28/06/2017 Daily Politics

Morning, folks - welcome to the Daily Politics.

28 years after the Hillsborough Stadium disaster and an inquest that

concluded the 96 victims were unlawfully killed -

the Crown Prosecution Service say they are to bring charges

against 6 people - we'll bring you the details.

MPs prepare to vote on a Labour call for more police officers,

firefighters and an end to the public sector pay cap -

how will Theresa May fare in this first test

It's the first Prime Minister's Questions of the new parliament -

the main characters are the same - but has the election

And Nicola Sturgeon reflects on the general election result -

she still wants a second independence referendum -

All that in the next 90 minutes and with us for the duration on this

first Prime Minsiter's Questions of the new parliament

is the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling and the Shadow Brexit

First this morning, as we come on air the Crown Prosecution Service

have announced that they will bring criminal charges

against individuals in relation to the Hillsborough Stadium

Among them is the Chief Superintendent and the former Chief

Constable of South Yorkshire, and the former Sheffield Wednesday club

secretary. This is what Sue Hemming,

Head of Special Crime at the CPS had to say in a statement that's

just been released. At the turn of the year,

the CPS received the first full files of evidence from Operation

Resolve and the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation

to their investigations into the Hillsborough disaster

and the events which followed. The Operation Resolve files

comprised approximately 85,000 pages, and the IPCC

South Yorkshire Police file Following these thorough

investigations and our careful review of the evidence,

in accordance with the code for Crown prosecutors,

I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge six

individuals with criminal offences. Your reaction? The important thing

is not to say too much because there is clearly a trial to come. I hope

the decision and the process that will follow will give an opportunity

for the families to have real closure but whatever the outcome of

the trial, it will have hopefully brought the truth into the open and

it will give those families, who'd been through so much the years, a

degree of closure. I hope it at least gives them satisfaction that

proper process has been followed. We cannot talk too much about the

charges, they've been announced. We can say that nobody will face

corporate charges. All the defendants bar one will appear

before magistrates on August nine. I due -- would you like to say

something having heard this news? This will be welcomed by the

families of the victims of Hillsborough. This is something

they've wanted for many years. It has taken 20 years to get here and

there will be many people reflecting on the length of time that has

taken. There will be vindication for the families that they have kept

this campaign alive and been relentless in their campaign to see

justice. It is good that we are here, it is so sad that it has taken

so long. They were told at a private meeting before it was made public.

She promised strong and stable government.

But instead Theresa May leads a depleted team

Today - as she tries to get her Queen's speech through -

she faces Jeremy Corbyn in the first Prime Minister's Questions

So how will Mrs May's hung minority government work,

what policies will it pursue and how will the opposition

Here's Jo with the Daily Politics Minority Report.

On Monday Theresa May signed a so-called "confidence and supply"

deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

The government gets the support of the DUP on key votes

in Parliament concerning the Queen's speech and Budget bills.

In return for DUP support, Northern Ireland receives

one billion pounds to fund infrastructure projects,

improve broadband and relieve pressures on the health service

Theresa May was also forced to abandon manifesto proposals

to means-test the Winter Fuel allowance and changes to the

The first test for May's minority government

will be getting the Queen's speech through Parliament.

It contains 27 bills - eight relating to Brexit.

The UK's position remains that it will leave

the single market and customs union with a time limited "transitional

deal" to avoid a cliff-edge scenario when new arrangements kick in.

Labour has tabled an amendment to the Queen's

speech that calls for an end to austerity and the 1%

and fire service in the recent terrorist attacks and at

the Grenfell fire disaster - and calls for the recruitment

off the Labour challenge with the help of DUP support.

Thank you. Chris Grayling. By the time of the election, you had

presided over seven years of austerity for the British people.

You basically promised another five. The British people said, you're not

on. Why were they wrong? Let's be clear what you mean about austerity.

It means the nation living between its means. Within. Yes. We have

sought to keep bringing the amount down, to stop passing debt to the

next generation. It has been a difficult balance, there have been

tough decisions. We have the lowest unemployment since the 1970s. The

jobs picture has been beyond all my expectations. I could never have

imagined we would make this progress. Austerity is a 1% public

sector pay for some people at a time when inflation is 3%. That is

austerity for public sector workers. We've had to take some tough

decisions. We will need to think through what we do. But we've not

shied away from tough decisions. It has been tough decisions for other

people. It enables us to save public sector jobs. You were promising

more. It was endless and relentless. During the election public sector

workers were saying, we understood everybody had to tighten their

belts, we did that, we've been on the front line. There's been a huge

cut in public sector jobs as well. But they've had enough. And we are

going to listen to the outcome of the referendum. -- the election.

What does that mean, listen? We are not going to announce financial

measures today. When you talk about the election. We had a disappointing

result, we still increased our thoughts. We got more votes than

Tony Blair dead. You are a minority government. I would hardly say it is

success. I would not say we lost. With this government commits, for

the rest of its life, not to cut police numbers any further? Two

points, we are protecting police budgets and you will have heard the

woman who runs the Fire Service saying she does not have a problem

with the resources she's got. Will you commit to not cutting police or

Fire Service numbers. You have cut them. We will announce in the

budget, not in the Queen's speech debate. Philip Hammond says we are

not deaf. That is what he said a day ago. If so, tell us what you are

going to do. We've had three terrorist attacks in a row. We've

had the worst public disaster since Hillsborough. Surely it stands to

reason that police numbers will be protected? The police budget is

being protected. Use a budget, I see numbers. You like they are the same

thing. They are not. You can spend the budget on all sorts of other

things. We are providing them with a budget which is protecting them. Are

you just on the wrong side of the zeitgeist? Some gains have been

made, but the deficit is still ?50 billion. Perhaps some tax rises to

increase public spending is what the public demands? We've done two

things on tax. People on lower incomes have been facing a policy of

the kind you described. We've been cutting that year after year but

we've also increased the taxation on the wealthiest. They pay a higher

share of their income than was the case when Labour in power. You have

not increased it. The result has been you've got more tax revenues.

That is not government policy. It is the case that they are paying a

higher share. Not because you've increased their taxes. What taxes

have you put up for the rich? They pay a higher share of income today.

I understand that. But you've said, we've put taxes up for the rich.

