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  • >> Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con): If he will list his official engagements for

  • Wednesday 2 October.

  • The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic

  • Raab) I have been asked to reply. My right hon.

  • Friend the Prime Minister is in Manchester for the Conservative party conference. He

  • is making, as we speak, the keynote speech, setting out that we will leave the EU on 31

  • October, so that we can get on with our dynamic domestic agenda.

  • >> Julian Sturdy: Askham Bog, a world-renowned nature reserve

  • in my constituency, has been described asirreplaceableby, no less, Sir David

  • Attenborough; yet it is threatened by proposals to build more than 500 houses on adjoining

  • land. Will my right hon. Friend put in a good word with the Prime Minister to ask him to

  • join me in lying down in front of the bulldozers to save that important piece of natural heritage?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I thank my hon. Friend. I always put in a

  • good word with the Prime Minister on his behalf, and I share his passion for preserving our

  • precious natural habitats. Local community views are of course incredibly important to

  • the local planning process; that is what our revised national planning policy framework

  • provides. He will understand that I cannot comment on individual planning applications.

  • >> Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab):

  • Yesterday marked the start of Black History Month, so I will begin by paying tribute to

  • a young woman already making history this month. Dina Asher-Smith became the first British

  • woman in 36 years to win a sprint medal when she won silver at the 100 metres in Doha.

  • Tonight she aims to go one better in the 200 metresand I am sure the whole House will

  • wish her well.

  • >> Mr Speaker: I think that was a preface to a question.

  • >> Ms Abbott: If I may continue, uninterrupted!

  • Last week, my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Paula Sherriff) raised the very specific

  • issue of how many of the hundreds of abusive and violent messages that she receives use

  • the Prime Minister's own words. The Prime Minister dismissed those concerns as simply

  • humbug”. Since that exchange, my hon. Friend has received four further death threats,

  • some again quoting the Prime Minister's words. Women across this House experience

  • death threats and abuse. Will the Foreign Secretary take the opportunity to apologise

  • on behalf of the Prime Minister for his initial dismissive response?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I thank the right hon. Lady for her question.

  • My eagerness to rise to the Dispatch Box was because, in Black History Month, as she becomes

  • the first black MP to take to the Dispatch Box for PMQs, it is only fitting to say that

  • she has blazed a trail and made it easier for others to follow in her footsteps. That

  • is something in which I and every hon. Member in this House can take pride in paying tribute.

  • The right hon. Lady raises the increasing level of online and wider abuse that politicians

  • from all parts of the House get, and we should come together to be clear that there must

  • be zero tolerance of any abuse or any threats. May I also say that I have found the level

  • of abuse that she herself has received online to be totally disgusting and totally unacceptable.

  • At the same time, I am sure that, as a passionate champion of free speech, she will defend our

  • right in this House to defend the issues of substance. The remarks that the Prime Minister,

  • my right hon. Friend, made were aimed at the suggestion that he could not describe the

  • surrender Act in such terms. It is absolutely clear, given the substance of the legislation,

  • that it would achieve that and undermine the ability of the Government to go and get a

  • deal in the EU, which on all sides we want to achieve.

  • >> Ms Abbott: So, we can take it that there is no apology

  • from the Foreign Secretary. I raised the very specific point that my hon. Friend the Member

  • for Dewsbury made about the abuse she gets that uses the Prime Minister's language.

  • Deliberately disturbing billboards showing unborn foetuses have been put up in the London

  • borough of Walthamstow. They are upsetting for women walking past, but particularly upsetting

  • for my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy), because these billboards

  • are targeted at her in response to her work to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.

  • Abortion in Northern Ireland should be decriminalised on 21 October. What will the Foreign Secretary

  • do to ensure that, from later on this month, women in Northern Ireland will have the same

  • human rights to legal and safe abortion as women in England, Wales and Scotland?

  • >> Dominic Raab: The right hon. Lady has referred to the hon.

  • Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) and the abuse that she has received, which I and

  • all Members of this House, I know, believe is totally unacceptable. There is a place

  • for free speech, but we should never allow that to cross over into abuse, intimidation

  • or harassment of hon. Members from all parts of the House going about their business. The

  • most important thing that we can do on the specific issue that the right hon. Lady raises

  • is get the institutions in Northern Ireland back up and running so that they can exercise

  • their rights, their prerogatives, on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.

