Prime Ministers Question from the House of Commons in Westminster
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00:00 >>Sir Ed Hines (Bolton West) (Con): If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday
00:07 21 May.
00:08 >>The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): The whole House will join me in sending our
00:15 deepest condolences to the family of Alexei Navalny. He died for a cause to which he dedicated
00:21 his whole life—freedom—and to return home knowing that Putin had already tried to have
00:26 him killed. It was one of the most courageous acts of our time. Together with our allies,
00:31 we are considering all options to hold Russia and Putin to account, and this morning we
00:35 sanctioned those running the prison where Alexei Navalny's body still lies. This morning
00:41 I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this
00:44 House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
00:47 >>Ms O'Dowd (Bolton West) (Con): I know that my right hon. Friend will share my horror
00:52 felt by this House—the oldest people's assembly in the world—at the Assad attack
00:59 against a woman and two children on the streets of London. Does he share my anger that we
01:05 would still not have been able to deport the perpetrator had he been found because of the
01:10 so-called European Court of Human Rights? When will we stop bending the knee to this
01:16 so-called European Court, a travesty of a court?
01:20 >>The Prime Minister This was a horrific attack, and my thoughts
01:26 are with the victim and their families. Obviously I cannot comment on a live investigation,
01:31 but speaking more broadly, I do not think it is right for dangerous foreign criminals
01:36 to be able to stay in our country. That is why our Nationality and Borders Act made it
01:41 clear that anyone who is convicted of a crime and gets a sentence of 12 months or more will
01:45 not be granted asylum in the United Kingdom. That is the common-sense position that I believe
01:51 is supported by the majority of the British public, but one that the Labour party voted
01:55 against time and time again.
01:57 >>Keir Starmer (Wellingborough) (Con): May I start by welcoming the new Member for Wellingborough
02:07 and the new Member for Kingswood? I know that they will both be powerful advocates for their
02:13 constituents.
02:14 >>The Prime Minister On a more sombre note, I join the Prime Minister
02:21 in saying that I am glad to hear what he just had to say, because I am sure the whole House
02:26 will join me in sharing our disgust at the death of Alexei Navalny, who, as the Prime
02:32 Minister said, died because of his efforts to expose the corruption of the Putin regime.
02:38 It is a reminder that Putin has stolen not just the wealth but also the future and democracy
02:44 of the Russian people.
02:48 Would the Prime Minister be prepared personally to repeat the allegation made by his business
02:53 secretary that the former chair of the Post Office is lying when he says he was told to
03:02 go slow on compensation for postmasters and limp to the next election?
03:09 >>The Prime Minister As the business secretary said on Monday,
03:13 she asked Henry Staunton to step down after serious concerns were raised. She set out
03:19 the reasons for this and the full background in the House earlier this week, but importantly
03:23 we have also taken unprecedented steps to ensure that victims of the Horizon scandal
03:29 do receive compensation as swiftly as possible and in full. Making sure that victims receive
03:35 justice and compensation remains our No. 1 priority, and we will shortly bring forward
03:41 legislation to address this matter.
03:43 >>Mr Speaker I am not sure that takes us very much further
03:47 forward, so let me press on. On Monday, the business secretary categorically confirmed
03:55 that the Post Office was—I will quote this in fairness to the Prime Minister—"at
04:00 no point told to delay compensation payments by either an official or a minister from any
04:07 Government department" and that "at no point was it suggested that a delay would
04:12 be of benefit to the Treasury". So that is Monday. A note released by the former Post
04:18 Office chair this morning appears to directly contradict that. I appreciate that this really
04:28 matters to the people who have been at the heart. I appreciate that the business secretary
04:35 has put the Prime Minister in a tricky position, but will she commit to investigating this
04:41 matter properly, including whether that categorical statement was correct and why, rather than
04:49 taking those accusations seriously, she accused a whistleblower of lying?