What have you put up? We've put in tax avoidance measures which mean

people paying a higher share of their income than they did under

Labour. You found ?1 billion for the DUP. You found money to fill that

hole as well. Where is your magic money tree hidden? Is it in the

garden of Downing Street? We have a much sounder public finance than we

did seven years ago. You still have the largest budget deficit of any

major economy in Europe. Philip Hammond set in place policies with

flexibility to allow us to invest in priorities and I make no apologies

for investing in infrastructure in Northern Ireland which does not have

the same quality in infrastructure. But you're basically using our money

to prop up your government. It is not your money. We could well have

said we should spend an extra billion and if we had done it

through the country we could have had a 2% pay rise for NHS staff,

16,000 new social homes, 71 new schools, one year of three primary

schools. Instead it has gone to that part of the country that you need to

prop you up. Yes, we are spending more money on infrastructure in

Northern Ireland and also around the UK, we've got new roads. There are

always new roads. In what way was austerity responsible for Grenfell

Tower? I'm not saying it was. Some in the Labour Party have. I know,

and I've heard what they've said. I think we need to wait for the

enquiry to find out what was responsible and who is responsible.

Can you give any reason that it was austerity? We know that it was a

terrible tragedy and that we need to get to the bottom of it, but as a

general consequence of austerity, what is the link between what you

regard as austerity and what happened on that terrible night? It

would appear, and I'm accepting we need an enquiry, that decisions were

taken for financial reasons that led to that Tara being as unsafe as it

was. We don't know that. We spent ?8 million on it. It was... It is not

clear but it looks like it was spent wrongly, like wrong materials were

used, like it is not unique at all to Grenfell Tower. That is not

because it did not have money spent on it but it was spent on it in the

wrong way. Indeed, and why did that not happen and why were those

decisions made? It is culpability but not austerity. I will not make

something up that suits me politically about something that was

horrific. Have some of your colleagues gone too far? I think

some of the language has. One of our missions is to clarify

both the government and Labour position on Brexit, which isn't easy

in either case. Let me show you this clip from the former Labour Europe

minister, Caroline Flint, on the single market membership.

Those who aim to keep us in the single market know full well

that this is EU membership in all but name.

Now, I promised to work for the best deal for jobs in Doncaster,

to protect workers' rights, to end free movement as we know it

And we can't spend the next 18 months looking like we're just

scoring points to vote down every one of the Tories' EU bills.

I think, if we do that, we will look like liars.

Do you agree? I think that if we have a position which says, we want

to maintain full membership as it currently exists of the single

market, that would be the wrong position for the Labour Party to

take and the wrong thing for the country to try and do. I think we

need the fullest possible access and the government needs to be more

ambitious in the way it negotiates that, because it seems to have

backed off very quickly from trying to have full access and reform of

freedom of movement. It wants a free trade agreement and it accepts or

believes we cannot be members of the single market. My understanding is

that is pretty close to the Labour position, is it not? It's been

interesting watching the Tories over the last few weeks. Their position

has come a bit closer to ours. They have moved to you? I think so. In

January, the Prime Minister was saying that no deal is better than a

bad deal. That seems to have been ditched. There is an acknowledgement

that we are going to need some form of transitional arrangement. That

wasn't the case previously. Now that seems to be accepted. The government

is now saying, Philip Hammond has said that he wants jobs and the

economy to be the first concern in the Brexit negotiations. This is

welcome as well. Let's see how that plays out. It's at an early stage.

Into interesting that you say that the integration now perhaps is that

jobs should be more important in controlling immigration. We had a

bit of a clear out but we found this from, I'm voting Labour, 7th of May

2015, controls on immigration. Yes. Would you still like to drink out of

that cup? I'd be proud to drink out of it! You need controls on

immigration. We need rules and control, but rules and control that

don't harm our industry and economy. We would agree on this. We want a

broad ranging free trade agreement. We want sensible partnership and to

be able to maintain controls on immigration, but not to starve

business of the ability to recruit when it meets too, so should be

standing side-by-side for the I'd hope that Jenny and her colleagues

would... What is more important to you, getting down to your 100,000

target, which I still think is your policy, or jobs for the economy? We

can debate the immigration mechanisms, and we can have our

divisions over them, but if we agree that we need controls, we have to

leave the single market and make sure that Brexit works well. We

could do this more effectively if Labour simply supported it. We are

going to move on, because that had nothing... It's an interesting

answer which had nothing to do with what I asked.

Now - after the election, the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said

that the Conservative Party, not Labour, had "lost"

and since then Mr Corbyn and his allies have certainly been

But some of the language from the Labour leader and his key

After the Grenfell Tower disaster, the former Labour

frontbencher Clive Lewis posted a tweet saying: "Burn

And the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told an audience

at Glastonbury that the people who died in the Grenfell Tower

fire were "murdered by political decisions".

The senior Labour backbencher Margaret Hodge

criticised Mr McDonnell - she said "That is language

of the hard left which is not done in my name".

And even John Healey, who sits in the Shadow Cabinet

with John McDonnell, said: "I wouldn't use

While Jeremy Corbyn was at Glastonbury he told

the festival's founder, Michael Eavis, that he would

be in Downing Street in just "six months" time.

He said he would abolish the Trident nuclear deterrent

And John McDonnell has also said that he wants to see

"a million" people take to the streets for a march

in London this Saturday, in order to ensure that the next

election comes "as early as possible".

We have touched on this, but the claim by the Shadow Chancellor that

victims who died in the Grenfell Tower fire had been murdered by

political decisions, would you use that language? I wouldn't. The legal

definition of murder wouldn't be met by what happened. But John is very

angry, as are a lot of people. He is for using colourful language. He

feels very strongly about this. And he used language he did. It isn't

something I would have said. Should he retract it? To say that people

have been murdered by political decisions is pointing the finger of

blame very squarely on people before we know any of the answers to what

happened at Grenfell. You'd have to put that to him, not me. It isn't

something I would have set myself. He is responsible for what he says.

It isn't unusual for John to use these kinds of rhetoric. It does

occasionally get him into difficulty, but he is the one who

needs to account for that. Is the Shadow Chancellor. Clive Lewis,

another of your colleagues, said Bernd neoliberalism, not people,

implying that deliberately people are being burned. -- said burn

neoliberalism. There is real anger out there about what happened and

not just among people directly affected. People in my constituency

see what happened and are very angry. They feel that people are in

a situation where the authorities should have been more mindful of

their safety and they weren't, and there is a natural, human response

to that, which is anger. Sometimes, people get carried away and they

will use language which, in the cold light of day, you might not choose,

but that is a human response. I should think that everybody was

angry about it, but is it anger or is it politicising what is a

terrible tragedy? I think people who say that we shouldn't have any

politics in our thoughts around this are wrong as well. There were

clearly decisions made by people who are in elected office that had an

effect on what happened that night. As I said before, it would be wrong

to say which decisions and who is responsible and what should happen

to them at this stage... It could be successive government and councils.