  • >> Ms Abbott: I notice that the Foreign Secretary has not

  • said anything about those horrific postersthey are not posters that anyone would want to

  • see, particularly someone who is pregnant, as is my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow.

  • Last week, Labour reiterated its call to end the rape clause, which forces women to fill

  • out a four-page form to prove their child was born of rape in order to get financial

  • help. Will the Foreign Secretary today back Labour's pledge to remove the abhorrent

  • rape clause from universal credit?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I would say that we have looked at this issue

  • and we continue to look at it. On the subject of using inflammatory language, it is incumbent

  • on Members in all parts of the House to be very careful about it. I know that my right

  • hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions is looking

  • at this matter and will continue to take questions and scrutinise it very carefully, so that

  • we get the balance right. I gently say to the right hon. Lady that Labour wants to abolish

  • universal credit and engage in an open spending spree on handouts. That is the wrong thing

  • to dotrapping people in the welfare trap. On our side, we want to help those people

  • from the poorest backgrounds get into work, and our record speaks for itself.

  • >> Ms Abbott: How much more dismissive can the Foreign Secretary

  • be of people and families dependent on benefits? We are not talking about a spending spree;

  • we are talking about a system that is fair and just, and which does not subject people

  • to undue humiliation.

  • Last week, the 100-year-old travel company Thomas Cook went out of business. We know

  • that 72% of its workers are women. We also know that, although Governments around the

  • world stepped in to save Thomas Cook subsidiary companies in their own countries, the UK Business

  • Secretary thought that this was not her job. Can the Foreign Secretary explain to those

  • workers, some of whom are with us today, why their Government sat idly by?

  • >> Dominic Raab: First, we did not sit idly by. The Government's

  • efforts, co-ordinated by the Transport Secretary, to ensure that the holidaymakers and travellers

  • who were caught overseas could be returned back to the UK, have been very effective and

  • required a huge amount of cross-Government work, including in my own Department. On whether

  • the Government should have stepped in to bail out Thomas Cook, it is very clear from looking

  • at the financing that such a step would not have rendered the company more sustainable

  • and would not have saved jobs in the long run. We are, of course, concerned to ensure

  • that we have a sound economic base in the long term. We have created 3 million new jobs

  • in this country since 2010, and will continue with that. What we are not going to do is

  • routinely bail out companies that are unsustainable. That is not the right way to go about this.

  • >> Ms Abbott: Nobody is asking the Government routinely

  • to bail out companies. We are asking the Government why they will not even meet the workers.

  • Whether it is women Members in this House, women claiming benefits, women's reproductive

  • rights in Northern Ireland or the failure to support women workers at Thomas Cook, is

  • not this a Government letting women down?

  • >> Dominic Raab: On this side of the House, we are proud to

  • be on our second female Prime Minister.

  • >> Mr Speaker: Order. The Foreign Secretary has embarked

  • on his answer. I want to hear it, and I think the House and everybody else will want to

  • hear it as well.

  • >> Dominic Raab: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

  • Members on the Labour Front Bench are pointing to my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead

  • (Mrs May). Well, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my right hon.

  • Friend for her accomplishments in tackling human trafficking, for her accomplishments

  • and drive to tackle violence against women and for the domestic violence Bill that we

  • will be introducing in the House today for further debate.

  • >> Ms Abbott: The Foreign Secretary has not mentioned the

  • fact that there are over 600,000 more women and girls in poverty now than in 2010. I gently

  • say to him that I was a Member of this House when Tory MPs defenestrated the first female

  • Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher, and I was a Member of this House when the Tory MPs worked

  • their will against the second female Prime Minister. It seems to me that Tory Members

  • of Parliament may on occasion make women their leaders, but they need to learnThey need

  • to learn how to treat them less cruelly.

  • >> Dominic Raab: The right hon. Lady mentions Margaret Thatcher.

  • I gently say to her that if she wants to talk about treating women better, she might have

  • a word with the shadow Chancellor, who talked about going back in time toassassinate

  • Margaret Thatcher. That is not appropriate language from the Opposition.

  • The right hon. Lady talked about Labour's record. Let me remind her that female unemployment

  • rose by over a quarter because of Labour's economic mismanagement, and now Labour wants

  • more debt, more borrowing and higher taxes. On our side, we are proud: female unemployment

  • at record lows, a higher percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards and a record low gender

  • pay gaplower than under the last Labour Government.