04:54 >>The Prime Minister It is worth bearing in mind that, as the
05:02 business secretary said on Monday, she asked Henry Staunton to step down after serious
05:07 concerns were raised. This is, on a matter of substance, one of the greatest miscarriages
05:13 of justice in our nation's history, because people who were working hard serving their
05:17 communities had their lives and reputations destroyed. That is why we are working hard
05:23 to ensure that they get justice and compensation, and that is why we established Sir Wynne Williams'
05:29 inquiry. It is why we have already paid out over £150 million of compensation to almost
05:34 3,000 victims, and it is why we will introduce new legislation shortly to exonerate those.
05:40 We will make sure that we do what is needed, that the truth does come to light, that we
05:45 right the wrongs of the past and, crucially, that victims get the justice that they deserve.
05:50 >>Jeremy Corbyn I hope that the Prime Minister will instigate
05:55 that investigation into what was said on Monday, because one of the features of this miscarriage
06:00 is that, where concerns have been raised, they have been pushed to one side. This week,
06:06 we also learned that a 2016 investigation into whether post office branch accounts could
06:12 be altered was suddenly stopped before it was completed. Had that investigation revealed
06:19 that they could be altered, which we now know to be the case, the livelihoods of those wrongly
06:26 prosecuted could have been saved. What did Government Ministers know about it at the
06:31 time?
06:32 >>The Prime Minister The Leader of the Opposition has picked one
06:36 particular date, but it is worth bearing in mind that this scandal has unfolded over decades.
06:45 It was following a landmark 2019 High Court case that the previous Government established
06:52 a statutory inquiry led by Sir Wynne Williams, which is uncovering exactly what went wrong.
06:59 It is right that that inquiry is allowed to do its work, but also following the High Court
07:05 case, the Government established an independent advisory board and not one but three different
07:10 compensation schemes. As of now, more than two thirds of people have received full and
07:16 final offers, because we are focused on making sure that the victims get the justice and
07:21 the compensation that they deserve.
07:23 >>Jeremy Corbyn This information about 2016 has just come
07:28 to light this week, which is precisely why I am asking about it. Considering the Prime
07:34 Minister's Foreign Secretary was running the Government in 2016 and one of the Prime
07:38 Minister's current Cabinet Office Ministers was the Post Office Minister, has he thought
07:43 to ask either of them what they knew in 2016?
07:47 >>The Prime Minister No, Mr Speaker. We did the right thing,
07:52 which was to set up an independent statutory inquiry. That is the right way to resolve
08:00 this issue. It is the right way to get victims the truth and the answers that they demand,
08:04 but this Government are getting them the compensation that they rightly deserve.
08:09 >>Jeremy Corbyn As we all know, the Horizon scandal left
08:13 people isolated, their livelihoods lost and their lives ruined. Some died without ever
08:18 getting the justice that they deserve. Fears of delay, which the Prime Minister will cover
08:22 up, are causing them anguish. Yesterday, Chris Head, once accused by the Post Office of owing
08:29 more than £80,000, said that there is a lack of transparency. We need to see the correspondence
08:37 between the Post Office, the Department and UKGI, because all the time everything gets
08:43 shrouded in secrecy. These are his words—have some respect, please. He is a victim.
08:49 I appreciate that the inquiry is ongoing, but as the Prime Minister knows, and so do
08:53 I and so does the whole House, that does not provide a reason why he cannot draw a line
08:57 under this, give postmasters like Chris the peace of mind they need and release all the
09:03 correspondence that he wants to see. Will he now do so?
09:08 >>Jeremy Corbyn As I said, this is one of the greatest miscarriages
09:13 of justice in our country's history. I do not think that the Leader of the Opposition
09:18 ever raised it with me over these exchanges over the past year, but we are working hard
09:24 to get victims not just the answers but the compensation they deserve. We now have a statutory
09:30 inquiry led by Sir Wynne Williams, who has the powers to get access to all the documentation
09:36 that he requires and to speak to everybody that he needs to. That is the right and proper
09:41 way to get the truth that the victims deserve. In the meantime, we are not wasting a moment
09:46 to get victims the compensation they deserve, and the legislation will be before the House
09:50 shortly.
