Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Week In Parliament 20240713

Have not yet been told whether we will be hearing from the defence secretary from one of the military commanders who was involved in that raid. Several generals are with the president in the situation room in the white house as they watch that unfolding. Will bring that with you as soon as we can. Now unfolding. Will bring that with you as soon as we can. Now it is time for the week in parliament. Hello, and welcome to the week in parliament, where, for the first time, mps back a deal to leave the European Union. The ayes to the right, 329, the noes to the left, 299. So, the ayes have it, the ayes have it. Unlock but mps also throw out borisjohnsons plans to rush the bill through parliament in time for a halloween brexit. We spent, my wife and i spent longer choosing a sofa than we had to debate this incredibly important bail. The government says the best option now is a general election in december. Offering an election is not playing games, it is trusting the people. But first. It was a parliamentary week that ended as it began with no one quite certain exactly what was going to happen next. A rare saturday sitting had seen mps decide to delay voting to approve borisjohnsons eu divorce plan, until the legislation putting it in place had gone through parliament. So on tuesday, the Prime Minister presented his Withdrawal Agreement bill to mps which would put his deal into law. If this house backs this legislation, if we ratify this new deal which i believe is profoundly in the interests of the whole of the United Kingdom and our european friends, we can get brexit done and move our country on. One of the labour mps whod backed the agreement previously had a question. I welcome the pledge that that a bill will enhance and not reduce the uk standards but will the Prime Minister commit today to reinforce this admission with a clear non regression clause, as we have on workers rights and write this into the bill . Would that not provide some of the reassure is the house needs about not only protecting but enhancing Environmental Standards . Mr speaker, i can indeed make that commitment. I thank the honourable lady for the work that she is doing it was a parliamentary week that ended as it began if this house backs this legislation, if we ratify this new deal which i believe is profoundly in the interests of the whole of the United Kingdom and our european friends, we can get brexit done and move our country on. I say very clearly to the Prime Minister, do not take the people of Northern Ireland for fools. We are not fools. The Prime Minister needs to explain in detail how his new consent process operates. A process by which there are a small minority of economic arrangements in which Northern Ireland remains in alignment sanitary and phytosanitary, and for manufactured goods, for four years unless and until by a majority vote of the Stormont Assembly, Northern Ireland elects to remain in alignment. Its quite clear that whatever he says about Northern Ireland being in the uk customs union, de facto the European Union customs code applies in Northern Ireland if the protocol comes into place, which requires exit declarations from Northern Ireland. Yes, it does. The brexit secretary said opposite yesterday he had to be corrected by hmrc. There are no checks, gbni, they will be some measures to ensure there is no illegal trade. Illegal trade. Illegal trade, endangered animal species and banned firearms. But getting mps to give inital approval to the bill was only half the battle. The government was also proposing a timetable, known as a Programme Motion, to put the bill through all its remaining parliamentary stages in just a few days with the aim of gettng the uk out of the eu by halloween. And there was to be a separate vote on that timetable after mps had voted on the bill. To propose a Programme Motion at the end of this debate will mean that all 68 clauses have got to be considered and voted on within the next, what, 2a, 48 hours, starting this evening is actually an abuse of parliament and a disgraceful attempt to dodge accountability, scrutiny, and any kind of proper debate. I was incredibly concerned when i was reminded by my wife earlier today that we spent, my wife and i spent longer choosing a sofa than we have to debate this incredibly important bill. The snps westminster leader accused the government of ignoring devolved institutions in scotland and wales. Ian blackford said the bill should not become law without the consent of the Scottish Parliament and welsh assembly. We were told after our referendum in 2014 that we were to leave the uk, there was the respect agenda, that we were an equal partner, our opinions would be respected, yet here we are today, our parliament, our views disregarded. This brexit deal will be bad for our United Kingdom family of nations. It beggars belief that this conservative Prime Minister has agreed to a deal which will see a border down the irish sea, something he said he would never do. There are people who will try to use this to break up our country and we must not let them break up our family of nations. At the end of that debate, it was time for mps to vote first on whether or not they backed the general principles of the Withdrawal Agreement bill. The ayes to the right, 329. The noes to the left, 299. So, the ayes have it, the ayes have it. Unlock order so a win for the government by 