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Gibson-Watt), Mr. Kellett, the Chairman of the South-West District. I have met him. He is a man of high reputation and very well respected. Many chairmen happen to be administrative men, but he is a technical man. He was the man responsible for that district and he should have been one of the men to give evidence.

The second man who I suggest should have been called at the earliest moment is Mr. Harry Collins, who was the Director of Production and a Board Member. Mr. Sheppard, who was called, was not a Board member. Mr. Harry Collins is a man of great experience who has held a number of very high posts. If the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) were here he would confirm that when Mr. Collins was in charge of our coal production in Germany after the war he gained the confidence of the German coal mining industry, which is not an easy thing to do. He gained it because he was a man of great competence himself and they responded to him. I went to Essen on two occasions to spend some little while with him and I also was most impressed with the reputation that he gained for himself.

If an additional witness was required the Deputy Chairman of the Coal Board, Sir Humphrey Brown, could have been called. He gained his reputation originally in the old Manchester collieries as a planner. He made a good name for himself when he was Chairman of the West Midlands Division and he is the foremost technician on the Coal Board.

What, in fact, happened? Mr. Sheppard became the spokesman for the Coal Board. It is not for me to question Mr. Sheppard’s competence, but I cannot feel that he can look back on his evidence with any feeling of satisfaction whatever. After all, the Chief Inspector of Mines in the South-West Area said of his evidence that it was “astonishing”. Additionally to that, the Tribunal said that nothing it had heard in evidence at Aberfan in any way confirmed a single syllable of the minute of the statement of the Coal Board committee set up by Mr. Sheppard.

None of the stipulations which the tribunal made—that there should be no delay, that there should be no attempt to confuse the issue and that there should be a ready acceptance of responsibility—was met either by Mr. Sheppard or, I am sorry to say, by Lord Robens in his evidence. Indeed, as we have already heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford, counsel for the Coal Board had to ask the Tribunal to ignore Lord Roben’s contribution to the Tribunal’s considerations as being of no value.

Can anybody imagine that either Mr. Kellett or Mr. Collins would agree to that approach? The Coal Board put forward a statement denying blame for what had occurred at any level. These two men would not have lent their names to such a statement. These two men would not have delayed proceedings or mystified the Tribunal, and these two men would have been the first to acknowledge what had gone wrong, because they would have been only too clear about what had gone wrong.

It has been suggested that this was a very complex geological problem; it was not. Tips are not complex geological problems and advice about the movement of earth and the science of soil mechanics was available from any private engineering firm. If any hon. Member would like to see something comparable to Aberfan he can do so within five miles of Parliament at Dawson Hill, in South-East Camberwell, where very much the same thing has happened. The corporation had been tipping rubbish for a generation; there was water and about 40 houses were swept away, luckily with no loss of life, and three streets have been at risk at the bottom of the hill. In the light of what had happened at Aberfan, Southwark Council very sensibly called in a geological concern—and I must declare an interest, because I have worked with that concern for the last 20 years—and the council has put the matter right in a reasonably short time.

However, in the Press and elsewhere it has been suggested that there were imponderables and the like about the tip at Aberfan. There are not such things about tips, which do not represent a complicated geological problem. They represent a problem which the average colliery manager can perfectly well handle and in which he is perfectly well versed.

I join with my hon. Friend in saying that we must ask the Minister to give us the reasons why Mr. Kellett and Mr. Collins were not called. I am sure that the Minister has read the typescript of the evidence and must be appalled by the evidence put forward by Mr. Sheppard and Lord Robens. I do not think that either wilfully set out to mislead the Tribunal and I am sure that they are both honourable men. It was because of the standard of their competence, because they were second-class men in the sense of their technical or general abilities. They went there on behalf of the Coal Board and yet the Tribunal had firmly put responsibility not on the lower or middle echelons of men whom eventually it condemned in its final report, but squarely on the Coal Board, and it was up to the Coal Board to give every assistance it could and to send its best men. It did not do so.

I find myself in the position of not agreeing with my hon. Friend. Lord Robens has done a fine job. He has served the State in a number of distinguished positions. He did the honourable thing by resigning. I feel that the Minister should not have asked him to take back his resignation. I know that the right hon. Gentleman may produce all sorts of reasons, but the underlying position still remains that he ought not to have asked him to take back his resignation.

Aberfan will not be quickly forgotten I can assure the Minister that the Tribunal’s Reports will have been read in Pennsylvania, in Lens, in Brussels, in the Ruhr and in the Donbas. In a strange way the mining world is quite small and follows what happens up and down the mining world very closely. Unless we do what I have suggested, it will be said that we have dropped our standards. For me this is a sad day, because my heart is in the coal industry, but this is something which we shall not forget for many a long day.

05/10/2022