09:51 >>Mr Osborne In recent decades, there have been numerous
09:55 scandals that have shaken public faith in our institutions. Rebuilding that confidence
10:01 will require those affected to see that politicians are being honest with them and to believe
10:06 it. Just like the postmasters, victims of the infected blood scandal have been subject
10:12 to unimaginable trauma during their search for justice. Can the Prime Minister put their
10:18 minds at ease and tell the House what undertakings he has made to ensure that the Government
10:24 are not limping to the election on payments that they are owed by the British state?
10:29 >>The Prime Minister When it comes to the inflected blood scandal,
10:35 as I have said before, I am acutely aware of the strength of feeling on this issue and
10:39 the suffering of all those who were impacted by this dreadful scandal. I gave evidence
10:43 to the inquiry last year, and I recognise that thousands have suffered for decades.
10:51 As the right hon. Gentleman knows, there is an independent inquiry. The Minister for the
10:57 Cabinet Office, because this is an incredibly complex issue, updated Parliament with the
11:03 latest Government position just before the Christmas recess and announced that the Cabinet
11:08 Office was appointing an expert group of clinical, legal and social care experts. It had the
11:14 relevant expertise to make informed decisions, responding to the inquiry's recommendations
11:19 on compensation when they come, and confirmed that the Department for Health will implement
11:25 a fully bespoke psychological service for people infected and affected. We have also
11:30 committed to providing an update to Parliament on next steps through an oral statement within
11:36 25 sitting days of the publication of the final report. I will end where I began. This
11:42 is a deeply awful scandal, and we will do what we need to to make it right.
11:47 >>Robert Cartney (Gainsborough) (Con) There is a plan for at least 2,000 single young
11:52 men who have come here illegally to soon be housed just 3 miles from the centre of Lincoln
11:56 at RAF Scampton in my right hon. Friend's constituency of Gainsborough, if the Home
12:00 Office Ministers have their way. On top of the huge and rising costs, and recent advice
12:04 from civil servants to Home Office Ministers to can the plan, what reassurance can the
12:08 Prime Minister and his Home Secretary give that Scampton will not replicate the scandalous
12:12 incidences that occurred in Cambridge when 300 Libyan trainees were housed at RAF Bassingbourne
12:19 in 2014?
12:20 >>The Prime Minister My hon. Friend is right to raise the concerns
12:25 of his constituents, and I want to ensure him that we want asylum accommodation to have
12:29 as little impact as possible on the local community. I understand that the Home Office
12:33 has put in place a number of measures, including a specialist security provider working on
12:38 site 24/7, CCTV, and they are working with the local police as well. I know that my hon.
12:44 Friend agrees that the only way to fully stop this problem and ensure that local communities
12:50 are not seeing the housing of illegal migrants, whether that is in large sites or in hotels,
12:55 is to have a plan to stop the boats. That is what this party and this Government are
12:59 doing, and it is Labour who are blocking us every step of the way.
13:02 >>Stephen Flem (Glasgow North) (SNP) May I begin by echoing the sentiments of the
13:10 Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in relation to the heroic bravery of Alexei
13:15 Navalny? We all must continue to be united in our opposition to Vladimir Putin.
13:23 As it stands, some 60% of the buildings in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed. Much
13:29 of the farmland is in ruin. Some 30,000 people are dead, 70,000 injured, and 1.4 million
13:37 people are currently sheltering in Rafa, awaiting an imminent Israeli onslaught. Surely the
13:45 Prime Minister must accept that that does not amount to self-defence.
