14/03/2018 Daily Politics


14/03/2018

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Last night's deadline came and went

without any Russian response to the

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British ultimatum over the Salisbury

nerve gas attack. In an hour the

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Prime Minister will reveal the

extent of British retaliation in one

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of the toughest tests of Theresa

May's premiership.

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Good morning - welcome

to this special edition

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of the Daily Politics,

live from Westminister,

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extended to bring you not only

Prime Minister's Questions,

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but Mrs May's promised list

of sanctions against the Kremlin

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and the response of the Leader

of the Opposition.

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We expect to be on air

until at least 1.30.

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This morning the Prime Minister met

with her National Security Council

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to discuss the British response -

she'll make her statement just

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after Prime Minister's Questions

and we'll bring it to you live.

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Russia, which continues to deny any

involvement in the Salisbury attack,

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has warned that any punitive action

on Britain's part will be met

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with a tough response,

one Kremlin figure even reminding us

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that Russia is a nuclear power.

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As if we hadn't noticed.

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But what are the Prime Minister's

options and how much international

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support can she count

on for a robust British response?

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We'll speak to a senior

former diplomat.

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And of course, on top

of all this we'll be live

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for Prime Minister's

Questions at noon.

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All that coming up, and with me

for the duration Conservative Vice

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Chair Chris Skidmore

and Shadow Treasury

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Minister Jonathan Reynolds.

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Welcome.

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Well, as expected, Theresa May's

midnight deadline for a Russian

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explanation for the poisioning

of former spy Sergei Skripal

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in Salisbury passed with no response

from Moscow and now we wait to learn

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what the Prime Minister's

next move will be.

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Russia still denies any involvement

in the attack and has warned any

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sanctions from us

will have consquences.

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Lets get the latest from

Richard Galpin, who's in Moscow.

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Is there any other credible

explanation doing the rounds in

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Moscow, if this was not Russia in

Salisbury, who was at?

They are

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saying they got rid of chemical

weapons stockpile some time ago and

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so it could not possibly be Russia

and they are insisting on that, they

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are not giving other theories. I

have not heard anything in terms of

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saying another country might have

done this. They are saying, the

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Foreign Minister, that Russia had no

motive but obviously the British

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Government will look at that with a

wry smile, given what happened in

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London in 2006 with the

assassination of another man who

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betrayed his country, Alexander

Litvinenko. The Russians have passed

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form for assassinating people who

have betrayed them, intelligence

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agents who have gone to the other

side, in this case working for MI6.

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My understanding is Mrs May will

reveal the nerve agent used has been

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produced only by the Russian

government and the Russian

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government has stockpiles of that,

perhaps not large, but had an

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element of it, and that will be the

reason she will say the British are

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in no doubt the Russians did it and

she will outline sanctions including

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expulsions. Are the Russians drawing

up a list of Riyadh -- a list of

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retaliation?

I am sure they are

prepared and I expect they will act

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quickly. The Kremlin spokesman said

clearly, we will retaliate. If the

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Russian ambassador for example is

expelled and the intelligence

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officers working in the Russian

Embassy in London, many of those

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will be expelled, possibly more.

There are hints there will be a

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larger number than expulsions that

happened following the death of

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Alexander Litvinenko. The Russians

are ready and they say they will

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retaliate to everything Britain

does. One interesting quote that

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stands out to me, coming from the

Kremlin spokesperson, he has

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effectively fired a warning shot to

other countries, such as the

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European Union, presumably the

United States, saying we hope other

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countries will think about whether

there is evidence provided so far by

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the UK. We know Theresa May, Boris

Johnson will be working hard to try

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to get solidarity and unity in

Europe and other countries and get

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these countries behind the UK on

this and Russia is now trying to

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fragment that.

It sounds like it is

escalating into a major

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international story. Thank you.

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It was on Monday that

the Prime Minister gave

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her ultimatum to President Putin.

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Here's a reminder of

what she said.