30. Then it was on to the vote on whether to push the legislation through parliament in just a few days, in time for the uk to leave the eu on october the 31st. And this time things did not go the governments way. The ayes to the right, 308, the noes to the left, 322. The labour leader said the house had refused to be bounced and he had an offerfor the Prime Minister. Work with us, all of us, to agree a reasonable timetable and i suspect this house will vote to debate, scrutinise, and i hope and then to the detail of this bill. That would be the sensible way forward and that is the offer i make on behalf of the opposition tonight. The Prime Minister didnt reply to that as he set out his next steps. I must express my disappointment that the house has again voted for delay, rather than a timetable that would have guaranteed that the uk would be in a position to leave the eu on october the 315t with a deal. And we now face further uncertainty and the eu must now make up their minds over how to answer parliaments request for a delay. And he said hed be putting the Withdrawal Agreement bill on hold. A dramatic end to a day which had seen the withdrawal bill clear its first hurdle, but mps reject the governments timetable for its remaining debates and votes. But what about that offer from Jeremy Corbyn . On wednesday morning, he met borisjohnson in private to discuss what might happen next. But hope of a breakthrough was shortlived. Downing street said thered been no meeting of minds and no further discussions were planned. At Prime Ministers questions a couple of hours later, the longest serving mp, known as the father of the house, urged borisjohnson to change course. Will my right honourable friend firstly get over his disappointment and accept that upset over the 31st is now halloween, it is devoid of any symbolic or political content and will fade away into historical memory very rapidly, so will he, having reflected, let us know that he is about to table a reasonable timetable motion so that this house can complete the task of finalising the details of the withdrawal bill so we can move on on a basis which might begin to reunite the nation once again for the future . I must respectfully disagree with my right honourable friend, thats not for the first time, i think it would still be very much in the best interests of this country and of democracy to get brexit done by october the 315t. Borisjohnson there. By thursday, the government saw only one way forward, a general election, dissolving parliament in november ahead of the vote on december the 12th. Under the fixed term parliaments act, two thirds of mps have to vote for the move, and the leader of the commons announced they would have their chance on monday. Before the house considers the second reading of the environment bill, members will have an opportunity to debate and approve a motion relating to an early parliamentary general election. The business for the rest of next week remains as i announced earlier. I want to make it clear that her majestys Opposition Labour Party will back an election once no deal is ruled out. And. Wait for it and. Wait for it, and if the extension allows. For us, the priority means we need to see that extension secured and that extension must be long enough to protect us from the cliff edge of the no deal brexit. He has failed. The liberal democrats will not support this until we can be sure that this country will not be crashed out of brexit and that the electorate has a choice. Its always exciting, mr speaker, to discover what the position of the liberal democrats is because it changes like a weather vane. Can the leader of the house confirmed that if the has decides not to hold the general election on monday that he will still bring forward a Programme Motion at some point thereafter . Mr speaker, we hope that the house will vote for a general election on monday because we need to clear this up. And the hard stop of a general election may help focus minds because nothing else seems to. Why is the leader of the house playing games with resolutions rather than taking up the offer from the opposition to properly programme the withdrawal bill . Mr speaker, weve done both. But offering an election is not playing games, it is trusting the people. Jacob rees mogg. Well, while brexit dominated the week, there was plenty more going on. On monday, some members of the Northern Ireland assembly returned to stormont in a last ditch attempt to stop legislation passed in westminster to liberalise abortion laws from coming into force. Bbc news ireland correspondent chris page takes up the story. Well, Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government for more than 1,000 days now. The power sharing Administration Made up of the Democratic Unionist Party and sinn fein collapsed back in january of 2017. And despite several rounds of negotiations, it still hasnt been restored. So, on monday, the Stormont Assembly sat for the first time in two and a half years, it was triggered by a recall petition signed by members of the dup and politicians from two other unionist parties, and they wanted to debate a piece of legislation, a private members bill which would block the change in Northern Irelands abortion regime, which was coming about as a result of legislation passed in westminster injuly. But things in the Assembly Chamber didnt actually get that far. The first item of business was the election of a new speaker. Under stormonts