13:49 >>The Prime Minister I share the concern of many Members about
13:56 the high rate of civilian casualties and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That
14:02 is why we have called consistently for an immediate humanitarian pause, which would
14:07 allow for the safe release of hostages and more aid going into Gaza, so that we create
14:12 sustainable conditions for a long-term and enduring ceasefire. That is what our diplomatic
14:18 efforts are focused on, and that is what I impressed upon the Israeli Prime Minister
14:22 last week when I spoke to him.
14:23 >>Steve McFly (Glasgow North) (Lab) Tonight, this House will have the opportunity
14:28 to join with the majority of the international community and say that enough is enough, that
14:34 the killing in Gaza must stop and that the hostages must be released. The best way to
14:40 do that is to send a clear and united message that we back an immediate ceasefire. Surely
14:50 all of us, irrespective of our political allegiance, can agree on that very issue.
14:58 >>The Prime Minister Of course we want to see the fighting in
15:03 Gaza end as soon as possible and never again allow Hamas to carry out the appalling terrorist
15:10 attacks that Israel was subject to. The right hon. Gentleman talks about the UN resolution,
15:15 but just calling for an immediate full ceasefire now, which collapses back into fighting within
15:21 days or weeks, is not in anyone's interest. We must work towards a permanent ceasefire,
15:29 and that is why the right approach is the approach that we have set out and the United
15:32 States have set out in its resolution, which is for an immediate humanitarian pause to
15:37 get hostages out and aid in, so that we can then create the conditions for a sustainable
15:42 ceasefire. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to increase the amount of humanitarian
15:47 aid that we bring into Gaza, which I discussed with the King of Jordan last week. We will
15:53 have more updates in the coming days of more airdrops into Gaza, but just in the last couple
15:59 of days we have managed to deliver family tents into Gaza, which are providing much-needed
16:04 shelter for very vulnerable people.
16:06 >>Rob Butler (Aylesbury) (Con)
16:08 Key to the much-needed regeneration of Aylesbury are new link roads to cut congestion. Money
16:14 from the cancelled part of HS2 is meant to be paid towards them. That is only right,
16:19 given the destruction that is being caused by the construction of the first part of this
16:23 unwanted railway, but the cash has not arrived yet. Can my right hon. Friend assure my constituents
16:29 that they will get the roads they need so that they can spend less time sitting in traffic
16:33 jams and more time growing the local economy?
16:37 >>The Prime Minister As my hon. Friend knows, last autumn we announced
16:42 the Government's vision to redirect £36 billion of savings from HS2 to invest in hundreds
16:49 of transport projects across the country, including possible increased funding for two
16:53 projects that I know my hon. Friend has campaigned on tirelessly—the south-east Aylesbury link
16:58 road and the Aylesbury eastern link road. I know he has met the relevant Minister on
17:03 a number of occasions to discuss these proposals, and I can tell him that the details of how
17:08 these funding uplifts will be allocated will be decided very shortly.
17:11 >>Neil Hanvey (South West Leicester) (Con) Over 40,000 North Sea oil and gas jobs are
17:18 at risk from an incoming Labour Administration, and neither Labour, the Tories or the SNP have
17:25 lifted a finger to save Grangemouth oil refinery from closure. With the passing of last night's
17:32 petroleum Bill, the UK Government gave not one but two fingers to Scotland's energy
17:38 ambitions within the UK. In today's money, the UK has received over £300 billion in
17:47 tax receipts from North Sea oil and gas, so why can the UK Government not find £80 million
17:54 to secure Grangemouth's future and profitability beyond 2025?
18:00 >>The Prime Minister As I have previously told the House, the
18:05 future of Grangemouth is a commercial decision for its owners. The site will remain operating
18:10 as a refinery until at least May 2025. The UK and Scottish Governments are working together
18:17 to make sure that there are sufficient assurances in place for the support of employees. When
18:22 it comes to backing Scottish energy, it is this Government who, just this week, have
18:28 ensured that we can support British North Sea oil and gas, safeguarding 200,000 jobs
18:34 and increasing our energy security. It is the SNP and the Labour party that oppose that,
18:40 but we will always back our fantastic North Sea economy.