Yes, but to say there is no politics in this is wrong. It was a private

conversation but it has been widely reported and not denied, but Mr

Corbyn told the founder of Glastonbury, according to him, that

he plans to scrap Trident as soon as possible if he were to become Prime

Minister, which he thought would happen in six months. Is that what

Jeremy Corbyn has told you and Labour MPs? It isn't. It is great he

is feeling so confident, and he is a man with a mojo right now, but our

position on Trident is settled and we would keep the nuclear deterrent,

and I think that ship has sailed because we have voted on it. So, you

know... Has the mood changed in Labour? Is it a confident package?

It is. When you think about where we were six or three months ago, we are

in a much better place. The election took us to somewhere we didn't

expect to be. We gained seats, the Tories lost their majority but this

is progress, but we have a hell of a job to win those 62 seats we need to

form the next government. That is what we will focus on. How is your

mojo? It's always been top notch! I lost mine after ten hours of

election results. That careless of you.

Now, gardeners at Her Majesty's Treasury are expecting a bumper

harvest this year after peculiarly favourable growing conditions

for the tree species arbor pecuniae magicae -

or to give it its common name, the Magic Money Tree.

Much of the crop is being harvested and sent to Belfast.

We have no pecuniary interest in any windfall notes that might

find their way to the Daily Politics studio, but there's only

one thing more sought after here in Westminster

than the votes of Northern Irish MPs...

Now, of course, we don't take bribes - although the infrastructure

round here is starting to feel a bit tatty...

We wouldn't mind that! This is the product of austerity, as you can

see. A new sofa that much. Or one of those posh desks that

Huw Edwards has got - Instead of the ones we got from Blue

Peter 40 years ago. Just a thought. We'll let you have our bank account

details in a moment - otherwise can you guess

when this happened? # Look at my life, look in my heart

I have seen it fall apart # Go on, go on

Come on, leave my breathless...# He says it's time for someone else

to lead the party into the next general and Scottish

Parliamentary elections. # I played with your heart

Got lost in the game # Oops, you think I'm in love

That I'm sent from above # You can try to resist

Try to hide from my kiss # But you know, but you know that

you can't fight the moonlight # Deep in the dark

You'll surrender your heart # But you know, you know that you

can't fight the moonlight, no...# # Don't think that I'm not strong

I'm the one to take you on # Don't underestimate me, boy

I'll make you sorry you were born # You don't know me

the way you really should # You got to know that,

baby, that will never do # It's time you knew

I'm not your baby # I belong to me,

don't call me baby...# To be in with a chance of winning

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

email address - that's Entries must arrive by 12.30 today,

and you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year

on our website - that's The compliance department has just

kicked another box! It's a big department.

It's coming up to midday here - just take a look at Big Ben -

and that can mean only one thing: Yes, Prime Minister's

The first PMQs of this new parliament.

Jeremy Corbyn will still be asking the questions and Theresa May

will still be answering them - but having lost the government's

majority - how has her own party's view of her changed?

I think she's in very difficult place.

She's a remarkable and she's a very talented woman,

and she doesn't shy from difficult decisions, but she now has

Do you think Theresa May is fatally damaged after this result?

Does she still have your support, Boris?

It's just how long she's going to remain on death row.

I don't think it's very seemly to dance on Theresa May's grave.

She won, you know, the biggest share of the vote since,

I think, the 1987 election, for over 30 years.

There's no crisis about this government.

It's very clear that she is a good Prime Minister.

I'm completely backing Theresa May as our Prime Minister.

You'd want a second opinion, wouldn't you? No crisis, says David

Davis. I wonder who he could be referring to! Joining us now, the

star of stage, screen and the public prints, the BBC's political editor.

What we haven't talked about this morning, what are Labour's tactics

now towards the Queen's Speech? In a hung parliament, this becomes much

more interesting than if the Tories had a 100 seat majority. Of course,

and I think the Labour tactic in its simplest terms is to try and keep

the momentum going that they created in the general election campaign.

For example, today, they are putting down an amendment to try and scrap

the public sector pay cap, knowing full well they probably don't have

the votes to do that, but it allows them to keep putting political

pressure on in the areas they believe worked for them in the

campaign. Of course, for Jenny or the other new Labour MPs elected,

they can go back to their constituencies this weekend and say,

we tried to get this public sector pay cap scrapped and the Tories and

their friends in the DUP stopped us, even though we've heard from some

Tory Cabinet minister 's acknowledgement that maybe the

public sector pay cap has to change. This is campaigning in Parliament,

really, in a way that Jeremy Corbyn just didn't try and do in the

previous session. Is their refuelling at the top of the Labour

Party that the sooner there is another election better? -- is there

a feeling. This is a good time for Labour. They are still 40, 50 seat

behind the Tories, but the tide seems to be going their way a bit,

as Mrs Sturgeon out at a bit, Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland, it doesn't

always last. And as quickly as a search can sweep in, it can sweep

out again. When we talk to people privately, the first thing they want

to discuss is whether or not there will be an early general election.

Like everybody else in Westminster, they are trying to work out what the

chances really are. It may not be as high as popular opinion would

suggest. That's right, and in the immediate aftermath of the election,

at about 4am on election night, calling basically for Theresa May to

go, that febrile mood has subsided quite a lot, I think. Most Tory MPs

have now looked into the abyss, as it were, looking at Labour on the

up, looking at themselves, wondering how they are going to go on, and the

mood of something immediate has gone.

People putting Labour Party posters on my home, photographing them and

pushing them through my letterbox. Somebody even your naked on my

office door. Hardly a kinder, gentler politics. -- somebody even

if you were naked. -- urinated. It may be putting off people from

serving in this place. My honourable friend is absolutely right to raise

this issue, and she wasn't the only person that experienced this sort of

intimidation during the election campaign. Particularly, I'm sorry to

say, this sort of intimidation was experienced by female candidates

during the election campaign. I believe that this sort of behaviour

has no place in our democracy. And I think she's right. I think it could

put good people off from serving in this house. We want more people to

become engaged, more people to want to stand for election to this house,

and I think particularly as I stand here and I see the plaque that has

been dedicated to the late Jo Cox that we should all remember what Jo

said, we are far more united and have far more in common with each

other then the things which divide us. Mr Speaker, I welcome the

announcement by the Crown Prosecution Service this morning

that they are going to prosecute six people in relation to Hillsborough.