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On Wednesday, we will consider in

detail the response from the Russian

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state. Should there be no credible

response we will conclude this

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action amounts to an unlawful use of

force by the Russian state against

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the United Kingdom. And I will come

back to this House and set out the

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range of measures we will take in

response. This attempted murder

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using a weapons grade nerve agent in

a British town was not just a crime

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against the two. It was an

indiscriminate and reckless act

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against the UK, putting lives of

innocent civilians at risk and we

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will not tolerate a brazen attempt

to murder innocent civilians on our

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soil.

That was the Prime Minister on

Monday. She is now coming back to

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the Commons and will follow Prime

Minister's Questions with a more

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detailed statement on what the

British response will be.

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After the murder of former Russian

secret service operative

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Alexander Litvinenko in 2006,

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Britain expelled some Russian

diplomats and enforced tighter visa

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restrictions on Russia officials.

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But many argue that these measures

didn't go far enough.

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So, what are Theresa May's options

now for retaliation?

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She could...

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Expel more Russia diplomats

from the UK, maybe including

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the Russian ambassador.

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The numbers will be important. Ted

Heath in 71 kicked out a large

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number of diplomats.

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Introduce asset freezes

and travel bans on Russians

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involved in corruption

and human rights abuses.

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Or at least toughen up the existing

powers.

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Bar wealthy Russian oligarchs from

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accessing their property in London

by seizing their assets.

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Take RT - or Russia

Today - off the air.

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The British believe it is a Kremlin

financed propaganda channel.

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Or boycott the football World Cup

in Russia later this year.

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And talk the British could launch

a cyber-attack on Russia.

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This morning I was told that option

was downplayed.

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They could convince

the EU to strengthen

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sanctions against Putin.

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The European Union put the sanctions

with British support in place after

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Crimea and Ukraine. That is the sort

of thing that could be done.

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Wth me now is Larissa Brown,

the defence and security editor

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at the Daily Mail.

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And Adam Thompson,

who was until recently Britain's

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Permanent Representative to Nato.

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Larissa Brown, Theresa May was

criticised when she was Home

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Secretary for arguing for a weak

response to the Litvinenko business.

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Issued under pressure to show she is

tougher than that?

She is under

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pressure and the worst thing she can

do is give a feeble response to the

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poisoning of the double agent. I

think she will have to come out this

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afternoon and give a strong

statement and outline various

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measures which could cross the

diplomatic circles, which could be a

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unilateral response. She could go to

Nato, the EU, UN, and call for a

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unified, common international

response which would make Britain

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look more powerful in response to

Putin.

Do we have evidence there is

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appetite in the European Union, in

Nato, or even in the Trump

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administration in America to get

involved in this and to follow a

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robust response, to back that

response, two -- to participate in

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that response?

We have seen warm

statements towards the UK from both

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Nato Secretary General, apparently

Donald Trump, certain EU officials.

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There will be at least verbal

support for what Theresa May decides

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to do. But whether that is followed

through by action is going to be

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dependent I think on how credible

Britain's diplomacy over this crisis

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is.

Does it help this happens as we

are leaving the EU, and that a man

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in Washington who stood up most for

us, Rex Tillerson, Secretary of

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State, was fired within 24 hours of

standing up for us.

None of that

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mood music is helpful. It probably

does not help but I'm not sure it

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will get in the way, either. I think

serious Americans and Europeans,

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seeing the first use of nerve agents

since the Second World War on

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European territory will understand

it is a serious issue for them and

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not just the UK.

The law based on

this man who was trying to help

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people get out of Russia. He was

imprisoned. It freezes assets of

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those involved in corruption, there

are travel restrictions on these

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people. My understanding is the

British Government says we can do a

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lot of that in this country but it

will probably accept a version of

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this law to show they can toughen it

up.

It has gone through the Lords

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and we expect it to come back to the

Commons and there have been

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amendments to the UK version of

these laws that will basically

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enable the UK to have the same

equivalent of what the US have.

