Transcripts For BBCNEWS Monday In Parliament 20240713

Its 2 30am. Now on bbc news monday in parliament. Hello and welcome to monday in parliament. The speaker refuses to allow the government another yes or no vote on its brexit deal. Some mps arent happy with him. On occasion, you will sometimes have to please some and not others but it is becoming remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other lot. John bercow is defiant. When he was getting the decisions in his favour, he was not grumbling. Also tonight, the Stormont Assembly is up and running but only for a matter of minutes. And the foreign secretary updates the commons on the case of harry dunn, the teenager killed in an accident involving an american diplomats wife. I can reassure the house that representations have been made to the Us Government at every level of the administration. But first there was an historic moments toward the end of the days business. Second reading, what day . Tomorrow. The withdrawal bill will finally be debated but will it get through by october the 31st . More on that later. But cast your mind back to saturday, or super saturday, as we knew it for a while. An historic sitting of the commons where borisjohnson wanted mps to back his new brexit divorce deal. But instead of a straightforward yes or no vote, mps decided to withhold their approval until the legislation implementing the agreement had been through parliament. The Prime Minister wanted to hold another meaningful vote on monday, but the speaker, john bercow had other ideas. Todays motion is in substance the same as saturdays motion and the house has decided the matter. Todays circumstances are in substance the same as a saturdays circumstances. My ruling is therefore that the motion will not be debated today as it therefore would be repetitive and disorderly to do so. But borisjohnson had now requested an extension to the brexit deadline so didnt that change things . When we were debating on saturday, nobody knew whether the Prime Minister was going to send the letter or not. And since that has happened whilst you are quite correct, sir, to say that the motion is the same, an event outside has dramatically changed it. The speaker said that hadnt been a consideration. Other mps supported his decision. Its an attempt to prevent an executive from browbeating parliament and making certain that it votes again and again and again on the same thing until it gets it right. Now surely mr speaker this is an important defence of freedom in our democracy. But then mr bercow came under attack. I note the dilemmas you face mean that on occasion you will have to please some and not others, but it is becoming remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other one. I would also remark. I would also remark, mr speaker, that you have inveighed against most unusual things happening in this house which you did not like. And i would say it is most unusual for a speaker so often to prevent the government having debated the matters which the government wish to put before the house. My committee will be holding a hearing on the role of the speaker. It has to be said somewhat in the light of the experience of recent months. The speaker said he was untroubled by any hearing in his role. When he was getting the decisions in his favour, he wasnt grumbling. He is grumbling now because he doesnt like the judgement. But the judgement i have made is an honourable and fair one and im afraid if the honourable gentleman doesnt like it, theres not much i can do about that. Nothing in what i have said in any way impinges upon the opportunity for the government to secure a approval of its deal and the passage of the appropriate legislation by the end of the month. If the government have got the numbers, the government can have their way. And its not for the speaker to interfere. The judgement ive made is about the importance of upholding a very long standing and overwhelmingly observed convention of this house. That is what ive done and i make absolutely no apology for it whatsoever. A labour mp was concerned about the modifications mps might try to make to the withdrawal bill. When amendments come forward over the next few days or the next few weeks, only amendments that are pertinent to securing the deal in relation to the essence of that deal rather than revoking article 50 or having a second referendum, will be the ones that will be taken because it is all about securing the deal. Would it not be better to save consideration of these matters until the business statement so that we can hear from the leader of the house of commons . He meant wasnt it time to wrap this up so mps could hear from Jacob Rees Mogg . But no, there was to be lots more brexit talk before we got to the leader of the house. Some of that talk was triggered by the labour leader, who wanted to ask an urgent question about the letter borisjohnson had sent to the european council. After saturdays shenanigans, the Prime Minister was obliged to send the letter to request a delay to the planned departure date. But borisjohnson sent the letter unsigned. Jeremy corbyn was also asking about the publication of the withdrawal bill, something that amused the brexit secretary. The publication of the Withdrawal Agreement bill is therefore now being delayed by the leader of the opposition because he has tabled an urgent question requesting the publication of the Withdrawal Agreement bill. Genius. Jeremy corbyn was less jovial. As we have come to expect with this Prime Minister, this is done with posturing and attempts to distract but despite having