22/02/2017 Daily Politics


22/02/2017

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Morning, folks - welcome to the Daily Politics.

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The Supreme Court says rules which stop thousands of British

:00:42.:00:49.

citizens bringing their foreign spouses to the UK do not

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contravene human rights law, but they are still defective.

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This British man was released from Guantanamo Bay and paid

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compensation by the British Government.

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But he went on to join Islamic State and carried out a suicide bombing

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There's plenty on the agenda today, as our political masters meet

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for their regular bout of PMQs - live and uninterrupted

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And as elections approach in Northern Ireland,

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will political peace reign once the polls close?

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Or are we heading for further stalemate?

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All that in the next 90 minutes, and with us

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for the duration are the Northern Ireland

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Secretary James Brokenshire and the Shadow International Trade

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First this morning, let's head over to the Supreme Court which has been

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considering the Government's income rules which apply to British

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Several couples have been challenging these rules through the

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Supreme Court and it to the High Court. Our correspondent Dominic

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Casciani is there at the Supreme Court. Doiminic, I will come to the

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defective bit in a minute, but in principle is this a victory for the

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Government? I think even though in technical terms they have lost, and

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I dare say James Brokenshire with you in the studio will be one

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pleasantly surprised and pleased by this judgment given his former

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involvement in immigration policy, but what this

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amounts to is an endorsement by the Supreme Court, our highest judges,

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to be very controversial policy, saying British citizens who wanted

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to bring in a foreign spouse from outside the EEA, that they had of a

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minimum income to bring that in an sponsor that arrival of ?18,600. And

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they have been called escape generation, lots of criticism of

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this, people saying that it was a breach of their family life, of

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their human rights, but the Supreme Court today has ruled in effect that

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the Government has the power to set that minimum income level, and

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although it has a harsh effect on some families, it is an entirely

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legitimate exercise in order to help control immigration. OK, so the

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court has ruled they are illegal in principle and this has been through

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the High Court, the appeals court and now the Supreme Court. But the

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7-member team at the Supreme Court also said they were using, in their

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words, defective, so what will the Government now have to do to make

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sure they are not just legal in principle, but not defective? There

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are two key issues, Andrew. Firstly, how the rule has dealt with

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children. The court has said when immigration officers are assessing

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each case of each family that wants to be reunited to settle in the UK,

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the immigration officers have to do more to dig into account the best

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interests of children including exceptional circumstances -- take

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into account. That may tip the balance of allowing a settlement

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depending on the nature of what is going on in that family. Secondly,

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the court says effectively that although the minimum level itself

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has been set on a rational basis, at ?18,500 or thereabouts, there needs

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to be wider consideration of the entire circumstances of a family,

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so, for instance, if you own a house or have other assets, should that be

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taken into account for the final decision on whether they can stay?

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In essence it means the rules would need to be tweaked here and there

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and in practical terms means it would almost certainly benefit some

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of the wealthier families caught up in this. We hear tales of bankers in

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America for instance who cannot come over to the UK to join their

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British, but in practical terms it will not have a lot of satisfaction

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to many families caught in this from the polar end of the spectrum,

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including many families from Asian backgrounds across the UK -- poorer

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end of the spectrum. Doiminic, thank you for summing up what has been

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happening in the Supreme Court. James Brokenshire, in principle the

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Supreme Court accepts this but it sounds like you will have to change

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the operation of the rules? Certainly we will look at the

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judgment in detail, what the judges have said, but it is right, from

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what we have just heard, that the court has said the rules are

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compliant with article Eight, the right to a family life. That was the

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primary test in relation to this particular case. It is worth

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underlining why these rules were introduced in the first place. About

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fairness to the UK taxpayer, in other words that people coming here

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to settle had a minimum income in order to support themselves. As

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ministers we took advice from the body of experts advising ministers

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on a range of issues in relation to immigration. And they came up and

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endorsed this figure, ?18,600, but also in relation to higher figures

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were children were involved. You need to be earning more if you have

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children? That is right. In other words it goes to about ?22,400 with

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one child and slightly higher thereafter, again in relation to

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that reliance on the state. Saw the court has sided with the Government.

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In principle, but has criticisms of the organisation. But what is your

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view on the principal? Is it right from the Government to set a minimum

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income level before you can bring a foreign spouse into the country? I

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think the Supreme Court has given a very well reasoned judgment,

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actually. They have conceded the principle, which I think is right.

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That is that if you are a British citizen and you want to marry

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somebody from abroad and bring them here then you should be able to

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support and accommodate them without recourse to public funds. It is your

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decision to get married. It is your decision to get married, but you

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could also go to live in their country, if that is how you want to

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conduct your family life, so I think it is reasonable to say that you

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should not be putting that additional burden on the state, but

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the Supreme Court has been absolutely right to speak about the

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way in which this may discriminate against poorer families and the way

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in which we must take into account the needs of children. And I am

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pleased James has acknowledged that and said the Government will look at

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that again, I think that is the right approach. It was a good

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judgment and should now be studied carefully and implement it. Once we

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leave the EU, can you tell us, with this rule

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apply to British citizens marrying EU citizens? There is a completely

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different arrangement that exists regarding EU citizens, you are

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right. Well, there is no arrangement... I know this has been

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a point of issue raised... That is why I am raising it. Can we tell at

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the moment? At the moment we are looking at the whole immigration

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policy. We have not reached a determination in respect of that but

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it is precisely these issues that obviously us being able to take back

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control allows us to relook at some of these themes. A brief word? I

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think we have at the moment and unbalanced system with preferential

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treatment given to people from the European Union. One of the

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consequences of leaving the EU is that system might become more

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egalitarian. It will certainly have to be addressed. Indeed. We will not

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have time to address that this morning, though, Jo... Yes.

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It's emerged that a British man who joined the so-called

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Islamic State group, and who died in a suicide bomb

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attack in Iraq on Monday, was a former prisoner at Guantanamo

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The terrorist, named by the group as Abu Zakariya al-Britani,

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is believed to have detonated a car bomb in a village south of Mosul.

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The 50-year-old, also known as Jamul-Uddin al-Harith,

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was suspected of terrorism by the Americans but freed

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He was also reportedly paid up to ?1 million in compensation

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The 50-year-old was born Ronald Fiddler in Manchester, later

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changing his name to Jamul-Uddin al-Harith after converting to Islam.

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Shortly after 911 he travelled to Pakistan and was later seized by

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American forces, there was taken to Guantanamo Bay where he was held for

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two years accused of being an Al-Qaeda operative. He was one of at

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least 16 British detainees. He was eventually released in 2004. US

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interrogators found he provided useful information on Taliban

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interrogation techniques. On his return he was reportedly awarded

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compensation by the British Government as part of a settlement

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to detainees. In 2014 he crossed from into Turkey volunteering to

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fight for IS but claiming his knowledge of Islam was basic. They

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eventually blew himself up in a car bomb attack near Mosul on Monday.

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Was this man be monitored by British security services? I am unable to

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comment on individual security aspect and indeed we are unable to

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confirm whether this individual was involved in the way you have

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described, but what I can say is this Government has done more than

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any in terms of the powers we have introduced to stop people being able

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to travel out to get involved in Jeff Hart. We introduce powers to

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seize passports -- to get involved in Jihad. And we have used the royal

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prerogative to do that. I pay tribute to the work of our security

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agencies in keeping our country safe and doing all they do to prevent

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travel where that is identified. But if you have put all those things in

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place to protect the British people, how was it possible for Iman held in

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Guantanamo accused of being an Al-Qaeda operative -- a man held.

:11:17.:11:26.

Then being able to join IS? As I say, I cannot comment on the

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specifics and I am sure there were a number of factors, but I can see

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there is a huge amount of effort undertaken by our security and

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intelligence agencies. So it was a security failure? I do not think you

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can comment in that way. I think clearly steps are taken by our

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agencies and also at the border as well. You have information used for

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passengers who travel on airlines to better identify but it is a question

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of what the facts may or may not have been in this case and I do not

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think they can jump to any judgments. But you were the security

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minister in 2014 of course when this man did leave the country, so you

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would be any perfectly good position to be able to advise people about

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whether the proper security precautions were taken or whether,

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as I say, it was a failure, because he managed to leave the country? Jo,

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as I have said I cannot comment on the specific factors on this case.

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Do you know them? We do not comment... But this happened on your

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watch, James Brokenshire, and people will not want to think you are

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evading the question because the straightforward point here is that

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people might expect for detainees from the camp, and of course people

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were not tried after they had left, but people accused of being Al-Qaeda

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operatives, even if there is a ten year lag, there might be a red flag

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if someone was trying to leave the country, for example, particularly

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heading for an area like Syria in 2014 when you read the security...

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There are a few thinker. Where there is evidence we will prosecute for

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terrorist offences. -- there are a few things here. And there are when

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certain thresholds are met things to stop people travelling again. There

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is also ongoing work from the security and intelligence agencies.

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So it depends on thresholds and the individual factors of a case. But

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would you broadly say that was a failure if someone like that had

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been able to get out of the country and go to fight in Syria? I think it

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would depend on the individual factors and circumstances, what that

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individual had disclosed, and indeed what information was held. So it is,

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yes, the work that the agencies do the monitor, as they do in relation

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to subject of interest, but I think it is important not to jump the

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judgment but knowing that, yes, rigorous work is undertaken when

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there is information to stop people travelling, when it is thought they

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are travelling out to become involved in Jihad. When this man was

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released in 2004 David Blunkett them Labour minister at the time said, I

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don't think will find anyone released in the announcement today

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will actually be a threat to the security of the British people. What

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do you see now? It was absolutely wrong and it sticks in my croc as I

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am sure it does to everyone who heard the news of this man. Given a

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settlement from the public funds of the British Government at that time.