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Toughening up sanctions, freezing

assets, and potentially having a

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list of Vladimir Putin's cronies,

oligarchs, that are linked to the

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regime and they would be banned from

the UK. This is a measure the Prime

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Minister could do which would not

necessarily have huge political

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ramifications in Russia in the same

way as expelling our diplomats would

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because Russia said they will

retaliate and Russia Today, there is

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talk about the licence being revoked

but if the UK does that, in

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response, Russia has said they could

end up banning our media

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organisations from operating. That

would be a huge loss if BBC Russia

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were expelled from Moscow.

What does

Russia want out of all this? My

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understanding is that what happened

was called by the Prime Minister in

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the National Security Council a

Kremlin calling card, that the nerve

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agent was chosen intentionally

because we would find out and know

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that only they had it and the world

would know the Kremlin had done this

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for all their denials. Why? What is

the message, what are they telling

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us by doing this?

It is hard to read

Russia. It always has been. I

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hesitate, but there is a pattern of

Russian behaviour in terms of going

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after opponents of the regime, and

throwing Russia's weight around in

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Europe and its region a little bit.

The question is whether Putin is

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asking for attention in order to get

the west re-engaged with Russia on a

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great power to great power kind of

negotiation, or whether he has

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decided destabilising activities are

a useful thing for Russia in their

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own right.

We have just learned that

Britain is calling for an urgent

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meeting of the UN Security Council.

We are one off the permanent

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representatives, I assume this is an

attempt to internationalise this and

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bring to attention to the other

members, that it is a potential

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threat to all of them.

Absolutely.

That is a basic first step is to be

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taking to raise this in the security

council and potentially in the UN

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General Assembly, the wider forum of

the UN. It is not the only thing it

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should do internationally, in

addition to Boris Johnson's efforts

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with allies, I am sure the UK will

go to the organisation for the

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Prohibition of chemical weapons

which runs the 1997 Chemical Weapons

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Convention to take that treaty

through its paces on a country

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suspected of noncompliance, and of

still holding nerve agents.

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We see the huge nuclear arsenal, we

see what was done in Crimea, those

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motorised forces, and the claim of

undercover forces, and so we think

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it is strong. But, actually, is this

a result of weakness? The Russian

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GDP, the Russian economy, is smaller

than Italy's, it is a lot smaller

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than Britain's, there is widespread

rampant poverty in Russia, the

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moment you leave Moscow and the

other big cities. Its capital

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structure of investment, partly

because of sanctions, is collapsing,

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it's machine-tool industry is going

into dust, its oil industry is

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desperately in need of new capital

investment and not getting it. Is

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this partly to cover the fact that

the Russian economy, in many ways,

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is a basket case?

The Russians are

obviously very good at what has been

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coined the information war and they

are very good at looking like...

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They are brilliant at reacting on

the international stage and standing

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up for Russian values, and obviously

we have got Putin's election coming

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up and there have been a lot of

people who have suggested that by

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looking like they're Tov, by coming

out with these statements, by

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fighting back against Theresa May,

it will only help him in Russia and

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make the Russian people think that

he's actually being strong. But

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there are things that Britain can

do, of course, and there are many

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things that we could do secretly to

hit back at Russia, such as

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offensive cyber attacks.

How robust

should the response be?

Of Russia

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are responsible and, let's be

honest, it is hard to see a credible

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defence that they are not

responsible, there has to be a

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response because this is one of the

most serious incidents I can recall

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as a parliamentarian, but it has to

be effective. You talk of boycott of

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the World Cup. I don't think that is

the quantum of activity we are in

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but we also can't seek to normalise

this. We don't want this to be

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continued for years to come. I do

think some of the things you've just

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mentioned, the measures put into the

anti-money laundering bill last

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week, which we almost got put

through, I think that is where we

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can take some real action because,

frankly, where we are right now, in

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terms of what we know and what the

Prime Minister will say, we've got

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to respond to this robustly.