  • >> Ms Abbott: rose

  • >> Mr Speaker: Order. I believe I am right in saying that

  • the shadow Home Secretary has had her six questions. [Hon. Members: “More!”] There

  • will be more.

  • Margot James (Stourbridge) (Ind): Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that legislation

  • to establish a tough independent regulator of internet companies empowered to challenge

  • the automatic right to anonymity online should be a priority for the Queen's Speech?

  • >> Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want

  • to make the UK the safest place in the world to go online for our children, but also for

  • all members of our society. Our online harms White Paper set out our plans to make companies

  • more responsible for their users' safety online, especially children, and also sets

  • out measures to reinforce powers to issue fines against those who put them at risk.

  • >> Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP):

  • It is a disgrace that the Prime Minister is not here. Since he was elected in July, he

  • has been to only one Prime Minister's questions. Quite simply, he is running scared from this

  • Chamber.

  • Right now the Prime Minister is setting out his Brexit fantasy at the Tory party conference—a

  • deal that he knows is unacceptable and doomed to failure. When this deal fails, as Tory

  • Members know it will, Downing Street sources have insisted that the Government will not

  • seek an extension. They will not obey their legal obligations. Yet again, this Prime Minister

  • is prepared to act unlawfully. Has the Prime Minister not learnt his lesson? He is not

  • above the law. Can the Foreign Secretary confirm whether those sources are correct that the

  • Prime Minister will not obey the law? Are this Government seriously planning to take

  • on Parliament in the courts to force through a catastrophic no-deal Brexit, or will the

  • Foreign Secretary now rule that out?

  • >> Dominic Raab: Of course this Government will always adhere

  • to the law. The Prime Minister has written to Jean-Claude Juncker setting out our proposals.

  • We want to take forward the negotiations. We want to avoid a no-deal scenario, and I

  • would urge the SNP, rather than undermining the negotiations in Brussels, to try and support

  • the Government in securing a deal that is good for this country. The right hon. Gentleman

  • talks about respecting judgments. We will always respect legal judgments. I call on

  • the SNP to respect the judgment of the people of Scotland when it comes to staying in the

  • United Kingdom and the judgment of the people of the United Kingdom to give effect to the

  • referendum on the EU.

  • >> Ian Blackford: “We will always respect legal judgments.”

  • The fact is that this Prime Minister cannot be trusted, and his Foreign Secretary cannot

  • even commit the Prime Minister to the letter of the law. This Government must be stopped.

  • I am looking now to colleagues on the Opposition Benches, and I urge them: we must unite. We

  • must stop this Prime Minister by removing him from office. The Scottish National party

  • stands ready to bring this Government down. Other parties need to step up at this moment

  • of national crisisprepare a vote of no confidence, ensure a Brexit extension, prevent

  • a no deal and call a general election. Doing nothing is not an option. We must act. So

  • I ask the Foreign Secretary: will he give the Prime Minister a message from the Scottish

  • National party? It is not a case of if but when: we will bring this dangerous Government

  • down. The right hon. Gentleman is at risk of sounding like he is all mouth and no trousers,

  • because he had the chance to vote for a general election and he turned it down; he had the

  • chance to avoid no deal; and the best chance now is to back this Government in securing

  • a good dealgood for the United Kingdom and good for all quarters of the United Kingdom,

  • including the people of Scotland.

  • >> Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): On Saturday, I was out knocking on doors with

  • my listening team, listening to the views of local people, as we do every week. The

  • message to me, whether they were leave or remain voters, was crystal clear: get Brexit

  • done by 31 October. Deputy Prime Minister, can you reassure my constituents that we will

  • leave the European Union by the end of this month, come what may, no ifs, no buts?

  • >> Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend gets straight to the crux of

  • the matter. We must leave by the end of October, come what may. We are committed to doing that.

  • The most effective way of doing it that will unite this House and bring the country back

  • together is to get behind the Prime Minister's efforts to secure a good deal. I think it

  • is incumbent on all Members on both sides of the House to support the United Kingdom

  • rather than try to undermine the negotiating position in Brussels.

  • >> Teresa Pearce (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab): Housing, I believe, is the first of the social

  • services; without it, we cannot have education, productivity or health. The NHS has a diagnosis

  • code for inadequate housing. The Department of Health wrote to me saying that poor housing

  • costs the NHS £1.4 billion a year, but that figure is now four years old. Will the Secretary

  • of State ensure that the Department of Health writes to me with the most up-to-date figures

  • and places that information in the Library?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I will certainly pass on the hon. Lady's

  • specific request to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

  • She is right to raise the quality of housing. When I was Housing Minister, we developed

  • proposals for a social housing Green Paper. We want social housing tenants to feel they

  • are treated with respect. I remember meeting an individual who said that he ran his own

  • business, and when he went to work he was treated with respect but when he came back

  • home he was treated disrespectfully by his housing association. That is not right.