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I understand one has to see that settlement was to avoid a court case

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in which the Government believed security information would be

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revealed. That is important, isn't it? And that of course keeps us all

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safer. Whilst I understand it I think it is really galling that

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someone like that was given that settlement and clearly there was a

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failure at that time of information coming back from Guantanamo. It does

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us no good to have people held without trial. It does us no good to

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have people tortured and we must absolutely stand-up for that

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principle. It was wrong Guantanamo should have been constructed. Lieber

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got the balance wrong at the time? Yes, we got the balance wrong in not

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making sure people were properly monitored and kept in check --

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Labour got the balance wrong at the time? Where people monitored for a

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period of time are forever, people ask why they were given

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compensation? I want to pick up on one point on how the law has

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changed. The Justice And Security Act to be able to have evidence that

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was sensitive and touched on national security issues that was

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not able to be put into evidence because it would have been public at

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that time, and therefore we are now in a position to defend cases we

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were not able to defend previously. Why did the British taxpayer give

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him ?1 million? , I cannot comment on confidential settlement and court

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cases but I can say that, yes, cases were settled in the past, because

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otherwise we would have had to disclose publicly highly sensitive

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information and that was why we changed the law. There were

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certainly cases settled and that was because of this factor of having to

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the school 's national security... Trials are held in camera? At that

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stage the rules were different -- having to disclose national

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security. In other words, certain sections of a trial that are able to

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consider highly sensitive information in a way not possible

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previously, this was a gap in the way the courts operated and that was

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why we still bet on why the situation is very different now

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About 850 people considered a national security threat have gone

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to fight with IES, half of whom have returned to the UK. What precautions

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are put in place for them? -- IS. It is a question of the way in which we

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use data to monitor people coming back, advanced passenger

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information,... Not 450, but security services do not have the

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money. There could be more. The security services do an incredible

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job. That is not the point. Why we have invested heavily into their

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work and given extra powers to disrupt. It is important to

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recognise the incredible work they do every day to keep us safe. We

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appreciate that. Now, we're told the Prime Minister

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has full confidence in her Business Secretary,

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Sajid Javid, over the issue That is always a worry if you are

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the minister concerned if the Prime Minister says that.

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Mr Javid has been accused of misleading party colleagues over

:18:00.:18:02.

the effect of a business rate revaluation which could leave more

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than a quarter of companies facing higher bills.

:18:05.:18:06.

The Government has dismissed claims that they underestimated

:18:07.:18:08.

potential rate rises, but some Tory MPs have

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One of those is former Conservative Chairman

:18:12.:18:14.

Grant Shapps and he joins us now from central lobby.

:18:15.:18:21.

As the government been misleading you on business rates? Yes,

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certainly in my constituency because I received a letter at the weekend

:18:29.:18:33.

which suggested from ministers that business rates for companies in my

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area would go down by about 1.5% but actually I discover in the heart of

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my constituency in a not very well of and salubrious part of the

:18:47.:18:50.

constituency there are businesses about to be wiped with a ?1000 or

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3000 -- 1000 - 3000% rise. I am very concerned. It is certainly at odds

:19:04.:19:07.

with the reassurances we have been given. When Sajid Javid says that

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business rates will fall in some areas in England do you accept these

:19:18.:19:22.

figures? No. This has been poorly handled. I think I know what has

:19:23.:19:27.

happened. I used to be in the community is the parliament and our

:19:28.:19:32.

officials said to us this is on the domestic rates. These have to be

:19:33.:19:37.

revalued. We told them politely we would not do it. Domestic rates have

:19:38.:19:42.

not been reviled for 24 years in England and they should have

:19:43.:19:45.

followed the same examples with business rates than we would not be

:19:46.:19:53.

in this mess -- not been revised. It is going to raise about ?1 billion

:19:54.:19:58.

or more. The statistics that have been sent out have in the case of my

:19:59.:20:06.

constituency been very misleading and do not take into account the

:20:07.:20:08.

businesses will try to challenge the new rates are many will be

:20:09.:20:12.

successful -- and take that into account. Your statistics are so

:20:13.:20:19.

dodgy you cannot convince your own site. It is important to recognise

:20:20.:20:25.

these changes are about fairness, dealing with values and property

:20:26.:20:29.

that were last valued at the time of the financial crash. That is at the

:20:30.:20:36.

heart of this. These are revenue neutral. Increases are to do with

:20:37.:20:40.

the number of businesses there. The revaluation itself in more has to be

:20:41.:20:46.

revenue neutral. It is important to recognise 600,000 businesses are

:20:47.:20:49.

being taken out of this tax altogether. 500,000 facing rises of

:20:50.:21:00.

up to 300%. That is why the Business Secretary has introduced

:21:01.:21:01.

transitional arrangements, that there is a separate fund work around

:21:02.:21:08.

?2.3 billion to ease this process. It is that sense of fairness on how

:21:09.:21:14.

property values have changed. If it is going so swimmingly and is so

:21:15.:21:18.

fair and you have already got this package that is going to be put to

:21:19.:21:23.

use why is that talk of further compensation in the budget? You have

:21:24.:21:31.

got the ?2.3 billion. There is talk of more. We recognise the issues and

:21:32.:21:38.

listening carefully. Should you not have listened carefully before

:21:39.:21:43.

proceeding? It is important to note that it is about the increase in

:21:44.:21:47.

those valuations that lies behind why these changes are being brought

:21:48.:21:52.

about and how listening to the issues that have been raised we will

:21:53.:21:57.

be asleep you focused on the implementation of the transitional

:21:58.:22:03.

relief. It is not true the cap is 300%, it is 3000%. If you were rates

:22:04.:22:09.

exempt before but the property value happens to have gone up you can go

:22:10.:22:14.

from paying ?100 to being several thousand pounds a year. It is all

:22:15.:22:18.

very well to say this is because the rateable value has gone up but if

:22:19.:22:22.

you are at the rateable value has gone up but if you are a

:22:23.:22:24.

hairdressing company or the noodle bar in Hatfield in a very run down

:22:25.:22:29.

area then the value of the property has nothing to do with the ability

:22:30.:22:32.

of your business to generate sufficient profits to pay that kind

:22:33.:22:42.

of increase, 1000, 2000, 3000%. The system is not fit for purpose.

:22:43.:22:48.

Advice to ministers is to be straightforward. Let's not carry on

:22:49.:22:51.

telling people that is revenue neutral when it is going to raise an

:22:52.:22:58.

extra ?1 billion. Let's not send out people table saying they are going

:22:59.:23:02.

to see a fall in rates when they are going to see a rise. Let's make sure

:23:03.:23:07.

we are on the side of small businesses who generate all the

:23:08.:23:10.

wealth in this country. Other than calling for a review of business

:23:11.:23:16.

rates does Labour have a policy? We need to understand exactly what has

:23:17.:23:20.

gone on because James said this is revenue neutral yet the Chancellor

:23:21.:23:26.

in the budget last year said he was putting ?6.7 billion to ensure that

:23:27.:23:30.

business rates would come down. Either he has broken that promise or

:23:31.:23:35.

it is revenue neutral. The point is that what the government has not

:23:36.:23:40.

done in publishing the figures, and that Grid Grant was talking about,

:23:41.:23:45.

it has not included either the 2% factor for inflation or the appeals

:23:46.:23:52.

adjustment, which is when like when the airlines overbook seats because

:23:53.:23:56.

they know, from the government's point of view, they know that the

:23:57.:24:00.

appeals that will come in will reduce their revenue by about 5%. We

:24:01.:24:06.

are 7% shy and those of visual figures and James needs to be

:24:07.:24:13.

honest. If it is revenue neutral as you claim, it does not bring revenue

:24:14.:24:18.

to the tragedy, at the time when it needs it, why bother? It is about

:24:19.:24:25.

fairness. Values of property. You are making more enemies than

:24:26.:24:31.

friends. Why bother? It is the sense of overall furnace with businesses

:24:32.:24:35.

where the property value has increased. Recognising businesses

:24:36.:24:39.

not paying at all. The money that sits behind all of that. 6.7 billion

:24:40.:24:46.

of the 600,000 businesses, recognising the contribution that

:24:47.:24:54.

small business makes. Sajid Javid is the Communities Secretary, not the

:24:55.:24:59.

Business Secretary. He was the Business Secretary, we are just slow

:25:00.:25:00.

catching up! Now, all eyes will be on Copeland

:25:01.:25:07.

and Stoke-on-Trent Central tomorrow and the crucial

:25:08.:25:09.

by-elections taking place. I'll be up all night

:25:10.:25:11.

with results over on BBC One. Stoke, as you all know,

:25:12.:25:14.

is home to British pottery-making. But, whatever the result there,

:25:15.:25:17.

you can be sure of one thing, that the exclusive and strictly

:25:18.:25:20.

limited supply of Daily Politics The Staffordshire Potteries may be

:25:21.:25:22.

home to a 200 year-old tradition of Josiah Wedgwood,

:25:23.:25:29.