voting rules, well, any new speaker has to be supported by a majority of unionists and nationalists and because no nationalists took part in the voting procedure, well, the election simply could not happen. The nationalist sdlp were in the chamber for a short time but didnt take part in that particular vote, and members of sinn fein and the Cross Community Alliance Party didnt attend the the chamber at all. So, towards the end of the proceedings, the dup leader, arlene foster, said her party hadnt given up on stopping the change to abortion laws here. If it comes into force tonight, there are other options and terms of repealing and we will make sure that we do everything we can in our conscience to protect the life of the unborn. Applause. Outside the chamber in the great hall of stormont, the leader of sinn fein in the assembly, michelle oneill, said with the dup had done amounted to no more than a cynical stunt, because there was no prospect of the devolved government being restored. I wish that the dup and others put as much creativity into actually trying to make power sharing work as they have done today in an attempt to deny people their rights. Because thats what today was about. Can i send solidarity to all those people that have been actively out on the ground, campaigning for rights to be delivered to all sections of our society . So solidarity to all those activists who have worked so hard. Given the fact that monday ended without any restoration of the stormont executive, then at midnight, the westminster legislation did take effect. As a result, abortion laws in Northern Ireland have been liberalised, terminations have been decriminalised, and the government in london has until the end of march next year to come up with regulations for new Abortion Services in Northern Ireland. The other effect of the legislation is that same sex marriage is to be legalized here. The first gay weddings will take place in the week of valentines day in february. So big, big changes onto major social issues that have been huge political issues here in Northern Ireland. But as for the prospect of a return to power sharing at stormont, that still seems to be a very long way off. Chris page there. There was shock and horror on wednesday with the news that 39 bodies had been found in a refrigerated container lorry in essex. 38 adults and one teenager had died. Police say the lorry had travelled from zeebrugge in belgium to purfleet on the river thames. The home secretary made a statement. I think the whole house will agree that this is truly a shocking incident. My thoughts, and all thoughts and condolences, are with the victims and their loved ones at this utterly terrible time. Nobody leaves their homes on a journey like this with so much risk and fear on a whim. They often do it because they are actually desperate, they can be the victims of economic deprivation, of war, famine, catastrophic climate change. There are many adverse conditions that people are fleeing from. But we shouldnt lose sight of the fact that these people are victims. While she ponders a response to this horrific event, will the home secretary accept the general point that focusing security and checks on one route will not work if security and checks elsewhere are weaker . Priti patel said the border force carried out checks at every level. We are dealing with those that are using people for the most appalling purposes. And what we have seen today and what we are witnessing is one of the most horrendous crimes against humanity and crimes against individuals. Priti patel. In the middle of another extraordinary week, what would normally be a major parliamentary event passed off almost unremarked. After a short hiatus, mps finished off their debate on the queens speech the measures the government wants to put into law over the next year. If an election is held, these bills will fall by the wayside, having barely seen the light of day. So there was a slight air of unreality as mps began their final debate. Ive listened to the Prime Minister introduce the queens speech, and what i always find most startling about the Prime Minister is his ability to create his own truth. And when confronted with any reality that contradicts his truth, to blustar his way through. I believe he believes that through a combination of blustar, the occasional pretentious use of latin he can always avoid confronting reality or answering for it. Ive been sitting here for the last 30 minutes or so, listening to the shadow chancellor. And i have to say, the brass neck of the shadow chancellor. No mention of the jobs boom and rising wages. No mention of bringing the deficit down by four fifths. No mention of our Huge Investment in public services. And no support at all for this queens speech, which delivers on the peoples priorities the queens speech this year comes in the most turbulent and Uncertain Times these aisles have seen in decades. In the pursuit of a hard tory brexit that rips us out of the single market, its already meant that the scottish economy is £3 billion smaller than if none of this had been foisted upon us by this government. At the end of that debate, mps voted to approve the queens speech. The ayes to the right 310. The noes to the left 294. But if an election is called, mps could be going through the whole process again whoever forms the next government in the next couple of months. Time now for a look at what else has been happening in the world of