  • I would gently say to the hon. Lady that we have delivered over 222,000 additional homes

  • in the past yearthe highest level in all but one of the past 31 yearsand we have

  • built more council housing than in the previous 13 years of the last Labour Government.

  • >> Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Ind): Sir John Major rang me about half an hour

  • ago simply to give vent to his indignation, which

  • I already fully shared, that a major policy announcement of historic significanceour

  • last offer, apparently, to the EU of a withdrawal agreementwas being made not to this House

  • of Commons, which is not even to have a statement, and not after discussion in the Cabinet, most

  • of whose members know nothing about it, but in a speech to the Conservative party conference

  • in which the Prime Ministerwho, I remind you, was one of those who voted to stop us

  • leaving the European Union at the end of Marchbegan with an attack on Parliament. If a deal is

  • obtained, I will be delighted and I will apologise to the Prime Minister. I will vote for any

  • deal that is agreed among the 28 member states of the European Union. But can the Foreign

  • Secretary reassure meit seems to me obvious, otherwisethat this is not just a party

  • political campaigning ploy to blame the European Union for the lack of an agreement and to

  • arouse fury between people and Parliament so as to escape from the responsibility that

  • seems to me to lie with the Spartans on the far right of the party, with whom he and the

  • Prime Minister used to be close allies?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I thank my right hon. and learned Friend.

  • On the specific point, the proposals we are setting out to BrusselsDavid Frost, the

  • Prime Minister's special adviser, is in Brussels doing thatwill be set out first

  • in the House of Commons. They will be published—[Interruption.] No. The shadow Foreign Secretary is chuntering

  • from a sedentary position, but the proposals have not been set out in Manchester; they

  • will be set out in written proposals to Jean-Claude Juncker and published in the House later on.

  • I gently say to my right hon. and learned Friend: I know—[Interruption.] Later today—[Interruption.]

  • The shadow Foreign Secretary is continuing to talk from a sedentary position. My right

  • hon. and learned Friend and I have always had slightly nuanced but differing views on

  • the EU, but I think the one thing we all want to do is to get a deal right nowthat is

  • why the attempts by Parliament to frustrate that have been deeply counterproductiveand

  • to give effect to the promises that, on all sides of the House, we made to give effect

  • to the referendum and to keep trust with the electorate of this country.

  • >> Eleanor Smith (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab):

  • The Government update of the national planning policy framework published in July 2018 changed

  • the policy we have had for generations of not building on the green belt. The policy

  • now allows future development to be considered. Local planning authorities are coming under

  • great pressure from developers who do not want to spend money to improve brownfield

  • sites. Unspoilt areas such as the Seven Cornfields on the edge of my constituency are now under

  • threat from inappropriate development by house builders who put profit above all else. We

  • should not be building on such sites, especially at a time of concern for the environment.

  • I ask the Prime Minister to review the green belt policy to protect areas such as the Seven

  • Cornfields from developers.

  • >> Dominic Raab: The hon. Lady's concerns are shared right

  • across the House, so it is something that will be of interest and importance to everyone

  • here today. The national planning policy framework is very clear: the green belt must be protected

  • and brownfield sites must be brought forward. In order to provide a greater boost to the

  • supply of new housing, we have introduced measures to boost the density of and the ability

  • to raise homes in more urban or suburban areas while protecting the green belt. A huge amount

  • of money has gone into infrastructure development right across the country to ensure that we

  • can build the right homes in the right places and to answer the significant concerns of

  • local communities, who ask where all the schools, housing and roads will come from. We are making

  • sure that we give councils the support they need to build the right homes in the right

  • places.

  • >> Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con): The Government are backing a new hospital

  • to serve Basingstoke with money to develop our business case. Does my right hon. Friend

  • agree that a bid that could include new jobs, new state-of-the-art facilities and new homes

  • is one that everyone in north Hampshire should get behind?

  • >> Dominic Raab: It sounds like a tantalising proposal. I am

  • sure that the Health Secretary will look at it very carefully indeed. We have made it

  • clear that we back the NHS with the biggest cash boost in history, an extra £34 billion

  • a year by 2023-24. We can do that only with a strong economy, which is precisely what

  • the Labour party will put at risk.