Royal Doulton, the finest bone china But none of those terms can be

:25:30.:25:32.

applied to Daily Politics stoneware. But wherever they're

:25:33.:25:39.

from and whatever they're made from, Yes, there is only one way you can

:25:40.:25:45.

get your hands on one of these, by entering our Guess the Year

:25:46.:25:53.

competition, and there He does amuse and entertain

:25:54.:25:55.

so many people, including my children,

:25:56.:26:16.

who would be heartbroken I am today introducing

:26:17.:26:18.

a new National Living Wage. # I must have called

:26:19.:26:30.

a thousand times #. # Cos the players gonna play,

:26:31.:26:52.

play, play, play, play # And the haters gonna hate,

:26:53.:26:54.

hate, hate, hate, hate # Baby, I'm just gonna shake,

:26:55.:26:56.

shake, shake, shake, shake # Heartbreakers gonna break,

:26:57.:26:59.

break, break, break, break # And the fakers gonna fake,

:27:00.:27:05.

fake, fake, fake, fake #. To be in with a chance of winning

:27:06.:27:13.

a Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz

:27:14.:27:15.

email address - Entries must arrive by 12:30pm

:27:16.:27:18.

today, and you can see the full terms and conditions

:27:19.:27:24.

for Guess The Year on our website - Yes, Prime Minister's

:27:25.:27:27.

Questions is on its way. And we've also been

:27:28.:27:42.

joined by John Pienaar. I have no idea where to go. So much

:27:43.:27:56.

the front benches could talk about. All I would suggest for the Prime

:27:57.:27:59.

Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, in the shadow of these

:28:00.:28:06.

two crucial elections. Absolutely. On the eve of polling if you were

:28:07.:28:10.

going to guess what was going to come up, the perceived strong cards,

:28:11.:28:15.

you would expect Jeremy Corbyn to look for a way to attack on the NHS,

:28:16.:28:21.

in particular an issue in Copeland, and you would expect a reason made

:28:22.:28:26.

to attack Jeremy Corbyn as a reader and human being, but that is pretty

:28:27.:28:32.

much what she does every week. The business rates story is bubbling

:28:33.:28:36.

along nicely. I think whatever is going to be offered as sweeteners to

:28:37.:28:45.

those people affected, that is going to be held back probably until the

:28:46.:28:50.

budget. We are also waiting to see whether the Ronald Fidler case comes

:28:51.:28:57.

up. The suicide bomber, who went from Guantanamo Bay. Jeremy Corbyn,

:28:58.:29:05.

the leader of the party defending both by-elections. Labour holds both

:29:06.:29:10.

seats. Normally when you are the opposition you do not worry about

:29:11.:29:16.

you losing by-elections eats. Precisely. The fact we are having

:29:17.:29:20.

this conversation about what is going to be happening in Copland and

:29:21.:29:25.

Stoke, by the normal rules it should be a slam dunk for Labour. It shows

:29:26.:29:31.

you there is a problem on the Labour side. No one would deny that it

:29:32.:29:36.

exists. Start with the opinion polls, 14 points behind the Tories,

:29:37.:29:42.

then 16, then 18. Theresa May even went to Stoke. We thought the Tories

:29:43.:29:51.

were leaving it for you cap. To try to win. You will get exotic the

:29:52.:29:59.

rising that the Tories might be dark horse the race. We would be

:30:00.:30:09.

surprised. Much shorter odds in Copeland. The NHS has been an issue

:30:10.:30:17.

in Copeland. Talk of the maternity hospital closing, having to go to

:30:18.:30:25.

Carlisle. If I was Jeremy Corbyn perhaps I would make Copeland the

:30:26.:30:32.

priority. When you mentioned those issues, in Copeland there is the

:30:33.:30:37.

hospital future that is in question, you have Sellafield, this debate is

:30:38.:30:43.

huge. As far as Jeremy Corbyn is concerned that is a negative. It is

:30:44.:30:51.

coming back to his doorstep. Although his line on nuclear power

:30:52.:30:55.

is softened when you talk to people randomly around the constituency in

:30:56.:31:01.

Copeland, it is all people seem to want to talk about. If I was to say

:31:02.:31:12.

Brickhouse you would know why. I would say it is another beautiful

:31:13.:31:18.

constituency. That is true. I say that because that was the last time

:31:19.:31:28.

the constituency held by an opposition party was lost in a

:31:29.:31:33.

by-election. That was 1960. It is really unusual. Really unusual for

:31:34.:31:41.

an opposition party to lose a by-election in a seat it is holding.

:31:42.:31:46.

Absolutely. When you go back to the past or years example of a governing

:31:47.:31:52.

party winning a seat in 1982, the other side, split between the social

:31:53.:32:01.

democratic and Labour Party. It is complicated by the dynamic around

:32:02.:32:04.

the Sellafield nuclear plant and the issue of nuclear power which clouds

:32:05.:32:09.

the water in national terms. The local Labour Party said in the

:32:10.:32:14.

north-west constituency that they were so pro-nuclear you could see

:32:15.:32:20.

them glow in the dark. They are trying to make a clear distinction

:32:21.:32:24.

between the liberal bill-mac local Labour Party... Let us go to the

:32:25.:32:29.

House of Commons. Mr Speaker, last year the campaign

:32:30.:32:56.

group Fighting Cuts at the hospital were due to deliver a strong

:32:57.:33:01.

petition to Downing Street, but they were turned away at the gates and

:33:02.:33:06.

told, today is not a good day. Comeback after Thursday. How can the

:33:07.:33:10.

Prime Minister justify this disgraceful dismissal of the people

:33:11.:33:21.

of Corb Lund? -- Copeland. The petition was indeed delivered and

:33:22.:33:24.

accepted by Downing Street yesterday so I suggest to the honourable lady

:33:25.:33:28.

she considers what she said in her question, but I am aware of the

:33:29.:33:32.

issues raised around West Cumberland Hospital, and I am aware of those

:33:33.:33:36.

because the very good Conservative candidate in Copeland, Trudy

:33:37.:33:45.

Harrison, has indeed raise those issues with me, and made very clear

:33:46.:33:50.

she wants to see no downgrading of services at West Cumberland

:33:51.:33:54.

Hospital, she has made that clear to me and the health ministers. Thank

:33:55.:34:02.

you, Mr Speaker. I have constituents concerned about the new funding

:34:03.:34:07.

formula. Can I be assured that when deciding on funding for our schools

:34:08.:34:12.

we will look at costs such as the apprenticeship levy and things like

:34:13.:34:14.

that to ensure they have the money they need to educate our children? I

:34:15.:34:19.

thank my honourable friend for raising this. The question of

:34:20.:34:23.

schools funding and the system we have is important. I think the

:34:24.:34:27.

current system is unfair, not transparent and out of date and that

:34:28.:34:31.

has been the general view for some time now. The problem is it cannot

:34:32.:34:35.

support the aspiration of all our children to get a great education

:34:36.:34:38.

and we do indeed want to see children being able to get the

:34:39.:34:43.

education they deserve that ensures they can go as far as their talent

:34:44.:34:48.

and hard work take them. The Labour Government did nothing to address

:34:49.:34:50.

the funding system and we are looking at that funding system. It

:34:51.:35:03.

is... It is a consultation and I am sure the comments my honourable

:35:04.:35:08.

friend has raised will be noted by the Secretary of State for

:35:09.:35:18.

Education. Thank you, Mr Speaker. When hospitals are struggling to

:35:19.:35:24.

provide essential care, why is the Prime Minister's Government cutting

:35:25.:35:28.

the number of beds in our National Health Service? Thanks to the

:35:29.:35:37.

medical advances, the use of technology, the quality of care,

:35:38.:35:43.

what we see in hospital stays is actually the average length of time

:35:44.:35:47.

for staying in hospital has virtually halved since the year

:35:48.:35:53.

2000. Let's actually look at Labour's record on this issue. In

:35:54.:36:03.

the last six years of the last Labour Government, 25,000 hospital

:36:04.:36:08.

beds were cut, but we don't even need to go as far back as that.

:36:09.:36:15.

Let's just look at what was Labour's policy before the last election.

:36:16.:36:22.

Because before the last election, the Right Honourable member, a

:36:23.:36:31.

former Shadow Health Secretary, said, what I would cut our hospital

:36:32.:36:39.

beds. Labour policy to cut hospital beds. Mr Speaker, back in 2010 there

:36:40.:36:50.

was the highest ever level of satisfaction with the health service

:36:51.:36:53.

delivered by a Labour Government. The BMA tells us, Mr Speaker, that

:36:54.:37:03.

is doctors, that 15,000 beds have been cut in the last six years, the

:37:04.:37:11.

equivalent of 24 hospitals, and as a result we have longer waiting times

:37:12.:37:17.

in A, record charges and more people on waiting lists. The Prime

:37:18.:37:21.

Minister claims the NHS is getting the money it needs, so why is it one

:37:22.:37:27.

in six of A units in England are set for closure or downgrading? I

:37:28.:37:34.

will tell the honourable gentleman what is happening and what has been

:37:35.:37:39.

happening since 2010 in A 1500 more emergency care doctors, which

:37:40.:37:44.

includes more Andrew Neil consultants, 2400 more paramedics,

:37:45.:37:56.

-- more emergency consultants. What the NHS... He speaks about what the

:37:57.:38:00.

NHS needs and what it needs is more doctors and we are giving it more

:38:01.:38:04.

doctors. What it needs is more funding and we are giving it more

:38:05.:38:08.

funding. What it does not need is a bankrupt economy, which is exactly

:38:09.:38:18.

what Labour would give it. Mr Speaker, I asked the Prime Minister

:38:19.:38:24.

by one in six A units are currently set for closure or

:38:25.:38:28.

downgrading. She did not answer. One of the problems, and she well knows

:38:29.:38:33.

this, is that ?4.6 billion cut the social care which has a knock-on

:38:34.:38:38.

effect, and her friend, the Tory chair of the Local Government

:38:39.:38:41.