told the British Public over and over again he would never do it, the letter has in fact been sent. The request is not only legally necessary and prevents us crashing out of the eu with no deal, but the extension allows this house the space to scrutinise the Prime Ministers brexit deal. Well, i can tell the house what has been ditched, and it is the honourable gentlemans manifesto which he has ditched from the commitment he gave to respect the referendum result, to one which is now characterised by dither and delay. The Prime Minister utterly humiliated by his defeat by saturday. A defeat that saw this house reject his unfair and anti democratic deal. A defeat mr speaker that has forced the Prime Minister to send a letter to the European Union council requesting a deal. He said he would never ask for an extension of article 50 and yet he sent the letter doing just that. If the Prime Minister is allowed to change his mind, surely the government should give the public the opportunity to do the same by putting their brexit deal to a peoples vote. Well, soon it was time for the leader of the house to announce the timetable for consideration of the all important withdrawal bill. Tuesday the 22nd of october, second reading of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill. Followed by commencement of committee of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill. Wednesday, the 23rd of october, continuation of proceedings on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill. Thursday the 24th of october, conclusion of proceedings on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill. Friday, the 25th of october, the house will not be sitting. So, all the common stages of the bill in three days. There was outrage on the opposition benches. This was the reaction of the Northern Ireland mps. We want brexit done, but we want to safeguard Northern Irelands position within the United Kingdom. When unionists in Northern Ireland voted for brexit, they also voted to sustain the United Kingdom and therefore in the absence of the kind of assurances we need from ministers, i have to say to the leader of the house quite frankly that what he is proposing in terms of proper scrutiny of this bill does not dojustice to what the constituents i represent need. I would very much like the Prime Minister or indeed the leader of the house to come to Northern Ireland and explain in detail to the people of Northern Ireland why they only deserve three days consideration of the major changes to them and how this bill will affect their futures. I think that is the decent and honourable thing to do. Well, how long that debate turns out to be to bends on whether mps vote for the motion that sets out the timetable and they will have the chance to do that on tuesday. Meanwhile, the government says it has stepped up plans for a no deal brexit. The minister in charge of preparations said the chances of no deal had increased after mps voted to delay approval of the Prime Ministers brexit deal until parliament had passed legislation putting it into practice. It meant borisjohnson was legally bound to request an extension of the uks membership of the eu beyond the planned exit date of the 31st of october. With no clear agreement yet in this house to ratify our Withdrawal Agreement and no certainty that an extension will be granted by the 31st of october, i must, i fear, take the appropriate steps now to prepare for the increased possibility that the legal default position will follow and we will leave on october the 31st without a deal. He said the no deal contingency plan called operation yellowhammer had now been triggered. From today, the governments exit committee will meet seven days a week to provide strong ministerial focus across government. Hundreds of Public Servants across the uk will have to be redeployed. They will transfer to work in operation centres ready to identify challenges, Work Together to resolve problems swiftly, and implement contingency plans. Government, local resilience bodies, and operational partners will be working together, ready to respond 2a hours a day, according to need. His Statement Today fills us with foreboding in the country because it appears as if they really do think that slst of october is a date which this house will tolerate. I have to tell him that i do not believe that that will be the case. And in any event, the Prime Minister himself has sent a letter to the European Union he forgot to sign it apparently saying that he will pursue a delay. And so this slst of october date seems to me to be an artificial one. He said that no deal would hurt deprived regions the hardest. The Prime Ministers own brexit deal would result in every person in our country being £2250 worse off. That is why we will not support that deal what is he not telling us . What does he know that we dont know about this entire process . Because otherwise, he must know something because otherwise, i dont understand why he continues to commit hundreds of extremely highly qualified Civil Servants and waste hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money in the service of an objective which we have consistently ruled out. How come the state of the slst of october has become elevated to the extent it has been . The government has this halloween fetish now. The only reason the only reason that the slst of october matters rather than a week later, or a month later, or year later, the only reason is to save face for this Prime Minister. The secretary of state has been a long time supporter of the union and of Northern Ireland. He