  • >> Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op): On Monday, my constituent Richard should have

  • been paid. It was the first time in his life that he was not. Richard, like many others

  • whom I met with his union, Unite, was a dedicated employee of Thomas Cook. Given that the warning

  • signs were there for months, if not years, will the Government use the extra parliamentary

  • time that we now have to bring forward emergency legislation to stop a further airline collapse?

  • Will the Government pledge now to expedite Richard's redundancy pay and to recoup the

  • millions taken by the directors in the past few months?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I feel for anyone in the Thomas Cook scenariopeople

  • stranded abroad or people who lost their jobs. I have set out why the Government do not systematically

  • bail out or step in to prop up firms that are unsustainable. I am afraid that if the

  • hon. Lady looks at the figures, she will see that that was not a sustainable route to follow.

  • Of course, if she wants to write to me, we will look at any details she raises, but the

  • bottom line is that the way we create a healthy economy and jobs is by making sure that we

  • have the tax measures in placeby not raising taxes on businesses and by supporting the

  • workers of this country. That is what we are doing.

  • >> Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield) (Ind): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on being

  • at the Dispatch Box as deputy Prime Minister.

  • How is it that the Government are allowing special advisers at No. 10 Downing Street,

  • speaking on behalf of the Government, to tell outright lies? My right hon. Friend should

  • be familiar with the fact that on Saturday such a special adviserwhom I believe to

  • be Mr Dominic Cummingstold The Mail on Sunday that a number of hon. Members were

  • in receipt of foreign funding to draft what is known as the Benn Act, something which

  • in itself is totally untrue. Moreover, he went on to say that that was going to be the

  • subject of a Government investigation, which is also completely untrue because, mercifully,

  • this country is not yet run as a police state by Mr Cummings.

  • >> Dominic Raab: I thank my right hon. and learned Friend.

  • I was not quite sure what the question there was, but the position of the Government is

  • that advisers advise and Ministers decide. It is right that the legislation that we have

  • rightly dubbed the surrender Act gets the kind of scrutiny that a Government would getwhether

  • it is from the Executive, parliamentary Select Committees in this House or, indeed, the declarations

  • of interest that should come forward in the normal way.

  • >> Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP):

  • Can the First Secretary of State set out clearly and unambiguously for this House in what circumstances

  • the Prime Minister will write to the EU Council President, as set out in the terms of the

  • Benn Act?

  • >> Dominic Raab: The Government have been very clear: we will

  • respect the law—[Interruption.] We will respect the law, but we are not going to extend

  • beyond 31 October. I would ask all hon. Members who signed up to that shoddy legislation to

  • reflect on whetherwith the fact of the multiple conditions, the £1 billion a month

  • that it would cost the UK taxpayer and undermining the position of the UK Government to get a

  • deal in Brusselsthey are actually courting the no-deal scenario they pretend they want

  • to avoid.

  • >> Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con):

  • May I join in the tributes paid earlier to the right hon. Member for Hackney North and

  • Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) for her historic achievement today?

  • Today marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Does my right hon. Friend

  • agree with me that Gandhi's message of non-violence, religious tolerance and greater rights for

  • women is as applicable today as it was in his lifetime?

  • >> Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I would

  • go one further and tout the words of Martin Luther King, who said that we—I think on

  • all sides of the Houseshould believe in a society where you are judged on the content

  • of your character, not the colour of your skin, let alone your gender. That is why we

  • on this side of the House are proud of our record of record levels of BAME communities

  • in employment and children from BAME communities taking more rigorous GCSEs. We have the first

  • Asian Chancellor, the first female Asian Home Secretary and I am proud to be in the most

  • diverse Cabinet in history.

  • >> Anna McMorrin (Cardiff North) (Lab): My constituent Anne has an auto-immune condition

  • and needs 20 tablets a day to control pain. This medicine is her lifeline, and without

  • it she could die, but she has been warned that a no-deal Brexit will mean a severe risk

  • to its supply. Can the Secretary of State say why his Government are willing to risk

  • her life and many others by refusing to rule out no deal, choosing a policy of ruin over

  • delay?