Association, Lord Porter, has said, and I quote, "Extra council tax

:38:42.:38:46.

income will not bring in anywhere near enough money to alleviate the

:38:47.:38:54.

growing pressure on social care. Two weeks ago -- social care." Two weeks

:38:55.:38:58.

ago we found out about the sweetheart deal with Tory Surrey.

:38:59.:39:05.

When will the other 151 social department in England get the same

:39:06.:39:13.

as the Surrey deal? The right honourable gentleman refers to the

:39:14.:39:17.

questions he asks me about Surrey County Council two weeks ago. Those

:39:18.:39:20.

claims were utterly destroyed the same afternoon. So rather than

:39:21.:39:27.

asking the same question, he should stand up and apologise. Mr Speaker,

:39:28.:39:44.

far from apologising it is the Prime Minister who ought to be reading her

:39:45.:39:49.

correspondence and answering the letter from 62 council leaders

:39:50.:39:55.

representing social services authorities who want to know if they

:39:56.:39:59.

are going to get the same deal as Surrey, as they are grappling with a

:40:00.:40:03.

crisis that has left over 1 million people not getting the social care

:40:04.:40:09.

they need. Mr Speaker, we opposed the Tory cuts in the NHS which

:40:10.:40:20.

involved scrapping of nurses' bursaries because we believed it

:40:21.:40:23.

would dissuade people from entering training. We were told it would

:40:24.:40:27.

create an extra 10,000 training places in this Parliament. Has this

:40:28.:40:34.

target be met? There are 10,000 more training places available for nurses

:40:35.:40:38.

in the NHS, but the right honourable gentleman talks about the amount of

:40:39.:40:42.

money being spent on the NHS. It is this Conservative Government that is

:40:43.:40:47.

putting the extra funding into the NHS, and I remind the right

:40:48.:40:52.

honourable gentleman, I remind the right honourable gentleman that we

:40:53.:40:57.

are spending ?1.3 billion more on the NHS this year than Labour

:40:58.:41:02.

planned to do if they had won the election. Mr Speaker, my questions

:41:03.:41:07.

were about the social services funding to pay for social care. No

:41:08.:41:12.

answer. My questions were about the number of nurse training places

:41:13.:41:19.

being brought in. No answer. In reality, 10,000 fewer places have

:41:20.:41:24.

been filled because there are fewer applications. There is a problem in

:41:25.:41:30.

building up for the future. In addition, the Royal College of

:41:31.:41:36.

Midwives estimate is shortage of 3500 midwives in England, and the

:41:37.:41:40.

Royal College of Nursing warned the nursing workforce is in crisis. If

:41:41.:41:46.

fewer nurses graduate in 2020 it will exacerbate what is already an

:41:47.:41:51.

unsustainable situation. Will the Prime Minister at least commit

:41:52.:41:55.

herself to reinstating the nurses' bursary? He asked me a question

:41:56.:42:03.

about nurses' training places which I answered. I have to say to him, if

:42:04.:42:07.

he doesn't like the answer he gets, he cannot just carry on asking the

:42:08.:42:12.

same question. If I have answered it previously. He is talking about all

:42:13.:42:17.

these issues in relation to what is happening in the NHS. Let's just

:42:18.:42:19.

look at what is happening in the NHS. We have 1800 more midwives in

:42:20.:42:28.

the NHS since 2010. We have more people being seen in A since 2010.

:42:29.:42:39.

We have more operations every week in the NHS. Our NHS staff are

:42:40.:42:44.

working hard, providing a quality of care for patients up and down the

:42:45.:42:49.

country. What they do not need is a Labour Party policy that leads to a

:42:50.:42:54.

bankrupt economy, because Labour's policy, you spend money on

:42:55.:42:57.

everything which means you bankrupt the economy, and have no money to

:42:58.:43:01.

spend on anything. That does not help doctors and nurses, it does not

:43:02.:43:05.

help patients, it does not help the NHS and it does not help ordinary

:43:06.:43:08.

working families up and down this country. Mr Speaker, yes, let's look

:43:09.:43:15.

at the National Health Service. Let's thank all those that work so

:43:16.:43:19.

hard in our National Health Service, but recognise the pressures they are

:43:20.:43:25.

under. Today the married to re-foundation trust finds nurses are

:43:26.:43:30.

so overstretched they cannot provide the high care needed for patients at

:43:31.:43:38.

the very end of their lives -- the Marie Curie Foundation. It prevents

:43:39.:43:41.

patients from having the dignity of dying at home. There is a nursing

:43:42.:43:44.

shortage and something should be done about it such as reinstating

:43:45.:43:50.

the nurses' bursary. Mr Speaker, her Government has put the NHS and

:43:51.:43:52.

social care in the state of emergency. Nine out of ten NHS

:43:53.:44:03.

trusts are unsafe. 18,000 patients per week are waiting. Mr Speaker, I

:44:04.:44:11.

repeat the figure. 18,000 patients a week are waiting on trolleys in

:44:12.:44:19.

hospital corridors. 1.2 million of them very dependent... Mr Speaker,

:44:20.:44:23.

it seems to me that some members do not want to be concerned about the

:44:24.:44:29.

fact there are 1.2 million elderly people not getting the care that

:44:30.:44:34.

they need. The legacy of her Government will be blighting our NHS

:44:35.:44:40.

for decades. There are hospitals, fewer A departments, fewer nurses

:44:41.:44:43.

and fewer people getting the care they need. We need a Government that

:44:44.:44:49.

puts the NHS first, and will invest in our NHS. First of all I have to

:44:50.:44:55.

say to the right honourable gentleman that he should consider

:44:56.:45:04.

correcting the record, because 54% of hospital trusts are considered

:45:05.:45:07.

good or outstanding. Quite different from the figure he has shown.

:45:08.:45:14.

Secondly, I will take no lessons on the NHS from the party... Oh, the

:45:15.:45:25.

deputy leader of the Labour Party says we should take lessons on the

:45:26.:45:28.

NHS. I will not take any lessons from the party that presided over

:45:29.:45:35.

met staff's hospital, and what happened at that hospital. --

:45:36.:45:43.

Midstaff. They say we should learn lessons. I tell you who should learn

:45:44.:45:49.

lessons. The Labour Party, who still fail to recognise that if you are

:45:50.:45:52.

going to fund the NHS, and we are putting more money in - there are

:45:53.:45:57.

more doctors, more operations, more hospitals. If you're going to fund

:45:58.:46:01.

the NHS you need a strong economy. Now we know that Labour have a

:46:02.:46:05.

different sort of phrase for their approach to these things. Remember

:46:06.:46:09.

they used to speak about boom and bust. Now it is borrow and bankrupt.

:46:10.:46:22.

We must get through backbenchers' questions and the answers to them.

:46:23.:46:29.

Brendan Cox will meet with the Duchess of Cornwall to launch plans

:46:30.:46:35.

to bring communities together over the weekend of the 17th and 18th of

:46:36.:46:39.

June to mark the first anniversary of our colleague's death. It is for

:46:40.:46:46.

more than 10 million people across the country to come together as

:46:47.:46:50.

communities and neighbours for events such as student parties and

:46:51.:46:55.

picnics and bake off. Will the Prime Minister join me and agree that such

:46:56.:47:00.

event is a moment of national reflection but also celebration in

:47:01.:47:03.

our communities and it will be a fitting tribute to Jo? And as she

:47:04.:47:10.

herself said it will remind us that we have far more common with

:47:11.:47:15.

ourselves than things that divide us. I am happy to agree with him

:47:16.:47:21.

that what is becoming known as the great get-together is a fitting and

:47:22.:47:27.

important tribute to our late colleague Jo Cox and I would like to

:47:28.:47:32.

commend her husband Brendan and I am sure everybody would like to do so,

:47:33.:47:37.

for the work he has done. It is important we remember there is more

:47:38.:47:39.

that brings us together than divides us. This opportunity at this point

:47:40.:47:45.

of national reflection and celebration of the strength of our

:47:46.:47:49.

communities is important as we face the future together. We stand at

:47:50.:47:54.

momentous times for this country and it is important we remember that

:47:55.:47:59.

being united makes us strong, we should recognise the things that

:48:00.:48:03.

unite us as a country and as the people, the bonds that we shared

:48:04.:48:07.

together, and this is a very fitting tribute to our late colleague. In

:48:08.:48:13.

recent days the Prime Minister has said that it is a key personal

:48:14.:48:18.

commitment to transform the way that domestic violence is tackled. It is

:48:19.:48:22.

hugely welcome that she has called for ideas about how the treatment of

:48:23.:48:28.

victims can be improved and more convictions secured against abusers.

:48:29.:48:33.

Combating violence against women and preventing domestic violence is the

:48:34.:48:37.

aim of the Istanbul convention which the UK has yet to ratify. Does she

:48:38.:48:43.

agree with members across this house that the convention should be

:48:44.:48:51.

ratified as a priority? He has raised a particularly important

:48:52.:48:54.

subject. It is one that I take particularly seriously. I worked

:48:55.:48:59.

very hard on it as Home Secretary and I continue to do so as Prime

:49:00.:49:05.