must know in his heart of hearts that this is actually driving a wedge between Northern Ireland and great britain. The access the unfettered access to goods for Small Businesses is going to absolutely destroy that relationship. Can he really say that this is actually good for Northern Ireland . Absolutely. Having worked in Northern Ireland, having so many friends in Northern Ireland, its position in the union is very dear to me. And therefore, it is of concern to me that there are people in Northern Ireland, particularly within the Unionist Committee who feel heart sore about what they perceived to be the consequences of this deal. And one of the things that i will be doing in every hour and every day ahead is doing everything i can in order to provide reassurance in order to ensure we can put provisions in place that make sure the people of Northern Ireland appreciated that we love them and want them to stay. Michael gove. Youre watching monday in parliament with me, mandy baker. Dont forget that if you miss our daily round up or youd like to watch our end of week extravaganza, the week in parliament, you can via the bbc iplayer. The case of harry dunn has rarely been out of the headlines for the past few weeks. The 19 year old was killed in august when his motorbike collided with the car of anne sacoolas, the wife of an american diplomat, outside raf croughton in northamptonshire. She left the country a few days later, citing diplomatic immunity. Since then, harry dunns mother and stepfather have been to washington to meet President Trump, but they came away angry at how theyd been treated. The foreign secretary, dominic raab, for the first time gave a detailed timeline of events in the commons. On the 28th of august of this year, the us embassy notified us that the spouse of a member of staff at raf croughton had been involved in an accident. On the 30th of august, the us asserted that the spouse was covered by immunity so a waiver was needed. To enable the Police Investigation to follow its proper course, on the 5th of september, the fco formally requested the us embassy to waive immunity. Given the seriousness of the incident, our view was and remains thatjustice needs to be done. If her immunity had been waived, Northamptonshire Police would have then been able to compel her to co operate fully with their investigation. However, on the 13th of september, the fco was informed by the us embassy that they would not was immunity and that the individual would be leaving the country imminently unless the uk has strong objections. We duly and immediately objected in clear and strong terms, and we have done ever since. Nevertheless, under the vienna convention, uk police could not have lawfully prevented the individual from leaving the uk. When the fco followed up with the us embassy on the 16th of september, they informed us that the individual had departed the day before. We immediately informed northants police. When fcos views were sought on timing, officials asked the police to delay telling the family by a day or two so that they could inform me and other ministers and agree the next course of action. Im aware that the police did not tell the family until the 26th of september, which is 11 days after the family had left. As the primary point for family liaison, the decision as to when to tell the family was properly a matter for the police, and i know they considered it very carefully. Mr speaker, turning to the issue of waiver, i can reassure the house that representations have been made to the Us Government at every level of the administration. The head of the Diplomatic Service summoned the us deputy ambassador. Ive raised the case twice with the Us Ambassador in order to express disappointment with their decision not to waive immunity and to request that that decision be reversed. I spoke to us secretary of state mike pompeo in the same terms on the 7th of october, and the Prime Minister raised the case with President Trump on the 9th of october. The shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry had many questions about how the government would review its arrangements with the us on diplomatic immunity, but also wanted to know how harry dunns parents could have been in her words ambushed by President Trump at the white house, when he revealed without warning that ann sacoolas was in the next room. Im not asking him to intrude on the independent decisions of prosecuting authorities, but has the foreign secretary been advised as to whether there are any barriers to the cps commencing extradition proceedings to return mrs sacoolas to the uk . Finally, mr speaker, as the foreign secretary will know, harry dunns family are due to meet tomorrow with the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police. As i mentioned earlier, this brave family has already had one disappointing meeting in his office and another in the oval office. In fact, may i ask one question in relation to that . Was the Foreign Office aware that the white house has summoned this family to the white house, let alone that the president was intending to ambush them with a meeting with mrs sacoolas . And if so, did they think that it was appropriate for this vulnerable family not to be given some assistance from the Foreign Office . They have many legitimate questions. They are not getting answers. Unfortunately, they have been led to believe that they wont get any answers from the chief constable either tomorrow, as it is his intention to merely offer them his personal condolences. That isnt good enough. Its not good enough. The time for