This prosecution, the enquiry and this development only happened

because of the incredible work done by the Hillsborough justice

campaign, Andy Burnham, Steve Rotherham and other colleagues about

this house, and I think we should pay tribute to all of those that

spend a great deal of time trying to ensure there was justice for those

that died at Hillsborough. Mr Speaker, 79 people died in Grenfell

Tower. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those that

have died. Those still unaccounted for and those who are going to live

with the trauma of this hoary thick -- horrendous and avoidable tragedy.

Last Thursday, the Prime Minister said she expected to appoint a judge

to chair the enquiry in the next few days. We haven't heard any more. Can

she update the house when an appointment will be made and what

will be the timetable for the enquiry. May I first of all I -- say

that I think we are all welcoming but after so many years of waiting,

the Hillsborough families and those different groups within

Hillsborough, not just the Justice campaign, the family that came

together and the work done by Margaret Aspinall and others, has

been absolutely exemplary. And I'm sure obviously today will be a day

of mixed emotions for them, that I welcome the fact that charging

decisions have been taken. I think that is an important step forward.

The right Honourable gentleman asked me to update him in regards Grenfell

Tower. I would like to update the house on a number of aspects. We all

know what an unimaginable tragedy this was and our thoughts will be

with those who have been affected by it. As of this morning, the cladding

in 30 areas has been tested and it has failed the combustibility test.

Given the 100% failure rate, we are clear that they should not wait for

test results but get on with the job of fire safety checks. You should

take any action necessary and the government will support them in

doing that. The community secretary has set up an independent advisory

panel to advise on the measures that need to be taken, which is meeting

this week. On the housing offer, 282 good-quality temporary properties

have been identified. 132 families have had their needs assessed, and

65 offers of temporary accommodation have already been made to families.

The payment from the funds, those payments continue. As of this

morning, nearly one point -- one 25p has been paid. We are giving an

extra ?2 million to the local consortium of charities that has

been doing so much important work. On the issue of the public enquiry,

I expect to be able to name a judge soon. The process is that the Lord

Chief Justice recommends the name of a judge. What we want to do is make

sure as the process is going forward, the families, the

survivors, have involvement. I thank the Prime Minister for that answer

but I hope she is able to stick to her promise of everyone being

rehoused within three weeks because at the moment it does not look

anything like that target will be achieved. She, I hope, understand

the fear that so many people have living in power blocs all around the

country. In 2017, the all-party fire safety group said, today's buildings

have a much higher content of readily available combustible

material. There have been contradictory messages from the

government. Can the Prime Minister give a clear answer, is cladding

with a combustible core illegal and was the cladding of Grenfell Tower

legal? The situation is, in relation to the cladding, the building

regulations identify the cladding which is compatible and that which

is noncompliant. My understanding is this particular cladding was not

complying with the building regulations. This raises wider

issues and it is important that we are careful in how we talk about

this. There is a criminal investigation taking place and it is

important that we allow the police to do that and take the decision

that they need to take. But there is a much wider issue here. As we have

seen from the number of buildings where the cladding has failed the

combustibility test, from those samples sent in from local

authorities already, this is a much wider issue, it is an issue that has

been continuing for many years, for decades, in terms of cladding being

put up in buildings. There are real questions as to how this has

happened, why this has happened, and how we can ensure that it does not

happen in the future. That's why I'm clear that in addition to the

enquiry that needs to identify the specific issues for Grenfell Tower,

what happened in relation to Grenfell Tower and who was

responsible, we will also need to look much more widely at why it is

that over decades, under different governments, under different

councils, material has been put up on these power blocs that is

noncompliant with building regulations. There is a very wide

issue here. -- tower blocks. Last birthday the Prime Minister told the

member for Leeds Central that she would make the results of the

Grenfell Tower cladding testing public within 48 hours. I'm not sure

if she has actually done that with her statement today. As of

yesterday, and the Prime Minister has confirmed this, 120 high-rise

blocks have had fire safety tests and feel Ben. -- failed them. What

timetable has the Prime Minister set for such tests to be completed

including schools and hospitals, and what plans does she have to compel

the testing of high risers such as office blocks and hotels which may

also have combustible cladding on them? If I can just say, my

understanding was the police are going to make a statement and I

think the police made a statement about the possession. In relation to

the test, my message is a very simple one. As I said in my answer

to his first question, what we are seeing two people is this is not a

question of waiting for the tests. Don't wait until you've got a sample

in. So far, 100% of the samples have proved to be combustible sole work

on the assumption that you should be doing the test now. That's what we

are telling people to do. Parts of the private sector are also doing

their work but my response to all those who have buildings covered by

this is do the fire safety checks with the Fire Service. Take any

measures that are necessary and the government will support you in doing

that. Since 2010 only a third of new schools have had sprinkler systems

installed soap parents are quite rightly unsure about the safety of

their children. A letter formally recommended that the government

inform suppliers to consider retrofitting sprinklers. It was

reported that 1% of council tower blocks had sprinklers fitted. Can

the Prime Minister let us know what the government actually did to

encourage retrofitting during the last four years? The government did

ensure that local authorities were aware of the recommendations. They

did act on that recommendation. But I say to the Right Honourable

gentleman if we look at what has happened, and the identification of

the issues in a number of tower blocks so far, their -- there are

various issues that lead to concerns about fire safety. If we look at

Camden, one of the five blocks was considered to be habitable but four

were not. That was not just because of the cladding, it was because of

other issues in relation for example to the gas rise. These issues raised

wider questions about the inspections that have taken place,

about residents complaints, voices not being heard. That is an issue

that has been raised at Grenfell Tower. It is also in Camden. This is

a much wider question. A terrible tragedy took place. People lost

their lives who should never have lost their lives. We need to look at

what has happened over decades in this country. Building regulations

have not been overhauled, local authorities, whilst asked to act

upon them, have had their budgets cut by 40%. Under her predecessor,

fire safety audits and inspections work at by a quarter. Fire authority

budgets were cut by a quarter. Can the Prime Minister give an assurance

to the house that the further 20% cut to the Fire Service planned by

2020 will be halted? I say to the right honourable gentleman that, in

his reference to the building regulations, I think he has missed

part of the point, which is that it is not just a question of what laws

you have, it's how those are being applied, and that is the issue. We

have the building regulations about compliant materials. The question

is, why is it that, despite that, we have seen in local authority area

after local authority area materials being put up that appear not to

comply with those building regulations. And he talks about...