politics. Faye kidd has our countdown. At five a confident theresa may lightens the mood at saturdays sitting. I hope the whole house will forgive me if i say that standing here, i have a distinct sense of deja vu. Laughter. I know how you feel. At four the leader of the house shows off some niche royal knowledge. I would quibble over whether her majesty came in wearing her best crown or not. But i think her best crown is probably the crown of king edward the confessor, which is only used at the coronation. At three a visit from the cricket board led to a rare sighting of english sporting trophies in the committee rooms. Given that we normally see the fa, we dont often see trophies in the committee room. Laughter. At two the perseverance award goes to Northern Ireland speaker, robin newton. Do we have any proposals for the role of speaker . And at one Bbc Parliament wasnt the only fly on the wall at wednesdays lords proceedings. What it does do, going forward, is seek to de supply. Sorry. That was a big fly. Faye kidd. The Commons Speakerjohn Bercow stands down on the 31st, after a decade in the chair. Hes certainly been a stand out figure in our public life for the last ten years. Seen by many as a great reformer, hes increasingly used using urgent questions to hold ministers to account, and changed the way the commons operates for example, throwing open the doors of the chamber to the youth parliament. But for others, hes been a divisive, even partialfigure never shy of making clear exactly how he feels. Order, order mr russell moore, you are an incorrigible individual yelling from a sedentary position at the top of your voice at every turn calm yourself, man, take some sort of soothing medicine from which you will benefit. As somebody, a very long serving member of this house, once said sadly no longer with us, its not about policies. Its about policies, not about personalities. Its not about personalities, its about policies. Im even more pleased that Roger Federer won his opening match in straight sets in less than an hour and a half, and conveniently, it finishes just before question time began. Mr stewart, if you dont like it, you are perfectly entitled to your view. I couldnt give a flying flamingo what your view is laughter. John bercow in action there. Well earlier, i spoke to sebastian whale, Political Editor of the house magazine, whose biography ofjohn bercow is published next year. I asked him to tell me what kind of characterjohn bercow was. Hes definitely endlessly fascinating. And the more you understand about him, the more you can see how he ended up in the position that he did. He was bullied what he was a child, picked on for his height and acne. He was even thrown into a biology pond at school, classmates said he could be in there with the other amphibians. And from there, he joined the monday club at the age of 19, this hard right faction affiliated with the conservative party. And from there he was secretary of the immigration repatriation committee. So he had some very hard line views. What was he like as a person . Hes very eccentric in the way that he speaks, he doesnt have that many friends in politics. On the conservative benches, julian lewis and Charles Walker are the two stand out people. He went from the front bench to the back bench, he couldnt seemingly get on with the conservative leaders like Iain Duncan Smith and michael howard. Hes always been an independent minded person whos been on an extraordinary political journey. John bercow has certainly been seen by some conservatives as being very partisan on the brexit issue. How damaging do you think that has been not necessarily tojohn bercow, but to the role of speaker . Hes certainly not the first speaker to face accusations of bias. But there is a very important date on this tale, which is three february, 2017. John bercow spoke at the university of reading to students there. And on that day, he revealed that he voted to remain in the referendum. Now while speakers long have faced accusations of bias from Margaret Thatcher always felt he was against her government, selwyn lloyd, a former conservative minister when he began, there were all these accusations against him of bias. However, as far as im aware, that was the first time that a speaker has spoken out on an issue of such controversy. And we have now got a commons committee, quite an influential commons committee, which says it will look at the role of speaker. So there are potentially changes to come . Indeed. As i say, you can trace it back to that date. Because for the first time, we knew how the speaker felt about a controversial issue. And from that day onwards, every decision he made from the chair was seen through that lens. So as a result, it could change the speakership. And ironically, john bercow has always positioned himself as a champion of the backbenchers. However, if there is a written constitution or changes made to the Standing Orders to limit the powers of a speaker, then backbenchers might well find themselves less powerful in the future as a result of his actions. Lets talk about Something Else which has blighted john bercows time in the chair accusations of bullying. Nowjohn bercow has always firmly denied that he has ever bullied anyone, but those accusations have been around in the commons, as well as accusations about how the house has handled harassment issues. What do you think he did wrong there . Why did he not get that right, what could