Minister. Over 400,000 victims of sexual violence in the last year. We

:49:06.:49:11.

signed up to the Istanbul convention and are committed to ratifying it

:49:12.:49:15.

and that is why we supported the members bill in principal at second

:49:16.:49:18.

reading and that committee stage. The measures we have in place in

:49:19.:49:24.

many ways go further than the convention but I am very clear that

:49:25.:49:27.

we need to maintain this momentum and that is why I am setting up a

:49:28.:49:31.

ministerial working group to look at the legislation and how we can

:49:32.:49:35.

provide good support for victims and to look at the possibility of a

:49:36.:49:40.

domestic violence act in the future. This Friday the Commons will

:49:41.:49:44.

consider a bill on the Istanbul convention and government ministers

:49:45.:49:50.

have been working very hard with my colleague who has cross-party

:49:51.:49:53.

support for her bell. Given the importance of this issue and the

:49:54.:49:57.

Prime Minister's personal commitment she has outlined again today will

:49:58.:50:02.

she encourage members to support the bill and discourage any attempts to

:50:03.:50:06.

use Parliamentary tactics to stop it? I am very happy to join him in

:50:07.:50:16.

that. The minister for vulnerability has had a number of constructive

:50:17.:50:19.

discussions with the member for Banff and Buchan and tabled mutually

:50:20.:50:24.

agreed amendments which the government will be voting for this

:50:25.:50:30.

Friday and I hope that all born Friday will be supporting those

:50:31.:50:36.

measures. It is an important bill which the government has been

:50:37.:50:38.

supporting and I hope it will they support across all parts of this

:50:39.:50:43.

house. Residents in the village of highly in my constituency are

:50:44.:50:49.

concerned by the 4000 homes proposed under the Greater Manchester spatial

:50:50.:50:52.

framework more than doubling the size of that village. What

:50:53.:50:59.

assurances can she give to my constituents that the green belt is

:51:00.:51:03.

safe with this government? I am happy to give that commitment. The

:51:04.:51:08.

government is very clear that the green belt must be protected. Very

:51:09.:51:13.

clear that boundary should only be altered when local authorities have

:51:14.:51:18.

fully examined all other reasonable options and if they go down that

:51:19.:51:21.

route they should compensate by improving the quality or

:51:22.:51:24.

accessibility of the remaining green belt land so that can be enjoyed. I

:51:25.:51:29.

know the particular issue he has raised and I believe the framework

:51:30.:51:34.

led to quite a number of responses. There was a lot of interest in the

:51:35.:51:38.

consultation. I am sure all those views will be taken into account.

:51:39.:51:45.

Last week the all-party group for children of alcoholics launched a

:51:46.:51:48.

manifesto for change. 2.5 million children are growing up in the home

:51:49.:51:55.

of a problem drinker. I did as well. These children are twice as likely

:51:56.:52:00.

to have problems at school, three times as likely to commit suicide,

:52:01.:52:06.

four times more likely to become an alcoholic yet 138 local authorities

:52:07.:52:08.

have no plan to support these children. All the Prime Minister

:52:09.:52:13.

work with the all-party group to establish the first ever government

:52:14.:52:17.

strategy to tackle both hidden problem that blight the lives of

:52:18.:52:21.

millions? She has raised an important issue and I know she

:52:22.:52:25.

recently spoke very movingly about her experience and I am sure members

:52:26.:52:30.

recognise the devastating impact that addiction can have on

:52:31.:52:35.

individuals and their families. This is an important issue for her to

:52:36.:52:39.

raise. It is unacceptable that children bear the brunt of their

:52:40.:52:43.

parents' condition. It is important than the government is committed to

:52:44.:52:47.

working with MPs and health professionals and those affected to

:52:48.:52:50.

reduce the harm of addiction and give people the support they need

:52:51.:52:54.

and we will be looking carefully at the proposal she has raised.

:52:55.:53:05.

Question nine. It is absolutely appalling when people tried to make

:53:06.:53:10.

a business out of dragging our brave troops through the courts. In the

:53:11.:53:14.

case of Northern Ireland 90% of deaths were caused by terrorists and

:53:15.:53:19.

it is essential the justice system reflects this. It would be wrong to

:53:20.:53:24.

treat terrorists more favourably than soldiers or police officers and

:53:25.:53:28.

that is why as part of her work to bring forward the Stormont House

:53:29.:53:32.

bill we will make sure that investigate of bodies are fair,

:53:33.:53:36.

balanced and proportionate soul veterans are not unfairly treated or

:53:37.:53:42.

disproportionately investigated. It does not go as far as I and others

:53:43.:53:48.

would like. There is no prospect of new credible evidence coming forward

:53:49.:53:51.

against our veterans of the troubles up to 40 years after the event and

:53:52.:53:56.

yet people are starting to use the same techniques in Northern Ireland

:53:57.:54:01.

against them as were used against veterans of Iraq. Surely the answer

:54:02.:54:06.

has to be a statute of limitations preventing the prosecution of

:54:07.:54:12.

veterans to do with matters that concerned prior to the date of the

:54:13.:54:20.

Belfast Agreement. As he knows this is an issue that we are looking at

:54:21.:54:24.

as part of the Stormont House agreement. We are ensuring that the

:54:25.:54:28.

investigative bodies responsible for looking at depths during the

:54:29.:54:33.

troubles will operate in a fair balanced and proportionate manner.

:54:34.:54:38.

We want cases to be considered in chronological order. We are going to

:54:39.:54:42.

be consulting fully on these proposals because we want to make

:54:43.:54:49.

sure we get this right. The new local housing allowance cap for

:54:50.:54:52.

social tenants when introduced in 2019 will hit people on low income

:54:53.:55:00.

in my constituency really hard. In Maidenhead the allowance will often

:55:01.:55:07.

exceed the average rent but in Merthyr Tydfil not so. This will

:55:08.:55:16.

mean that tenants including many older be bought will be expected to

:55:17.:55:21.

find almost ?500 a year towards the rent. Will she acts to introduce

:55:22.:55:25.

clear guidance to at the very least exempt older people from these cuts

:55:26.:55:30.

and ensure that the local housing allowances in line with local rents?

:55:31.:55:37.

Yes. I believe local authorities are in a position, they have a fun they

:55:38.:55:41.

can exercise discretion in relation to this matter. There will be

:55:42.:55:47.

incidences across the country and there were some steps taken to

:55:48.:55:52.

ensure that particularly vulnerable people were not affected as you

:55:53.:55:59.

suggest. The lack of large-scale vaccine manufacturing has been

:56:00.:56:04.

described for our country as a national security issue. Which will

:56:05.:56:09.

take many years to build up. Will she look into what more the

:56:10.:56:12.

government can do to address this highly critical health and defence

:56:13.:56:20.

concerned? She is right to raise this in the context she has. The

:56:21.:56:25.

government takes it very seriously. Being able to ensure we can scale up

:56:26.:56:31.

vaccine production in the event of a pandemic is very important to

:56:32.:56:36.

national security. The precise details are confidential but I can

:56:37.:56:40.

assure her we have provisions in place to make sure that urgently

:56:41.:56:45.

needed vaccines are available in the UK at short notice including in the

:56:46.:56:50.

event of pandemic. As a contingency we are funding a ?10 million

:56:51.:56:55.

competition to establish a world leading centre on vaccine

:56:56.:56:58.

manufacturing but it is only part of the picture because we have one of

:56:59.:57:02.

the most successful vaccination programmes in the world backed up by

:57:03.:57:08.

?300 million. Last night Bristol council said its budget very

:57:09.:57:13.

difficult decisions very difficult because of the abject failure of the

:57:14.:57:18.

previous murmur to get a grip on the finances. It has taken a Labour

:57:19.:57:24.

mayor to face up to the challenge but government cuts are making his

:57:25.:57:29.

job almost impossible and it is doing more with less. We did our

:57:30.:57:35.

bit, will the Prime Minister meet with the mayor of Bristol to discuss

:57:36.:57:39.

the funding deal that the people of Bristol deserve? I understand the

:57:40.:57:47.

Communities Secretary has had such a meeting to discuss the issues she

:57:48.:58:01.

raised. 17 years ago my constituent received a phone call that no parent

:58:02.:58:05.

should ever have to take. The collar told them that their daughter

:58:06.:58:10.

Kirsty, who was backpacking in Thailand, had been brutally

:58:11.:58:14.

murdered. The tie as warranties are due to close the investigation into

:58:15.:58:20.

her murder but as yet her case remains unsolved, her killer remains

:58:21.:58:26.

free and her parents have not justice or closure. Can I ask her to

:58:27.:58:33.

push the Thai authorities to use DNA techniques to bring the killer to

:58:34.:58:37.

justice, to endeavour to provide more support to families who have

:58:38.:58:41.

lost loved ones abroad and finally to ensure that Kirsty's personal

:58:42.:58:46.

effects are at last returned home to her parents from Thailand? I am sure

:58:47.:58:53.

the whole house would offer condolences to the family and

:58:54.:58:57.

recognising the trauma they have been through as a result of the

:58:58.:59:04.

killing of their daughter. It is obviously not for the British

:59:05.:59:06.

government to interfere with police investigations that take place in

:59:07.:59:11.

another country but I understand the Foreign Office has been providing

:59:12.:59:15.

support and our embassy in Bangkok will continue to raise these issues

:59:16.:59:19.

as it has been with the Thai government and I am sure the Foreign

:59:20.:59:26.