That is what we need to get the bottom of, why is that fire

inspections, that local authority inspections seem to have missed this

essential issue. I think I can help the Prime Minister with this issue.

When you cut local authority expenditure by 40%, you end up with

fewer building control inspectors... SHOUTING.

Order! It's pretty bad when people shout. For somebody to be sitting

right by the Speaker's chair and shouting displays, let's say, a lack

of wisdom which should not be repeated. Order. Every member in

this chamber must and will be heard, however long the session has to run.

Jeremy Corbyn. I was simply making the point, which seems to have upset

a lot of members opposite, that when you cut local authority budgets by

40% we all pay a price in public safety. Fewer inspectors, fewer

building control inspectors, planning inspectors. We pay a price.

And, Mr Speaker, those cuts to the Fire Service have meant there are

11,000 fewer firefighters. The public sector pay cap is hitting

recruitment and retention right across the public sector. What the

tragedy of Grenfell Tower is exposed is a disastrous effects of

austerity. RENEWED SHOUTING.

Mr Speaker. This disregard for working-class communities, the

terrible consequences of deregulation and cutting corners. I

urge the Prime Minister to come up with the resources needed to test

and remove planning, retrofit sprinklers, properly fund the Fire

Service and the police so that all our communities can truly feel safe

in their own homes. Mr Speaker, this disaster must be a wake-up call.

CHEERING .

The cladding of tower blocks didn't start under this government. It

didn't start under the previous coalition government. The cladding

of tower block began under the Blair government. The right honourable

gentleman talks about local authority resources, and he talks

about changes to the regulation. In 2005, it was a Labour government

that introduced the regulatory reform fire safety order, which

changed the requirement to inspect a building on fire safety from the

local fire authority, which was usually the Fire Brigade, to a

responsible person. The legislation governing fire safety in tower

blocks, and this was commented on by the lack in all house report into

that fire, it criticised that 2005 order which had been put in place by

the Labour government. Order. The Prime Minister's answer must be

heard. What approach and laws which took effect in 2006 ended the

practice of routine fire inspections, passing the

responsibility to councils. That is why I say to the right honourable

gentleman, this should be an issue that across this house we recognise

is a matter that has been developing over decades, is a matter that has

occurred under governments of both colours, councils of all political

persuasions, and is something which I would hope we would say we should

come together and ensure that we... NOISE IN THE HOUSE.

We get to the answers of why this has happened over the years, what

has gone wrong and how we stop it from happening in the future. Order.

Understandably, on this most solemn and sensitive matters, the front

bench exchanges have been, perhaps inevitably and rightly, very

pensive. I am now keen that all backbenchers scheduled to take part

should have the opportunity. -- very comprehensive. Businesses in my

constituency share the Prime Minister's desire to provide

certainty for trade arrangements in the years immediately following our

exit from the EU. In my right honourable friend confirm that any

transitional arrangements will be for a strictly time-limited period

and that any suggestion of ever retweeting deadlines or perpetual

status quo would fall short of honouring the decision made by the

people of this country to leave the EU? My honourable friend is

absolutely right. For very practical reasons, when we know what the

future relationship with the EU will be, we may need implementation

periods. That will be to ensure that the practical arrangements can be

put in place for that new relationship. But I am very clear

that this doesn't mean unlimited transitional phase. We are going to

leave the EU, that's what people wanted and that's what we will

deliver. Can I welcome the announcement of the prosecutions on

Hillsborough, and congratulate the families and all those involved in

the many years of campaigning. Mr Speaker, the Scottish Secretary

insisted that Scotland would see increased funding if the DUP secured

money for Northern Ireland as part of a confidence and supply deal,

insisting, quote, I'm not going to agree to anything that could be

constructed as back door funding to Northern Ireland. Did the Prime

Minister received any representations from the Scottish

Secretary about the DUP deal, either before or after it was signed? I say

to the honourable gentleman that, of course, when we look at what has

happened in terms of funding for the rest of the UK, in the Autumn

Statement last year, my right honourable friend, the Chancellor,

set aside an infrastructure fund of ?23 billion. We are putting more

money into our NHS, more money into our schools, and of course there is

an impact on Scotland as a result of that Autumn Statement. ?800 million

extra spending is going to Scotland. As a result of the budget, ?350

million extra is going to Scotland. I don't remember when that money was

announced the honourable gentleman complaining about more money should

be going to Northern Ireland. But then, of course, he is a nationalist

and not a unionist. Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister's failure to give a

straight answer to that question speaks volumes.

NOISE IN THE HOUSE. Order. Let's hear the fellow. Mr Ian

Blackford. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister's failure to give

a straight answer to that question speaks volumes and has only

succeeded in piling more pressure on the Scottish Secretary, whose

position looks less secure with every day that passes. The

honourable gentleman's question, and I think he is reaching it, must be

heard. I will give the Prime Minister one more opportunity. Did

she receive any representations about the DUP deal from the

Secretary of State for Scotland, yes or no? I can assure the honourable

gentleman that I regularly receive representations from the Secretary

of State for Scotland about matters relating to Scotland, including

regular representations which point out that, if the Scottish

Nationalists actually had the interests of Scotland at heart, they

would want to remain part of the UK. Given that rail passengers in my

constituency of Lewis are once again facing rail misery with an overtime

ban and strike action looming, does the Prime Minister not agree with me

that the only way to end the 18 months rail misery for my

constituents and all passengers on Southern Rail is for the unions to

stop their strike and get back round the table? My honourable friend is

absolutely right. Southern Rail passengers have experienced

absolutely unacceptable delays and disruption to their service, and an

expert report has found that the main cause of widespread disruption

was union action. So, for the sake of the passengers, get round the

table and solve this dispute. Can I thank the Prime Minister for coming

to my constituency of Wrexham during the general election campaign? And

for making a widely welcomed U-turn on the dementia tax. Can I invite

the Prime Minister backs of Wrexham to make another announcement

reversing her appalling cuts to police budgets, which my

constituents want to see the back of? We are protecting police

budgets, yes... NOISE IN THE HOUSE.