  • >> Dominic Raab: Of course we share the concerns of anyone

  • in the position of the hon. Lady's constituent. That is why the head of the NHS, Sir Simon

  • Stevens, and the Health Secretary have said that they have put in place all the necessary

  • arrangements to make sure that, in a no-deal scenario, medicines will continue to flow

  • across the border, as is required. But if she really wants to avoid a no-deal scenario,

  • she should get behind this Government getting a good deal in Brussels, and that is the best

  • thing for all concerned.

  • >> Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Ind): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his

  • role today. I remember when my right hon. Friend resigned from the Cabinet because of

  • his disagreements with Brexit policy—a route I subsequently became familiar withbut

  • does his experience not remind him that there are honourable, different opinions across

  • this House about how we leave the European Union and about how we interpret the will

  • of the people, and the essential thing is that every Member here representing their

  • constituency has a role to play in that? May I urge him, when working with my right hon.

  • Friend the Prime Minister, to make sure that any decisionsany progressare taken through

  • this House?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I can give my right hon. Friend that reassurance.

  • I do understand, and we have always managed to stay on civil, cordial, even amiable terms

  • throughout all the challenges of Brexit, which we on both sides of the House should seek

  • to do. Parliament of course has a crucial role to play. I do not think anyone can legitimately

  • say that Parliament, with the stalwart support of the Speaker, has not scrutinised Brexit

  • at every stage. But we also have to remember on all sides, and particularly on this side,

  • the promises we made to the voters to give effect to Brexitto get Brexit doneand

  • that is the way we can move on, unite the country and take Britain forward.

  • >> Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab): On 27 July in Manchester, the Prime Minister

  • said he wanted to bring northern cities' bus services up to the same level as London's.

  • Bus services are really important to my constituents. The problem is that, currently, Government

  • funding for bus services is £75 a head in London but £5 a head in Sheffield. Although

  • the Chancellor has announced a further £200 million for bus services, it would take half

  • that money to bring Sheffield's funding level alone up to London's. Are the Government

  • really going to fund the better bus services the Prime Minister promised for northern cities

  • such as Sheffield, or have we again had a grand announcement from the Prime Minister

  • that, on detailed examination, simply is not worth the paper it is written on?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I say to the hon. Gentleman, the Chairman

  • of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, that we are absolutely committed

  • to boosting bus services in his constituency and indeed infrastructure right across the

  • country. That includes transport, that includes broadband, and that means making sure that

  • we have a more balanced economy that can boost jobs, reduce deprivation and ensure we can

  • fund the precious public services we need. On the specific point he raised, I will ask

  • the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to write to him personally.

  • >> Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con): Within the last 24 hours, the Democratic People's

  • Republic of Korea has launched a ballistic missile, possibly from a submarine; if so,

  • that would be the first submarine-based missile it has launched in three years. It is its

  • ninth launch, I believe, since June. Has my right hon. Friend had an opportunity to talk

  • to other leaders in the region? Given that this comes a few days before the resumption

  • of talks with the United States, what assessment has he made of the continuing threat of the

  • DPRK to the region and the wider world?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for

  • his time at the Foreign Office; he was a very effective Minister, and he continues to make

  • the case from the Back Benches. We are concerned about the situation in North Korea and we

  • regularly raise it with our international partners. There has been a series of missile

  • tests by Pyongyang, which are deeply troubling. We continue to make it clear that it must

  • show restraint and adhere to its legal commitments. Of course, there is some bluff and bluster

  • in the lead-up to the talks with the US. We would like to see a de-escalation of tensions

  • and a route to denuclearising North Korea.

  • >> Gill Furniss (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab):

  • This week I heard from my constituents Phil and Rachel Turner, whose five-year-old daughter

  • Eliza has cystic fibrosis. They are planning to move to Scotland so she can receive the

  • life-changing drug Orkambi on the NHS. Does the First Secretary of State agree that it

  • is a tragedy that families should have to uproot their lives in that way? Can he confirm

  • that funding will be found for children affected by this terrible disease so they can take

  • up the treatment without delay? Furthermore, may I suggest that the Government should support

  • Labour's plan to set up a publicly owned generic drugs manufacturer that would supply

  • medicines to the NHS at affordable rates?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I feel for any family and any children in

  • the situation that the hon. Lady highlights. We are frustrated, as is everyone, that agreement

  • has not yet been reached that would provide access to Orkambi. We have a system, with

  • the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England, where it is for

  • clinicians, not politicians, to determine the fair price for medicines. I say gently

  • that I think the proposals put forward by the Labour party would put that at risk, because

  • they would repel investment and innovation. That is not the right way to get medicines

  • to the people who need them.