he have done more . The main issue is that the allegations against him, which he denies, have never really been heard. There was a vote by mps in the Standards Committee with the issue regarding andrea sinclair, two private former secretaries was put to catherine stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate. Mps for the Standards Committee voted 3 2 not to investigate. The reason they were asked to investigate was because the claims went back more than seven years. So therefore, there hasjust been this cloud hanging over his time in the chair. As for how he handled it, he has always denied it. But so far as i know, hes never really spoken publicly on the issue. And these accusations have been around for quite some time, and will continue to sully his legacy until they are heard in full. John bercow would certainly like to see himself as a great reformer, someone who has brought in all sorts of changes to the way the commons works from things like introducing a creche to having more urgent questions in the chamber. Is he one of the greater reforming speakers . He is one of the great reformers, and hes done good things often in not such a good way. What do i mean by that . Two examples youve just highlighted, the creche and urgent questions. Not only that, but also the Parliamentary Education centre, which was opened in 2015. Often he encountered some stiff establishment resistance, people told him it couldnt been done. And often he ran home the point that this had to be done. And in doing so, he would often become angry, slightly aggressive, and definitely forward in terms of his willingness to get these things over the line. And in doing so, hes also accumulated his fair share of detractors. So he often did the right thing, but perhaps in the way. Sebastian whale, on the speakers modernising role, which has made noticeable changes to the way the commons works, and shown hes not afraid to get ministers to come and answer questons on the issues of the day. And thats it from me for now, just to time draw breath before David Cornock is with you on Bbc Parliament on monday night at 11pm for a round up of what promises to be another roller coaster day in westminster. But for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. What a difference a day makes. It has been glorious, dry and sunny across much of the country today thanks to High Pressure. A much better day for england and wales at all the recent flooding rainfall. A beautiful picture behind be sent in by one of our weather watchers in dorset. It just proves by one of our weather watchers in dorset. Itjust proves what clear skies we have across the country and in fact, the next few days remain pretty similar to those with High Pressure in control. It should be dry and sunny but cold with overnight frost. High pressure has been pushing in from the atlantic or through the course of today. In this area of low pressure slowly away from scotland as well but it has been breezy here with plenty showers and lows of the wintry higher ground. Showers peppering parts of Northern Ireland into parts of ireland and western wales but you can see clear skies further south and east. That is how it is looking for the west of the day. A dry story foremost with very pleasant spells of sunshine. Still quite breezy with further showers across the Northern Isles and the North Mainland of scotland. Those temperatures were much lower than they had been of late. 12th and 13th as opposed to 16 and 17 that we have seen over the last few days. Now, as we head into this evening and overnight it is a dry, clear, cold one for most. Still breezy with a few showers across the north east. Maybe a little bit of cloud affecting the south west of england but those damages will plummet like a stone tonight under those clear skies. You can see the blue acute developing indicating a widespread frost across central and northern areas. Dont be surprised a few wa ke northern areas. Dont be surprised a few wake up to scenes like this to start the new working week. Frost but also crisp and sunny put up the frost will tend to lift quickly to the morning and we will be left with blue skies and sunshine for many. Still a bit of cloud and breeze affecting the north of scotland and cloud will thicken up across the far south west as weather fronts begin to move on. We could see the odd shower here, too. A colder day, i think, monday than what we have had this afternoon. 8 11d across the south. High pressure still in control. As you can see, as we headed to tuesday. These elements continue to push a bit closer to our shores. Squeezing isobars together so it could be windy to the south west towards the middle part of the week was up tuesday as another cold snap. Dry with plenty of sunshine and a day. Wednesday, su btle of sunshine and a day. Wednesday, subtle changes taking place. Breezy other cloud remain pushing in but dry further east but on thursday and friday ten is unsettled again. Breezy with outbreaks of rain but will also turn milder by the end of the week. This is bbc news. Im shaun ley. The headlines at three. President trump announces that Us Special Forces have killed the fugitive leader of the so called Islamic State group, abu bakr al baghdadi. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has been violently eliminated. The us says al baghdadi died after detonating a suicide vest, killing three children in the process. His brutal self proclaimed caliphate lasted five years