Office will keep him updated. In the Lancaster house speech she said of a

:59:27.:59:29.

future trade agreement with the EU that no deal for Britain is better

:59:30.:59:34.

than a bad deal for Britain. In the spirit of consistency will that

:59:35.:59:37.

appeal to any future trade goals she Asians with the US? By Mike

:59:38.:59:44.

President Trump has said that America comes first -- negotations.

:59:45.:59:51.

We will be ensuring when we negotiate trade deals they will be

:59:52.:59:59.

good deals for the UK. In the same sex marriage act we took the power

:00:00.:00:05.

subject to consultation to give humanists in England and Wales the

:00:06.:00:09.

opportunity to celebrate marriages as they do in Scotland. We have had

:00:10.:00:14.

the consultation with 90% approval and there has been referenced in the

:00:15.:00:18.

Law Commission which has concluded. And she gave her attention to laying

:00:19.:00:21.

there is order and giving humanists same rights in England as they enjoy

:00:22.:00:29.

in Scotland? This is an issue he has been following closely over recent

:00:30.:00:35.

years. He recognises this is an important area of law and complex

:00:36.:00:40.

and we want to make sure the proposals are considered properly

:00:41.:00:43.

which is why the Ministry of Justice is examining the differences in

:00:44.:00:48.

treatment that exist within marriage law so that the differences can be

:00:49.:00:55.

minimised and I am sure he will agree it is right and fair to

:00:56.:01:04.

approach it that way. My constituent's chances of survival

:01:05.:01:08.

from buying the Attic cancer were no better than his mother's who died 40

:01:09.:01:14.

years earlier. A disease soon to become the fourth biggest cancer

:01:15.:01:23.

killer in the UK -- pancreatic. Will she championed a significant

:01:24.:01:27.

increase in spending on pancreatic cancer researcher, which lags behind

:01:28.:01:34.

that of other cancers? He has raised a very important point which

:01:35.:01:39.

obviously is of particular relevance in the case of the constituent

:01:40.:01:45.

referred to. It is the case that pancreatic cancer is one that is

:01:46.:01:49.

very difficult to deal with and to treat and there has been a lot of

:01:50.:01:52.

attention over the years on certain cancers, like breast cancer, bowel

:01:53.:01:58.

cancer, prostate cancer, but I am sure it is important the appropriate

:01:59.:02:01.

attention is given to cancers which are more difficult to deal with like

:02:02.:02:11.

pancreatic. In February 2008 the brother of one of my constituents

:02:12.:02:15.

was unlawfully killed in the Ukraine. His Ukrainian wife is

:02:16.:02:22.

clearly implicated in his death. Earlier this year a coroner in Devon

:02:23.:02:28.

ruled that he was tricked into standing on a carriageway before

:02:29.:02:33.

being run down by a car with stolen license plates and death was

:02:34.:02:37.

immediate. Every time an investigating officer makes progress

:02:38.:02:42.

with this case and the Ukraine they are replaced. This has happened ten

:02:43.:02:46.

times and the case has stalled. And I implore her to raise this case

:02:47.:02:52.

with the Ukrainian Prime Minister so we can get justice and closure for

:02:53.:02:56.

Barry's mother, brother and the family? I am sure that the whole

:02:57.:03:05.

house will join me in offering condolences to the family following

:03:06.:03:12.

his death in 2008. I understand he has discussed this case with the

:03:13.:03:18.

Foreign Secretary. It is not for the British government to interfere in

:03:19.:03:21.

the legal processes of another country but the Foreign Office has

:03:22.:03:25.

been regularly raising this case with the Ukrainian authorities and

:03:26.:03:29.

will continue to do so and I understand UK police have assisted

:03:30.:03:32.

the investigation on a number of occasions and all information from

:03:33.:03:36.

the UK coroner will be passed on and I am sure the Foreign Office will

:03:37.:03:41.

keep him updated. Tens of thousands of disabled people on the

:03:42.:03:46.

portability scheme have had their cars removed by this government. In

:03:47.:03:53.

November a minister said they were looking at payments to keep their

:03:54.:03:56.

car pending appeal. Next week my constituents will lose her car. Can

:03:57.:04:04.

the Prime Minister of the house on the progress of this review to help

:04:05.:04:11.

Margaret and thousands like her? He raises an issue about the way these

:04:12.:04:14.

assessments are made and the implications of decisions being

:04:15.:04:23.

taken. He referred to a review in relation to payments and the moat

:04:24.:04:26.

ability elements of that and I will write to him with further details.

:04:27.:04:38.

It was a gear this week sends a hospital was closed due to fire

:04:39.:04:42.

safety concerns. There are no community gets locally within St

:04:43.:04:46.

Ives, Penzance or Saints just or rural areas in between. Campaigners

:04:47.:04:52.

agree that there is valued Community Hospital needs to be opened a urgent

:04:53.:04:58.

priority. Will she apply some pressure to NHS property services

:04:59.:05:03.

and Cornwall NHS managers to get the building work done and open these

:05:04.:05:12.

community beds? This is obviously a concern for his constituents and he

:05:13.:05:15.

is right to raise it. He will recognise the first priority must be

:05:16.:05:21.

to ensure patients are being treated in a safe environment and I

:05:22.:05:25.

understand the local CCG and the NHS have been working to ensure that

:05:26.:05:30.

community hospitals are fit to deliver that expectation in

:05:31.:05:33.

Cornwall. A review has been undertaken into the repairs needed

:05:34.:05:38.

to bring the Community Hospital up to a safe standard and the CCG will

:05:39.:05:42.

be looking at the entrance at facilities and needs once the local

:05:43.:05:47.

plan has been agreed and then Health Secretary has heard his

:05:48.:05:52.

representations. The government business rate hike could devastate

:05:53.:05:56.

the local economy in migrating constituency. Brighton Pier is

:05:57.:06:03.

facing a 17% increase, the world end pub, a hotel a 400% increase. Does

:06:04.:06:11.

she recognise Brighton will be disproportionately affected and will

:06:12.:06:16.

she set up a discretionary fund to support small businesses and agreed

:06:17.:06:18.

to a full review of the whole system? Business rates are based on

:06:19.:06:26.

the rental values of properties and the rental values of properties

:06:27.:06:30.

change over time going up and down and it is right that rates changed

:06:31.:06:35.

to recognise that. That is the principal of furnace that underpins

:06:36.:06:40.

the business rates system. We want to support businesses and recognise

:06:41.:06:44.

that for some business rates will go up when these revaluations take

:06:45.:06:48.

place which is why we have put significant funding in place for

:06:49.:06:52.

transitional relief but I recognise there has been particular concern

:06:53.:06:56.

there will be some small businesses that are particularly adversely

:06:57.:07:00.

affected by the result of this evaluation and that is why I have

:07:01.:07:04.

asked the Chancellor and the Communities Secretary to make sure

:07:05.:07:06.

there is appropriate relief for those cases hardest-hit. She gave a

:07:07.:07:20.

sympathetic answer to the honourable friend for the new Forest. Can I put

:07:21.:07:27.

it to her that for many of us there is something profoundly wrong with a

:07:28.:07:32.

criminal justice system which can pursue veterans will risk their

:07:33.:07:39.

lives for this country, 40 years on after any possibility of new

:07:40.:07:43.

evidence, while at the same time is capable of paying out ?1 million to

:07:44.:07:51.

a terror suspect. In relation to this issue in Northern Ireland, we

:07:52.:07:56.

are... The issue with the legacy bodies was part of the Stormont

:07:57.:08:00.

House agreement and we are working to deliver on that agreement. As I

:08:01.:08:11.

said, the overwhelming majority of our armed forces serving in Northern

:08:12.:08:13.

Ireland served with great distinction and we owe them a huge

:08:14.:08:18.

debt of gratitude. The situation at the moment is there a case is being

:08:19.:08:22.

pursued against officers who served in Northern Ireland. We want to see

:08:23.:08:31.

developing a legacy body, a proportionate fair and balanced

:08:32.:08:34.

approach. We recognise the majority of individuals were the result...

:08:35.:08:43.

Were at the result of the hands of terrorists. The Prime Minister

:08:44.:08:51.

pledged to end the burning injustice of so few working-class boys going

:08:52.:08:55.

to university. Can she tell me how cutting every single secondary

:08:56.:09:00.

school in Rochdale, Trafford and Manchester through the new schools

:09:01.:09:03.

funding formula is going to do anything other than make that

:09:04.:09:09.

injustice even worse? We want to ensure through the education system

:09:10.:09:12.

that we have a good school place for every child. And the Conservatives

:09:13.:09:18.

in government we have seen 1.8 million more children in good or

:09:19.:09:22.

outstanding schools. We are looking at the funding formula for schools.

:09:23.:09:26.

We are listening to the comments made. Everybody across this house

:09:27.:09:33.

will recognise that for some time it has been said the existing funding

:09:34.:09:37.

formula is not transparent and is fair. But I can assure that our

:09:38.:09:46.

education policy is about ensuring every child has the opportunity to

:09:47.:09:50.

go as far as their talents and hard-working Ed Balls them to do. --

:09:51.:10:01.

enables. You saw what a cut run means for a town and club like

:10:02.:10:06.

Sutton. With Wimbledon out of the picture wonder if she will join me

:10:07.:10:13.

in teen graduating Sutton for such a spirited performance on Monday and

:10:14.:10:19.

in wishing Lincoln well to keep the non-league spirit alive in the next

:10:20.:10:30.

round. He must be heard. Finally come gradually to and thanking

:10:31.:10:36.

arsenal for their generosity and allowing Sutton to keep a little bit

:10:37.:10:46.

of an extra slice of the FA Cup pie. Any reference to pie. I am happy to

:10:47.:10:58.

congratulate Sutton on the extremely good run that they had in the FA

:10:59.:11:03.