condolences and sympathy is over. What harrys family needs now is answers, the truth and some justice. Dominic raab said there was no barrier to the Crown Prosecution Service seeking extradition of ann sacoolas and that a review of how the uk and us handle diplomatic immunity would take place as a matter of urgency. Now, Northern Irelands assembly has sat for the first time in nearly three years after being recalled in a last ditch attempt to stop abortion law changes. Legislation passed in westminster means terminations are to be decriminalised and same sex marriage will be legalised from midnight. Unionist leaders who oppose the measures triggered the assemblys recall. Shortly after proceedings began, the sdlp walked out, leaving no nationalist representatives in the chamber, which meant no speaker could be elected. The dup leader said it was a sad day. We will have the most liberal abortion laws anywhere in europe. Just think of that for a moment. Northern ireland will have the most liberal abortion laws anywhere in europe. I think this is a shameful day for those who havent come. I think when they reflect on it and when we realise that we have no regulatory system now in place for abortions in Northern Ireland, that it is something that has been decriminalised by 12 oclock this oclock this evening, and it is with incredible sadness that we should mark this day. And there will be some today who will celebrate today. I will have to say this is not a day for celebration for the unborn, mr speaker. So the legislation will take effect from midnight. And the absence of a functioning assembly in Northern Ireland was very much on the agenda at westminster as well. The current arrangements allowing the Civil Service to make decisions in the absence of a working executive were due to run out at midnight on monday. The Northern Ireland secretary put forward a measure, or statutory instrument, which allows ministers to make law to extend the situation untiljanuary the 13th next year. It was, he made clear, very much a second best sticking plaster. Colleagues should be clear that the act only provides guidance to the Northern Ireland Civil Service and is no substitute for every day political decision making. In reflecting on hundreds of interactions ive had with Public Sector workers, voluntary workers and members of the public, this continued absence is a huge disappointment. His labour shadow wondered what the plan was if those efforts werent successful by the january deadline. Mr speaker, in the event that stormont does not return, the secretary of state needs to plan now for what will happen on january the 13th. We know how quickly time goes by in the context of Northern Ireland. And he warned that any thoughts of ultimately returning power to westminster would be a dangerous road to go down. The secretary of state will face a difficult decision, and i would say to him that direct rule is a very unattractive proposition for many, many reasons. The snp spokesman on Northern Ireland wondered if a recent government report on restoring stormont, which pledged to intensify talks, could really be taken seriously. Mr speaker, there are no formal talks between the parties at the moment. Now, i fully accept that the government cannot bind the hands of the parties involved. But can the secretary of state tell us with no current talks, what exactly the government meant by intensifying efforts and can he tell us when fresh talks will take place . Julian smith said hed been meeting the five parties on a weekly basis, but that it was up to those parties to come together. The dup demonstrated that was unlikely any time soon as the party appeared to push to exclude sinn fein altogether. Assembly members did meet. Sinn fein boycotted it. Given that the Prime Minister said on saturday a simple majority should apply in Northern Ireland as well, fully compatible with the good friday agreement, can he apply that decision to the executive . Because four parties out of five would saddle up tomorrow. An independent mp wondered if revisiting the issue of members to pay might settle minds. What consideration has the secretary of state given to cutting their salaries yet again . The fact that they receive their salaries, albeit reduced, has caused immense annoyance and continues to cause immense annoyance across Northern Ireland and that has cost millions of pounds. Does the secretary of state intend to cut . Julian smith confirmed that he would review all elements relating to the assembly if there was no Movement Forward over the coming days. Thereve been calls in the lords for the government to do more to tax airlines and their passengers particularly frequent flyers. A Green Party Peer asked if ministers would consider a tax on loyalty schemes run by the airlines, air miles as we know them. Climate change is the greatest and most challenging issue, surely it would be sensible to encourage airlines, instead of rewarding the 15 of the population who take 70 of the flights, it would be betterfor all of us, all the rest of us if they didnt run these schemes and if they did a frequent flyer tax instead. I would much rather that we were able to address the 100 of the individuals who take flight. And that is why we are participating very strongly in International Civil Aviation Organisation to try and make sure that they at an International Level address this matter. There are means which can be taken. The next serious meeting will take place in 2022, and this government stands ready to do its part. A bishop wanted to know why the government didnt tax aviation more than it