We are protecting the least budgets. But we are, of course, making

reforms to policing. That's why I introduced National Crime Agency, to

deal with serious and organised crime that relates to crime on the

streets. That is why we have put money into a new national cyber

crime unit to ensure police can deal with the new sorts of crimes there

are that they have to deal with. We are reforming policing, but the key

to this is not that the number of police on the streets, but about

what happens to crime, and crime has fallen to a record low. Mr Speaker,

the Grenfell Tower tragedy shot and so many of us, because we all

believe there is much that should never have happened, but to claim,

the opposition front bench did, ahead of any enquiry, that, quote,

residents were murdered by politicians, unquote, is grotesquely

inappropriate. Would my honourable friend confirm that our government

will get on with rebuilding lives and homes and progressing enquiries

with urgency and nonpartisan calm? I think my honourable friend raises a

very important point. What all of those affected by Grenfell Tower

deserve is an enquiry that gets to the truth and provides them with the

truth and with knowing who was responsible. We need to do that in a

careful, calm and determined way and we need to use that same calm

determination to make sure we get to the bottom of the wider issue of why

it is that materials have been used in tower blocks around the country

which appear to have been noncompliant with building

regulations. There are real issues here and we are not going to get to

the truth by pointing fingers. We will buy calm determination.

Regarding the deal she has done with the DUP, is it true that on the one

hand she is shelling out all of this extra money to secure their support

while, on the other hand, she is still giving them tax payers' cash

in the form of short to be in opposition? Is that what we get from

this by Minister, no pay rise for nurses but double bubble for her

friends in the DUP? -- is that what we get from this Prime Minister.

Let's be clear about what the government has done in the agreement

with the Democratic Unionist Party. As a result of the election, no

party has a majority in this house. Yes.

NOISE IN THE HOUSE. The party that had... The party that

had the largest number of seats and the only party that can form an

effective government is the Conservative Party. That's the right

thing to do and that's what we've done. Does the Prime Minister share

my concern that last year 50,000 people were stopped at the controls

at Calais, 150 people every day? Does that underline not only that we

should keep those controls in place but we should consider the case for

investing more in state-of-the-art technology and more border officers

so we can win the war against people traffickers and keep our borders

safe and secure? I say to my honourable friend at our border

force officers do an excellent job at the juxtaposed controls and the

work they do in his constituency. Particularly the work they are doing

to stop illegal immigrants and the human traffickers. They have indeed,

we have been investing in the system capabilities. 108 million has been

invested in the last two years in new technology, and a further 71

million is earmarked for that in the current financial year. Of course,

there are particular pressures on Dover. That's why we've invested

more money to maintain security there, and to ensure the Calais camp

remains closed, and we are meeting efforts upstream as well to ensure

that we reduce the number of people trying to get to the UK illegally.

The Foreign Office are putting extra money into the central Mediterranean

route, for extra humanitarian support. I know the Prime Minister

is well aware of the misery and suffering caused by reckless

gambling. Following her recent own experience and the turmoil it has

caused to her friends and colleagues, will she now commit to

legislating against fixed odds betting terminals, because of so

much hardship across our communities? As the honourable lady

knows, a consultation was undertaken in relation to that particular

issue, which the department for culture, media and sport are

considering and we will announce a response in due course. In Fareham,

63% of voters chose the Conservatives, giving us a record

share of the vote not seen since 1935. Will my right honourable

friend join me in reminding the chamber that this side won the

election? Will she join me in thanking... Join me in thanking the

good people of Fareham for placing their trust in the Conservatives,

and in reassuring them that she is the best person to deliver a

prosperity lead and successful Brexit? I am very happy to join her

in thanking the good people of Fareham for re-electing a

first-class Member of Parliament to represent them. She is absolutely

right, of course. It was the Conservative Party that got the

highest percentage share of votes in the election, the Conservative Party

that got the most seats, 56 more than the Labour Party, and the

Conservative Party that got more votes, and that's why we are an

effective government. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the Prime Minister

confirm that, last week, Britain's for most senior police officers, the

commission of the Matt, the head of counterterrorism, the National Crime

Agency and the police chiefs cancel all wrote to the government saying

that counterterrorism, policing and protective security grant is being

cut by 7.2 billion -- 7.2%? Doesn't that show contrary to what she just

told the member for Wrexham, that her to protect police budgets is not

being kept? -- that her promise to protect police budgets. We have

protected counterterrorism policing. We have put money in. We have also

put money in to an uplift, for an uplift in armed policing, and the

commission of the Metropolitan Police has made the point that the

Metropolitan Police are well resourced and have a wide diversity

of tools that they can encounter in terrorism. That's the point, it's

not just about the funding but ensuring they have the powers they

need to deal with the terrorists. That's what we are determined to

ensure. I was deeply alarmed to hear the

announcement made from the Leader of the Opposition at the Glastonbury

festival that he would abandon Trident. Would pro-government that

provides -- would the payment to agree that it is only our party that

can provide the safety the country needs? Can I welcome my honourable

friend to this house. I'm sure he will be a fine representative of the

constituency. And I join with him in seeing that in public Leader of the

Opposition wanted to appear to support Trident but in private

wanted to scrap it. It is only the Conservative Party that is clear

about maintaining the deterrent. After being defeated by my

honourable friend in Perth, this government has honoured the defeated

candidate, Ian Duncan, with a job in the Scotland Office. Instead of this

affront to democracy does she think she should stop treating the

Scottish people with contempt and give the Scottish Government a seat

at the Brexit negotiations table? We have, throughout the time, been

working with and talking with the Scottish Government and other

devolved administrations and we will continue to do that. I hope and

trust that this means the Scottish Nationalists will be focused on

issues that matter to Scotland rather than independence. If the

Prime Minister aware of the current crisis in Venezuela and is this an

example of how an experiment in socialist revolution can go horribly

wrong? I have to say that I think he's made an extremely important

point. When we are talking about trade deals in the future, the

Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Chancellor think the only

good trade deals are with Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. The brave men