  • >> Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con):

  • May I ask the First Secretary of State to turn his attention to Hong Kong? Yesterday's

  • events were truly awful. Obviously, the people suffering most are the victims of violence

  • on both sides, but now a number of UK companies with interests in Hong Kong are being adversely

  • affected. As one of the guarantors of the Sino-British joint declaration supporting

  • one country, two systems, is there now an argument for him to discuss Hong Kong with

  • China in the UN Security Council? Perhaps the next six-monthly report on the declaration

  • would be an opportunity to do that.

  • >> Dominic Raab: We are concerned about what we are seeing

  • on the streets of Hong Kong. We of course condemn any violence by protesters, but the

  • vast majority are seeking to exercise their right to peaceful protest. Any response by

  • the Hong Kong authorities needs to be proportionate, but what we need above all is a political

  • process and a dialogue between the Administration and the people of Hong Kong that can lead

  • to the kind of political reform that is envisaged in the Basic Law and reflected in the joint

  • declaration my hon. Friend cites.

  • >> Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op): The last Prime Minister, the right hon. Member

  • for Maidenhead (Mrs May), created a hostile environment for migrants that made them feel

  • alienated and unwelcome in this country, examples being the descendants of Windrush, and now

  • EU migrants. The current Prime Minister is creating an even more hostile environment

  • for anyone who does not agree with the UK leaving the EU on 31 October without a deal,

  • by invoking the language of war, and through talk of surrender, betrayal and capitulation.

  • Why do this Government feel the need to whip up such hatred, animosity and division, when

  • so many people are already suffering from the Government's austerity?

  • >> Dominic Raab: We are absolutely determined to correct the

  • wrongs experienced by the Windrush generation. We have apologised for the mistakes that were

  • made and, to date, over 7,200 individuals have been given documentation confirming their

  • status. The hon. Gentleman talks about Brexit, which has been a divisive issue for all parties

  • and people right across this country. The best way of resolving that and bringing the

  • country together is to get a deal, get Brexit done, and move on. It is incumbent on those

  • in all parts of the Labour party to think about the promises that they have made, and

  • to get behind this Government as we strive for a good deal that works for the country.

  • >> Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con): Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming

  • the £13.8 million of funding for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust that has been earmarked

  • for upgrading Eastbourne District General Hospital, which many of my constituents use?

  • A few years ago, the hospital was earmarked for closure; under the Conservatives, it is

  • earmarked for investment.

  • >> Dominic Raab: I am delighted about the new investment going

  • into my hon. Friend's constituency. We have backed the NHS, which will have almost £34

  • billion a year by 2023-24. There is an extra £1.8 billion going into 20 hospital upgrades,

  • and we are providing £250 million to boost artificial intelligence, so that we can have

  • earlier cancer detection, new dementia treatments and more personalised care. All that would

  • be put at risk by a Labour Government, who would tank the economy.

  • >> Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab): I recently met a victim of domestic violence

  • who continues to live in isolation and terror, even now that the abusive relationship is

  • over. This Parliament has a duty to her, and to every victim of domestic violence, to pass

  • the Domestic Abuse Bill, which is finally having its Second Reading today. Will the

  • Foreign Secretary promise her that this life-saving legislation will not fall due to Prorogation?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman. Members

  • on all sides of the House want to stand up to, and have absolutely zero tolerance for,

  • any domestic abuse. The best way forward is for us to work together in a collaborative

  • way, which, frankly, we have not seen in recent months and years because of Brexit. That opportunity

  • will come today, when we debate the Domestic Abuse Bill on Second Reading.

  • >> Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con): Last year, I attempted to introduce legislation

  • requiring banks to maintain or deliver a cashpoint, on a free-to-use, 24-hour basis, to every

  • high street that supports 5,000 residents or more. I was inspired to do that when the

  • tourist town of Battle lost its last cashpoint of that type. I am grateful that LINK has

  • now seen the case for Battle's cashpoint, but I am conscious that other high streets

  • across the UK are not so fortunate. Will the deputy Prime Minister help to set up a meeting

  • with me and Ministers to help to deliver a boost to all our high streets?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I will certainly pass on my hon. Friend's

  • point directly to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and

  • other Ministers, and will see what more can be done in the neighbourhood that he talks

  • about. The reality is that some businesses and high streets are suffering, partly because

  • of online competition, and partly because of consumer trends. We need to make sure that

  • we boost high streets and businesses, and in particular the small businesses in this

  • country that have created over 80% of new jobs. All that will be put at risk, frankly,

  • by the damaging and counter-productive policies that the shadow Chancellor has come up with

  • this week.