Cup. It is important and makes a huge difference to local areas when

:11:04.:11:09.

their football club is able to progress to that extent and is able

:11:10.:11:12.

to be up there with the big boys and do as well as they did and I am

:11:13.:11:17.

happy to congratulate Lincoln city on the success may have shown and we

:11:18.:11:25.

wish them well for the future. Finally, Michelle Thomson. The green

:11:26.:11:33.

investment bank is currently being sold. Some reports suggest that the

:11:34.:11:39.

contract could soon be concluded. This despite the U:K.'s dated focus

:11:40.:11:42.

on research and development and the fact that no realistic guarantees

:11:43.:11:47.

have yet been given as to the continuation of the proper

:11:48.:11:50.

headquarters and board based in Edinburgh. Will she commits to

:11:51.:11:57.

looking again as to why a sale at this time is not in the best

:11:58.:12:02.

interest of Edinburgh or the green agenda or the UK taxpayer? Before I

:12:03.:12:12.

respond I also am apologies. I am sorry to the member for Stroud and

:12:13.:12:15.

mixing him up with the member for Lincoln. I was obviously getting

:12:16.:12:21.

carried away with the football fever. In relation to the green

:12:22.:12:34.

investment bank, I will write to her with response to the questions she

:12:35.:12:39.

has raised. The Prime Minister has applied a very straight bat. We will

:12:40.:12:43.

leave it there. The Speaker although hers in the

:12:44.:12:59.

cricketing metaphor, which at least raised overall tone. Don't even go

:13:00.:13:07.

there! It is at least a proper sport. I will come onto the NHS in a

:13:08.:13:11.

minute but a developing news story here... Caroline Lucas, the Krhin

:13:12.:13:17.

member for Brighton, raised the question of business rates. Small

:13:18.:13:21.

businesses in her community, some of them faced some high-rises -- the

:13:22.:13:27.

Green member for Brighton. The Prime Minister said she had asked the

:13:28.:13:30.

Chancellor and the community secretary, Sajid Javid, for "Proper

:13:31.:13:36.

relief." That suggests to me something is in the pipeline on

:13:37.:13:42.

that. We heard earlier from Grant Shapps on this programme. Mr Corbyn

:13:43.:13:46.

went with the NHS, he had a number of figures to throw out the Prime

:13:47.:13:50.

Minister about hospital bed cuts, about the lack of doctors and

:13:51.:13:55.

nurses, taking away the nurses' bursary, 62 Council leaders writing

:13:56.:14:01.

to the prime ministers saying they did not have enough for social care.

:14:02.:14:07.

And the Prime Minister of course as is often the case on PMQs, had her

:14:08.:14:13.

own statistics, not often relevant to his. There was a kind of passing

:14:14.:14:18.

statistics across the front benches there from both sides. We will go

:14:19.:14:21.

back to the political invocations of this in a minute, but first, what

:14:22.:14:25.

did our viewers make of the exchanges? They were not that keen

:14:26.:14:28.

on the bandying about of statistics because they could not really follow

:14:29.:14:32.

them, perhaps like the rest of them. John Baker from them instead, says

:14:33.:14:38.

the Prime Minister clearly had her feathers ruffled on the NHS, could

:14:39.:14:43.

not answer any of Jeremy Corbyn's questions and looked uncomfortable.

:14:44.:14:47.

Her response was just to attack Labour. I suppose that is her job.

:14:48.:14:51.

Another one, what is the truth? I have very little confidence in most

:14:52.:14:54.

of the politicians in Westminster and PMQs only endorses this feeling.

:14:55.:14:59.

Ten Bassett, not the most stimulating PMQs, the Prime Minister

:15:00.:15:03.

displaying confidence, but I do wish the NHS was no longer a political

:15:04.:15:08.

football. We all agree citizens want and deserve great health care.

:15:09.:15:12.

Rather than fight I would like to see some consensus. Edward Buxton,

:15:13.:15:16.

he says Jeremy Corbyn is replaying the Labour Party's strategy from the

:15:17.:15:21.

losing 2015 election campaign, keep banging on and on about the NHS. All

:15:22.:15:28.

right. John, Mr Corbyn certainly got the NHS onto the agenda here for

:15:29.:15:33.

Prime Minister's Questions. But I wonder, given the importance of the

:15:34.:15:37.

two by-elections we were discussing earlier, did he do enough, in a way,

:15:38.:15:42.

to get it onto the agenda so it can be big in the news tonight, big in

:15:43.:15:46.

the papers tomorrow, so that people in Stoke and in Copeland think it is

:15:47.:15:53.

high up the agenda again? I am not sure he succeeded in doing that.

:15:54.:15:57.

There was no particular punch through moment of revelation or

:15:58.:16:00.

blood on the floor at the end of it. He did get the NHS to be the main

:16:01.:16:06.

subject of dispute in that regard it was mission accomplished, but then

:16:07.:16:10.

we got into, as you say, a crossfire of statistics, which I suspect from

:16:11.:16:16.

evidence already as well would have left many bamboozled and excluded

:16:17.:16:19.

from the substance of the debate. On both sides I think that was largely

:16:20.:16:24.

the case, and they were preaching to the converted. But Jeremy Corbyn did

:16:25.:16:27.

set out to get this as the main subject of dispute and succeeded in

:16:28.:16:31.

doing that. Theresa May was not left empty-handed or there is no

:16:32.:16:34.

ammunition. She came back, as we expected, with an attack on Labour's

:16:35.:16:38.

economic competence, a round of ammunition that will always be happy

:16:39.:16:45.

to backfire. When the leader of the opposition said nine out of ten NHS

:16:46.:16:50.

trusts are unsafe, what did he mean? I am not sure where that figure came

:16:51.:16:53.

from but the figure that really struck me in the exchange, and if I

:16:54.:16:58.

were Gillian Trout, the one I would be plucking out for the people of

:16:59.:17:04.

Copeland, that figure where she was saying, we have 80,000 more

:17:05.:17:09.

midwives. If we have 18,000 more midwives, why are you closing the

:17:10.:17:12.

maternity unit in the West Cumberland Hospital and shifting it

:17:13.:17:18.

40 miles to Carlisle, and as a doctor and blue light ambulance

:17:19.:17:21.

driver who has done that journey from West Cumberland to Carlisle,

:17:22.:17:29.

she knows just what that means. You are referring to the Copeland

:17:30.:17:31.

by-election there, making your point. In fairness, I will get you

:17:32.:17:37.

to respond briefly. Units allegation in regard to the closure of the unit

:17:38.:17:41.

that I do not think is true. I know a lot of scaremongering is around --

:17:42.:17:46.

Barry has made an allegation in regard to the closure of the unit.

:17:47.:17:51.

This is why our candidate in Corb Lund has been campaigning on this

:17:52.:17:54.

and pointing out that we are the ones sticking out for the NHS -- in

:17:55.:17:59.

Copeland. But she could not confirm one way or another whether that

:18:00.:18:04.

closure would take place. It is uncertain. Yes and regarding the

:18:05.:18:13.

birthing units, midwifery led, consultant led, it is these issues

:18:14.:18:18.

were our candidate is campaigning and sticking it for the

:18:19.:18:23.

constituency. When Mr Corbyn said nine out of ten NHS trusts are

:18:24.:18:29.

unsafe but did not explain, Barry not quite sure what he meant, but I

:18:30.:18:33.

am pretty sure that what he did mean is that they are unsafe in the sense

:18:34.:18:37.

that nine out of ten trusts this winter have broken the normal

:18:38.:18:43.

operational rule that no more than 85% of hospital beds should be

:18:44.:18:47.

occupied. You keep a margin because of the unforeseen. If there is an

:18:48.:18:53.

infection, delay, winter flu, whatever, nine out of ten have

:18:54.:18:56.

breached that rule will stop in that sense they are unsafe and that is

:18:57.:19:02.

not good. We know the pressures the NHS is under which is why I

:19:03.:19:05.

certainly pay tribute to the NHS staff working so hard, but it is

:19:06.:19:08.

also the fact we have put in the additional consultant into A I

:19:09.:19:14.

want to come back... You may have done that, but nine out of ten NHS

:19:15.:19:22.

trusts this winter were above... They had more than 85% of beds

:19:23.:19:30.

occupied, and to minimise risk of infection, delays in getting

:19:31.:19:33.

treatment, they are not meant to breach that limit. In that sense

:19:34.:19:38.

they are unsafe. I would say to you that this has been a very pressured

:19:39.:19:43.

winter, which we do understand, and we are slow to recognise that. That

:19:44.:19:47.

is why we have been putting in place additional steps, why actually in

:19:48.:19:50.

terms of the way in which additional funds have been coming into the NHS

:19:51.:19:54.

that has been factored in in a different way to front-load some of

:19:55.:19:58.

that investment. But it is right to say there are more A consultants

:19:59.:20:03.

there. And coming to this issue of beds it is also worth recognising we

:20:04.:20:06.

treat people is different now. The length of stay, which about 15 years

:20:07.:20:14.

ago was around eight days, is now about five days. Also looking at the

:20:15.:20:17.