did. Could the minister explain why the gap between Aviation Fuel being not taxed and road fuel being taxed in the way it is is so great . And if the answer is the difficulty of Getting International agreement, why uk internal flights arent taxed so as to get some sort of parity between different methods of transport . The challenge we face in this country is we are a major hub for International Flights as well as being a country with a significant geographical challenge. We do all we can to ensure that people are able to take the types of journeys which theyre able to take. Its up to commercial companies to determine how best to set that forward. The minster also said taxing government loyalty programmes would be regressive, and one peer wanted to find out why he thought that. My lords, the minister just dubbed this measure regressive in many ways. Could the minister perhaps enlighten your lordships house on how this is regressive given the Climate Emergency that we face . The reason why such acts are regressive is if you place this particular approach, either banning these air miles or any other restrictions in this particular fashion, the people who are most affected are almost certain to be the poorest people, not those who are wealthy or those who are travelling in business class. That is the problem. They can continue to afford to do so, while those who take family holidays will bear the brunt of it, and that is regressive. That irritated lady jones. Its not true. Its the 15 , they are the wealthiest people. Its not the poorest people who only take one flight a year. I have a sneaking suspicion the 15 , the wealthiest will not be deterred by removing a loyalty scheme. My lords. Laughter. And thats all weve got time for. Alicia mccarthy will be here at the same time tomorrow, so do join her for the latest from westminster. But for now, from me, mandy baker, goodbye. Hello there. Pressure will be building in for tuesday morning, so it looks like many places will start dry. You can see this area of High Pressure pushing in from the south west keeping this weather front at bay. Mainly affecting the far north of the country to start the day. We will have lost that weather front across the south east so drier there too. So its going to be quite a chilly start to tuesday, with some mist and fog around, particularly where those skies clear and the temperatures really drop. So dont be surprised if you see scenes like this across some central and southern parts of england and wales to greet us this morning. Now, that mist and fog could linger on for a few hours, but it should tend to lift and break and then we should see a good deal of dry weather with some sunshine across england and wales. A vast improvement across the south east. More cloud further north, certainly for scotland and Northern Ireland. Most of the rain in the far north, with many places staying dry. Temperatures 12 15 degrees in the south. So that should feel quite pleasant. And then through tuesday night it stays dry, variable cloud across england and wales. Stays breezy, though, for scotland, Northern Ireland, with rain tending to flirt with the north west corner. Temperature wise, again chilly in one or two spots, particularly where skies clear. So on into wednesday, we hold on to the fine weather, i think, across much of the south east. We have this weather front still bringing wet and windy weather to the far north west. And that low pressure system across spain and france bringing a lot of rain and mayjust influence the weather across the south east. A weather front here sending more cloud perhaps one or two showers. For the north and the west it stays windy. Outbreaks of rain, which will become more persistent in parts of Northern Ireland, western scotland. But in between again a slice of dry weather. Hose temperatures 12 15 degrees. As we head on into thursday, it looks like that front in the south east may bring a little bit of rain. But weve got low pressure to the north west which will push in to bring a spell of windy weather here. Now, we could see gales or even severe gales for a time across western scotland. Showers or even longer spells of rain here. One or two showers further south, particularly in south east where we will have that weak weather front. In between, some good spells of sunshine and again those temperatures around the low to mid teens celsius. Low pressure then clears off to the north to end the week. We could see something a little bit drier once again. But then we look to the south west, this new area of low pressure will slide into bring increasing cloud and rain through the day. But we start friday off on a dry note for many, with sunshine, a few showers in the north, which will be wintry on the hills. There will be some cold there across Northern Areas so as this wet and windy weather pushes northwards we could see some snow fall on the Higher Ground of scotland. But it will be milder in the south. Welcome to bbc news, im mike embley. Our top stories voting ends in canada, what could be the countrys tightest election. But welljustin trudeau win a second term in office . Polls have now closed right across canada from coast to coast. I am lyse doucet in toronto, bringing you all the latest results as the votes are counted. The other main stories this hour israels long standing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a government, following last months after inconclusive elections. His rival benny gantz now gets his chance. The British Government publishes its Withdrawal Agreement bill, setting out how the uk plans to leave the eu