  • >> Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab): Many of my constituents in Sunderland who

  • voted leave are contacting me, as they are petrified of a crash-out, no-deal Brexit coming

  • on top of years of hardship caused by Tory austerity. Will the Secretary of State confirm

  • that the Government will obey the law and request an extension to article 50, so that

  • people in Sunderland can avoid the double whammy of a no-deal Brexit on top of Tory

  • austerity?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I have to say to the hon. Lady that of course

  • we will adhere to the law, but the Prime Minister has been clear that we must leave by the end

  • of October in order to maintain public trust in our democracy and avoid the public feeling

  • that parliamentarians and politicians do not listen to what they have said. If she wants

  • to avoid a no-deal Brexit, get behind the Government in securing a deal that all sides

  • can support.

  • >> Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con): Yesterday, I was honoured to speak at the

  • official opening of CAE's new flight simulator and aviation training centre at Gatwick airport.

  • Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming this significant aviation inward investment

  • into global Britain?

  • >> Dominic Raab: It is absolutely crucial that we make this

  • country the best place to invest for technology and innovation, and that is part of the vision

  • of global Britain. So I pay tribute to the project in my hon. Friend's constituency.

  • That is what we can deliver if we can get Brexit done and dusted and move on, and allow

  • the people of this country to move on.

  • >> Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (IGC): The right hon. Gentleman and the Government

  • talk about the will of the people and the need to restore trust in democracy when it

  • comes to Brexit, while completely forgetting that over 16 million people voted for us to

  • remain in the EU, 13 million people chose to abstain in the referendum, and 1.5 million

  • youngsters were not eligible to vote and now want a say about their future. On that basis,

  • surely the way to protect democracy is to put any Brexit deal to a confirmatory referendum

  • because, if we do not have that people's vote, we will leave the EU without the consent

  • of the majority of people of this country.

  • >> Dominic Raab: I know that the right hon. Lady and I have

  • different views on Brexit, but we have always got on professionally and civilly in the past,

  • and I understand the passion with which she holds her views. But I think a second referendum

  • will be the last thing this country wants. It would solve nothing and put the Union at

  • risk, because it would be a political gift to the SNP. If she wants to avoid no deal,

  • she should back the Government, not undermine them, as they strive for a good deal in Brussels.

  • >> Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con):

  • With the shape of a potential deal becoming clearer, will the First Secretary of State

  • repeat and confirm his absolute commitment to leaving on 31 October, which is in contrast

  • to the Lib Dems—I do not think we have a single Lib Dem in the Chamber this afternoon—[Interruption.]

  • Oh, we dowe have one. Forgive me, Mr Speaker, I got that wrong. We have one Lib Dem in the

  • Chamber. That commitment is in contrast to the Lib Dems, who want to overturn the democratic

  • result, and to the Labour party, which does not quite yet know what it wants.

  • >> Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we

  • need to get Brexit done. The country wants us to move on and to keep faith with the voters.

  • As for the position of the Liberal Democrats, of all the different views in the House of

  • Commons, I find this the most difficult to understand. How could we have 16 Liberal Democrat

  • MEPs actually writing to Jean-Claude Juncker telling him not to negotiate or do a deal

  • with the UK? That is deeply irresponsible and is courting the very outcome of a no-deal

  • Brexit they say they wish to avoid.

  • >> Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab): Did the Prime Minister, as The Times reports

  • today, receive a request from President Trump for help in trying to discredit the Mueller

  • report and the role of British and American intelligence in uncovering the Russian interference

  • in the 2016 presidential elections? Will he assure the House that no British Prime Minister

  • would ever collude with any foreign leader to undermine or smear our security and intelligence

  • services or damage their vital co-operation with their American colleagues?

  • >> Dominic Raab: I should first be clear that the Prime Minister

  • is not going to comment on the discussions with President Trump that were held in private,

  • but I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that of course neither the Prime Minister,

  • then the Foreign Secretary, nor any other member of the Government would collude in

  • the way he describes. That is of course entirely unacceptable, would never have happened and

  • did not happen.

>> Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con): If he will list his official engagements for

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首相の質問。2019年10月2日 (Prime Minister's Questions: 2 October 2019)

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