Labour Party on this, they actually saw this as a success in terms of

:20:18.:20:20.

closures... She actually said when she was... The length of stay may

:20:21.:20:23.

have sorted but the length of time you have to wait to get in is

:20:24.:20:26.

getting longer and longer under this Government. Waiting lists are rising

:20:27.:20:31.

on a number of fronts. That is true, isn't it? That is why we have

:20:32.:20:35.

invested in the NHS, something the Labour Party said they would cut.

:20:36.:20:38.

They were not going to invest in extra support and funding. They

:20:39.:20:43.

cannot get in because there are not enough hospital beds. Germany on a

:20:44.:20:49.

per capita basis has almost twice as many beds as we do in hospitals and

:20:50.:20:53.

in Germany you will find none of the waiting list is equivalent to what

:20:54.:20:57.

you have to wait for in this country, none. BBC recently had a

:20:58.:21:01.

number of reports from German hospitals. Every health system has

:21:02.:21:04.

its own faults, but in Germany and even in France, the degree of

:21:05.:21:09.

waiting times to get these things done nothing like they are in

:21:10.:21:14.

Britain. And we see huge pressures in the NHS with an ageing

:21:15.:21:18.

population, more levels of... The German population is ageing even

:21:19.:21:22.

more. They have a demographic time bomb no. With the serious issues

:21:23.:21:27.

presented in A, that is why we have put more doctors into A, why

:21:28.:21:33.

we have been taking steps to support individual NHSs under pressure and

:21:34.:21:37.

why we continue to invest in the NHS, something the Labour Party said

:21:38.:21:41.

they would not do. A quick word from you. Can I say over the last five

:21:42.:21:46.

years of the Tory Government ?20 billion was taken out of social

:21:47.:21:52.

care. We are ?4.6 billion short of what social care needs now and that

:21:53.:21:55.

is the extent of the cuts. That is what is causing the problem. The bed

:21:56.:22:02.

blocking... If you cannot get people out of hospital you cannot get them

:22:03.:22:08.

into hospital. I think our viewers are probably reeling from the

:22:09.:22:11.

statistics. Let's give them a break. While we were on PMQs, Mr Blair's

:22:12.:22:17.

office made a statement, as Mr Tony Blair. That is interesting. Yes, you

:22:18.:22:23.

will remember during question time the Conservative MP Julian Brazier

:22:24.:22:27.

invited the Prime Minister to rise to the debate of the story,

:22:28.:22:31.

prominent in a number of newspapers this morning, particularly the Daily

:22:32.:22:36.

Mail. The story of Ronald Fiddler, the Isis suicide bomber who it

:22:37.:22:39.

turned out had been a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was returned to this

:22:40.:22:42.

country then heavily compensated by the Government at that time. Much

:22:43.:22:46.

outrage in the Daily Mail, certainly an echo of that on the Government

:22:47.:22:51.

side as well, and Tony Blair, and although Theresa May did not rise to

:22:52.:22:58.

this, Tony Blair has. Whilst PMQs was on a committee released a

:22:59.:23:01.

statement in his office who said it was actually the Conservative

:23:02.:23:04.

Government in 2010 and not his repeat this compensation to Ronald

:23:05.:23:09.

Fiddler. He was probably working his way through the system... It was the

:23:10.:23:12.

coalition Government in power when the money was paid out. Does it

:23:13.:23:17.

confirm a figure? The figure is ?1 million, as you can see. He has more

:23:18.:23:23.

interesting things to say as well about the Daily Mail. Yes, he points

:23:24.:23:27.

out that at the time of the detention the Daily Mail was arguing

:23:28.:23:32.

for the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees on the basis they were

:23:33.:23:35.

being held for an extended period without charge, and this is a fact.

:23:36.:23:38.

He also argues in the statement that we now have in the last few minutes,

:23:39.:23:42.

that the then opposition party, the Conservatives, then in -- known

:23:43.:23:48.

Government, were also echoing those calls, and he said this. "Those Who

:23:49.:23:51.

demanded their release should not be allowed to get away with telling us

:23:52.:23:59.

it is a scandal." And the Daily Mail campaign for his release. It will be

:24:00.:24:03.

interesting to read that one in the Daily Mail tomorrow. Good to have

:24:04.:24:08.

you with us, John. Let's pick up on another issue raised at PMQs.

:24:09.:24:13.

The Prime Minister was asked about ongoing police investigation is into

:24:14.:24:22.

the Trouble is in Northern Ireland. It was Julian Lewis who put the

:24:23.:24:26.

question to Theresa May, and he joins us from the Central lobby

:24:27.:24:31.

know. What is it you are calling for? I am calling for a break-out

:24:32.:24:38.

from this endless cycle of investigating and reinvestigating

:24:39.:24:42.

cases where there is no prospect of credible new evidence coming

:24:43.:24:45.

forward, and what we need to do is to draw a line under it by bringing

:24:46.:24:49.

in a statute of limitations that would prevent the further attempts

:24:50.:24:57.

to drag ex-service personnel through the courts, up to 40 years after the

:24:58.:25:01.

events which are being investigated over and over again, and for which

:25:02.:25:07.

they have never been persecuted. But as you know these police legacy

:25:08.:25:09.

investigations into killings that occurred during the Troubles are

:25:10.:25:14.

looking at paramilitaries and also security forces. Would it be right

:25:15.:25:18.

to stop those, in terms of the families that were affected? My

:25:19.:25:22.

concern has to be about the welfare of the Armed Forces. It is bad

:25:23.:25:30.

enough that people have to go into situations of extreme danger when

:25:31.:25:32.

they are serving their country. It is completely unconscionable that

:25:33.:25:35.

they should be dragged through endless processes on the basis of no

:25:36.:25:40.

credible evidence, and therefore we need to put an end to this matter,

:25:41.:25:45.

just as we have put an end to the similar behaviour in Iraq when the

:25:46.:25:49.

lawyer said it couldn't be done. It could be done and it has been done.

:25:50.:25:51.

Well, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

:25:52.:25:53.

is of course James Brokenshire, who's still with us.

:25:54.:25:55.

What will you do about it? I think there are concerns about the whole

:25:56.:26:00.

issue of legacy in Northern Ireland. This touches on victims as well

:26:01.:26:07.

obviously as well as personnel and police. The Stormont agreement two

:26:08.:26:13.

years ago set process to have a balanced fair and equitable system.

:26:14.:26:16.

We want to move forward with that. We think it provides the most

:26:17.:26:19.

effective way of dealing with these issues. To ensure... But should

:26:20.:26:24.

officers still be investigated or should there be a cut-off point?

:26:25.:26:28.

Ultimately I think it comes down to the issue of evidence, and the

:26:29.:26:32.

police and prosecutors looking at it in that way. They are independent of

:26:33.:26:38.

government and rightly so. But you yourself are quoted in the papers at

:26:39.:26:43.

the end of January. You criticise the legacy investigations for

:26:44.:26:45.

disproportionately focusing on members of the security forces. You

:26:46.:26:51.

stand by that? I think the whole system is not effectively balanced.

:26:52.:26:58.

That is a concern that was reflected in the Stormont house, and actual

:26:59.:27:01.

concept of proportionality that was born within it. That is why I do

:27:02.:27:05.

support that coming forward, that is why we have been working with the

:27:06.:27:09.

parties in Northern Ireland, recognising justice is devolved in

:27:10.:27:12.

Northern Ireland, to get agreement so we can actually see this moving

:27:13.:27:16.

forward for the benefit of everybody, who frankly the system is

:27:17.:27:20.

letting down. But the figures do not necessarily bear that out. If 70% of

:27:21.:27:25.

those legacy investigations are directed towards reviewing killings

:27:26.:27:34.

caused by paramilitaries, not of security forces? 90% of those who

:27:35.:27:36.

died during the Troubles were at the hands of terrorists. Only 10% were

:27:37.:27:39.

involved in some state -based link. But is it right to pursue those?

:27:40.:27:44.

Ultimately this is for the police and prosecutors. I believe in the

:27:45.:27:48.

rule of law... But you have waded in by giving your view. I said it was a

:27:49.:27:53.

question of having that proportionately balanced system that

:27:54.:27:55.

the Stormont has set forward and I want to step forward, to get into

:27:56.:28:00.

the public consultation to ensure we give confidence to everyone being

:28:01.:28:09.

able to take this forward. We have literally 30 seconds. What is your

:28:10.:28:11.

response to James Brokenshire? Will you push this? Learn from what they

:28:12.:28:14.

did in South Africa. Time comes when you have to say enough is enough for

:28:15.:28:18.

all concerned. Cut-off date should be the date of the Belfast agreement

:28:19.:28:22.

and anything relating to matters before that should be

:28:23.:28:25.

non-prosecutable. The end, finished and good riddance. And otherwise? I

:28:26.:28:27.

think we have run out of time. There's just time to put you out

:28:28.:28:30.

of your misery and give Not that long ago! Slam that button

:28:31.:28:48.

and we will find the winner. Matthew Mott, from London. You have the

:28:49.:28:58.

answer, well done, you win a month. -- you will win a mug.

:28:59.:29:01.

The News at One is starting over on BBC One now.

:29:02.:29:06.

Jo and I will be here at noon tomorrow with all the big

:29:07.:29:08.

I've searched the world to find these extraordinary people.

:29:09.:29:13.

I woke up and I could suddenly just play the piano.

:29:14.:29:21.

The human body is unique within nature.

:29:22.:29:24.

And the most extraordinary people on the planet

:29:25.:29:30.

are those who are helping to unlock its mysteries.

:29:31.:29:35.

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