and women in our emergency services have consistently put the safety of

others first. Especially in response to the terrible events we've seen in

recent months. We pay tribute to the professionalism. That's why I

believe it's important that we give them the resources they need to do

their vital job. In Scotland it is outrageous that police and Fire

Services are required to pay VAT, front line services paying ?35

million. Order, Mr cleverly. You are usually the embodiment of calm,

repose and statesmanship. Take some sort of tablet, man. Thank you

again, Mr Speaker. I repeat that. It is outrageous that Fire Services and

police services must pay VAT and it cost them ?35 million last year

alone. Now that the Prime Minister has found the magic money tree, will

she... We got the gist of it. The Prime Minister. When the Scottish

Government took the decision to merge police forces into a single

force, they were told that this would lead to VAT being paid by

Police Scotland. They were advised that was the position that they

chose to go ahead with the merger. Thank you very much. Today is the

festival Day of Saint Alden is. What more can be done to protect persons

of faith being persecuted for their faith, particularly students who are

suffering large amounts of anti-Semitism? I am happy to

recognise its. It is important. Sometimes we talk a lot about people

being persecuted for their faith in countries abroad. We need to be very

clear that sadly we do see people suffering attacks. The CST do a lot

of work with students to support and I'm happy for that. We are

supporting Muslim communities suffering from Islamophobic. There

is no place for this in our society. The current Prime Minister recently

visited my constituency. Upon being asked about the precarious situation

facing the District Hospital and the Royal Infirmary she stated that

people work scaremongering. And she used this opportunity to reassure my

constituents that all services will be retained at both hospitals

including a full accident and emergency provision? The honourable

lady knows, I was asked, and I can confirm that Dewsbury accident and

emergency is not closing. The service will be open 24 hours a day,

seven days a week. A majority of patients will see no change. Thank

you, Mr Speaker. The repeated claim that spending ever increased amounts

of money on foreign aid keeps this country safe has been shown by

recent events to be utter nonsense. Can I tell the Prime Minister that

spending more money on overseas aid does not make of the compassionate,

it makes us look idiotic, when that money is much needed in the United

Kingdom. Can she promised to slash the overseas aid budget, spend it on

priorities in the UK? I hope she does not have a strange political

aversion to pursuing policies that might be popular with the public. I

can assure my honourable friend that I don't have that aversion but on

this issue I do take a different view. I think it is important that

given the position we hold, the state of our economy, one of the

largest economies in the world, we recognise that we can help those

around the world. We are seeing millions of people, particularly

girls, being educated. I think that's important. I recognise what

my honourable friend has said, that we have suffered from terrible

terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, are services have also

foiled a number. Going back over recent years as well. I think it's

important that we are able to use the money to ensure good governance

in countries saw that we don't see the creation of spaces where

terrorists are able to train. I must thank the Prime Minister and most of

the Cabinet for visiting healing because my majority went up 50

times. 53,000 EU nationals reside in the London Borough of Ealing and

they would like some clarity on this fair and generous offer of how much

extra the applications are going to cost them and why it is that they

are not going to be able to vote in local elections as they are now? I

would say, I'm grateful she described it as a fear and generous

offer. I think it is fair and generous for people to ensure that

they are able to stay and they will have rights.

A significant number of charities, including those having to look after

the most vulnerable in our society, our under closure because of the

National living wage and HMRC's insistent that there is six years

back page despite the advice only changing last year. With the Prime

Minister asked HMRC to suspend any actions until we find a workable

solution. My honourable friend has raised a very important issue and it

is one that he cares about particularly. It is through the

National living wage that we are making sure that PSP. That pay is

fair. But on this point, the Department of Health and the

relevant department are looking at this carefully because they want to

ensure that enforcement protects low paid workers in a proportionate

manner. We've invested more money in social care. We need to look at this

issue on a longer-term basis. I can assure him are looking at the

specific issues. Does the Prime Minister think, like her Brexit

secretary, it will be simple to deliver the free trade deal with the

European Union. The Brexit secretary and I have said we think a

comprehensive trade agreement is not just possible but will be easy over

other third-party countries because we are operating on the same basis

at the moment. Therefore, we are not negotiating in the same position as

say, Canada or other countries. I think we can achieve that and it

will be good for the UK and good for the EU. With the Prime Minister

agree that an opposition leader who claims to be all things to all men

saying one thing to remain voters in London and quite another in leave

voters constituencies is no kind of leader at all and maybe that is why

he was rejected in the recent elections? I would like to welcome

my honourable friend. I was very pleased to visit his constituency.

Absolutely right. People want to know the position of the parties on

this question. We are very clear that we want to see the country

coming together and we want to deliver. It is what the government

will do. Can I beg the Prime Minister at this crucial time to

listen to the many friends we have in Europe and the world who fear

that we are sleepwalking into a disastrous deal with Europe. They've

no confidence in the three ministers in charge of the deal and believe

our country is going to be deeply damaged, in terms of our economy and

our fall in the world, if we don't get our act together. I have to say

that the Brexit negotiations have started formally. There was a

constructive and positive start with my right honourable friend, the

Secretary of State for exiting the EU, and the commission's appointed

negotiator. We've set up three working groups dealing with citizens

rights, and a dialogue on the issue of the border between Northern

Ireland and Ireland. That is important. We've set out our

objectives, published our objectives, we know the plan. The

party that does not know the plan is his party. The Prime Minister was

crystal clear on Monday that the reciprocal agreements should include

the people of Gibraltar. On Tuesday the Spanish Foreign Minister sought

yet again to suggest Spain should have unilateral veto. Will make it

clear that this is pointless and counter-productive and our

commitment is absolute. I thank my honourable friend for raising that

issue. This government's commitment to Gibraltar has not changed and it

will remain. Suicide rates in Northern Ireland, in my

constituency, are some of the worst in Europe and the developed world.

Clinicians have pointed to the legacy of 30 years of terrorism and

violence and the awful legacy. Part of the money we are investing goes

to health care. Isn't it time people recognised this is delivery for all

of the people of Northern Ireland and is going to help some of the

most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Northern Ireland? People

should get behind it and welcome it. My right honourable friend makes a

very important point on this. It is the case, as we said in the

agreement, that we recognise the particular circumstances of Northern

Ireland that have arisen as a result of its history. There will be mental

health issues that arise as a part of that. It is important we put more

into mental health across the UK. I visited a school in Bristol. As he

says, the money is for the good of all people across Northern Ireland.

I wonder if the Prime Minister has an opportunity to see the British

attitudes survey which stated 75% of British people wanted to leave the

EU. She will now that more than 80% of the British electorate voted for

parties that want to leave the EU. She will know from her extensive

canvassing that thousands of people tell me the referendum to say that

the issue, just get on and leave the EU. Would she assure the house that

she will make it her priority? What I've seen across the country is eyed

unity of purpose for people. Regardless of how they voted in the

referendum, their view is the decision has been taken, just

deliver it. Thank you very much. With 9 million people in our country

lonely all or most of the time, and loneliness as bad for your health as

smoking 15 cigarettes a day, will the Prime Minister join with the

honourable member for South Rebel and myself in encouraging members of

the host to attend the Jo Cox loneliness event immediately after

PMQs today to find out what all of us can do to tackle this blight in

our society? The honourable lady has raised an important point and I

would like to say the work you're both doing is excellent, I encourage

members of the house to do what she says. We all recognise the impact

loneliness has on health. We've been able to put some support into the

programme. We are helping the skills of volunteers over 50 in looking at

these issues. It's an important issue and honourable members should

recognise the work. Order. That brings us to the end of the

first Prime Minister's Questions of the new parliament, and it set a

record, over 50 minutes long, probably the longest PMQs on record.

The speaker wants to have an hour-long PMQs, if so, perhaps he

should just have one and tell us and then we could make our plans

accordingly, instead of just making it up as he goes along. Over 50

minutes. The exchanges between the front benches concentrated above all

on Grenfell Tower, as it's the first time we have had PMQs since that

terrible disaster. Mr Corbyn began by asking some detailed questions

about the cladding, about the file revelations and so on, and we got

some answers, or at least some points, but he finished up by

accusing the austerity cuts, claiming that the austerity cuts and

cuts to local government spending were the reason that these sort of

things happened. The really interesting thing that came out was

that 120 blocks are now being investigated, and 120 blocks have

failed the fire test. Every one investigated so far was found to

have cladding that was combustible. On a question from Mr Corbyn, the

Prime Minister seemed to indicate that it was actually illegal to use

this cladding, because it was combustible, and yet it was on 120

blocks and rising, and that would seem to be the big question. How was

it, given that the cure rate -- given the building revelations

seemed to forbid this kind of cladding on high rise, that it was

used almost ubiquitously, everywhere? That's the question that

so far nobody seems to be able to answer. Such a huge question. It's

not clear that people are prepared to wait for a long inquest before

they get to the bottom of it. Finally, the Prime Minister saying

that, given 120, every one so far, you shouldn't wait for tests, that

local authorities should get on and fit new fire and safety checks into

these buildings right away, assuming that actually almost all the blogs

that are going to be tested will pour into the field category. -- all

of the blocks. What did the viewers make of it? Dave said that Jeremy

Corbyn cleverly walked Mrs May down a seemingly neutral path and hit her

with austerity very well. He seems transformed. Has he been replaced

with a competent double? Martin said, it's clear that Labour is

going to be that lingers deficit reduction by linking austerity with

deaths. It is argued that money is the only thing that makes people do

the right thing and is required to keep people safe. In effect, human

beings have responsibility. John says, Mrs May has lost some arrogant

and Jeremy Corbyn has gained confidence, but it is still the

mediocre facing the mediocre. Ken says, difficult decisions, taxing

and a freezing the just about managing isn't difficult. It's now

time for difficult decisions, taxing the wealthy and inflicting seven

years austerity on them, or is that too difficult for the Conservatives?

This is the big mystery, and it's taking Grenfell Tower for us as a

country to realise it, that it looks like it was almost par for the

course that buildings were being clad in combustible material which

would seem to have been banned by the building regulations, and

certainly should have been banned. The Prime Minister said, this

cladding, in the case at Grenfell, wasn't complying. She was unwilling

to go much further is an investigation running. But this is

the question being asked across the political spectrum. There are lots

of theories floating around. One thing that one of our colleagues on

Newsnight, Chris Cook, is on a lot of work on is trying to show how the

changes in regulation lead to a system where they were being

considered more as broad guidelines rather than as specifics. Jeremy

Corbyn was asking some detailed questions about who was responsible

for fire safety checking and so on. They're clearly has, in terms of the

culture of regulation, been quite a big change over the last decade or

so, but what we also saw today, for the first time, was Theresa May very

carefully and definitely trying to push back at some of the accusations

about how austerity was part of what's happened here. We saw a

Conservative MP, Richard Graham, ask her to condemn John McDonnell's

comments, and you were talking about this before, and of course this is a

political situation. Of course it is a political question. But we saw how

Theresa May was trying to tiptoe away, and actually quite directly

say, this started under the Blair government. Cladding these buildings

began a long time ago, and I think most people across politics would

accept this is something that hasn't been taken seriously enough over a

quite a long terrible time. Cladding isn't necessarily bad. It has made a

lot of buildings look more modern, it has helped with insulation. Did

we have any idea that, as we were doing this cladding, that we were

using material that was combustible? That is what the public enquiry will

have to identify. There is also a criminal investigation taking place.

We have to let that happen. It is right and proper that we take urgent

action to remove the fire risk. That is a real and immediate priority.

Understanding what has gone wrong is something we have to do. My regrets

today is distinct Jeremy Corbyn trying to link austerity, as he

phrases it, which from my point of view is dealing with a huge deficit

post 2010, to a national tragedy. We don't yet know the causes and

understand what's gone wrong. We know it goes back many years. We

know it's been a feature in authorities of all political

persuasions. I think it's important that we take a step back. Let's not

as politicians throw mud at each other over this. Let's try and work

out what's gone wrong and make sure it can never happen again and

provide support to authorities to make sure. Whether it started under

the Blair government doesn't seem to me to be relevant. There was a

policy of doing more cladding. What will surprise people, and it's not

linked to austerity, is that you would need a building regulation to

tell you not to put a combustible material on. I think the dog could

have told you that! Yes, and that's the first question that needs to be

answered. Jeremy went to Grenfell and met families and looked them in

the eye and said he would support them, and what politicians always do

when they don't want to confront these very difficult challenges is

say, let's not bring politics into this, but it is political. Decisions

were made not just about cladding but other issues. But long before

austerity. We don't know that. But it goes back to the Blair

government. We don't know how much of this is the cladding, how much of

this is failure to inspect and to do testing. Wood I need to stop you

both. We think of something totally different.

There's just time to put you out of your misery and give

It was the year 2000. Jenny, do you want the press that button? I'd be

delighted. Don't worry, nothing terrible happens. The winner is

David Upton from Ruislip in Middlesex was well done. The year

was 2000. That is near where my mum lives. She'll probably trying to

nick it! The one o'clock news is starting

over on BBC One now. Jo and I will be here at noon

tomorrow with all the big political Brexit means Brexit.

We did it! To pretend that it's going to be

plain sailing is such knuckle-headed lunacy.

Happy days are here.