Should

we? The amendments will now become

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part of British law, I assume?

British government has already

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looked as an anti-corruption

strategy. I think it is right that

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we look what needs to take place

legislatively and non-legislative we

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move forward.

Why would you resist

the? These are laws

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the? These are laws that allow you

to target those accused of human

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rights abuses or I was a result of

corrupt practices.

When you transfer

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UK law to US law it is not as easy

as saying you can transfer it

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across.

Why would you not strengthen

it?

We have bills going through the

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House of Commons where in the past

we have looked at the strength of

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anti-corruption practices so I can't

see why we wouldn't want to do that

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in the future.

Would it make sense

to close down Russia Today or would

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that be a gift to the Russians? We

pride ourselves as this being a city

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and country which is the home of

free speech. The Russians know that

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what happens in Moscow is

increasingly controlled by the

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state, whether it is a state

operated media or private. If we

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close their outlets here, they will

retaliate and probably close the BBC

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and others too. But, more

importantly, the British are meant

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to be in favour of free speech but

at the moment they have a station

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they don't like and they close it

down.

I think that every action

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there will be a reaction but that

shouldn't stop us looking at Russia

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Today. Obviously, we want to work

with Ofcom over what sort of actions

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may be taken but we have to stop

directly elected politicians going

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on this programme. Alex Salmond, for

instance, should give up that

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programme.

He has his own show on

it. Would not be a better way,

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rather than closing it down, to make

it well-nigh impossible for

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mainstream politicians to appear on

it because they would be attacked

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for doing so?

I have never appeared

on it and I don't consider it to be

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a news source in the way I would

consider the BBC or Sky to be a

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legitimate impartial news

broadcaster. But I think if it was

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unilaterally shut down by the

Government there is a massive danger

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of propaganda problem and if it is

not with due process they will

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appeal that and will enjoy taking us

through the courts over at. I think

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the Labour Party will be reviewing

the advice given to all MPs as to

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whether they should appear on it.

Are Labour MPs going to be allowed

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or encouraged to appear on it or

not?

It is being reviewed.

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Independent -- individual MPs have

their own views on it.

Thank you.

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The Prime Minister's statement will

be in under an hour.

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn came

under fire on Monday

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for his reponse to Theresa May's

speech on Monday, with

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the Conservative MP Johnny Mercer

describing it as "the most shameful

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moment in the House of Commons

in my time to date".

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Here's a flavour of what he said.

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Mr Speaker, the events in Salisbury

on the 4th of March have

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appalled the country,

and need thorough investigation.

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The local community and public

services involved need reassurance

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and the resources necessary.

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The action the Government takes,

once the facts are clear,

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needs to be both decisive

and proportionate, and focused

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on reducing conflicts and tensions,

rather than increasing them.

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We can speak to senior Labour back

bencher Chris Leslie,

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who's in Central Lobby.

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When Mr Corbyn called for a robust

dialogue with Russia, what do you

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think he meant?

Well, I think we're

having a robust dialogue. It

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finished at midnight last night. I

think we waiting to see what the

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Prime Minister's report is of the

Russian response. That is the sort

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of approach that I think the vast

majority of MPs wanted to support

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when they heard about the impact

that this chemical attack had on the

0:21:450:21:52

people of Salisbury. It was not

just, of course, the people directly

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targeted but there were 38 people

taken to hospital, 500 people who

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have been warned about their clothes

being affected and so forth, so this

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is a big issue, and I think the

Prime Minister's proposals for

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saying to Russia, "You have to

answer if you were directly

0:22:100:22:16

responsible or if you lost control

of this nerve agent - tell us by

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midnight last night," so we are all

waiting to hear the response. I

0:22:210:22:25

think, actually, this is a time for

people to come together behind the

0:22:250:22:30

Government and say, let's get them

and from Roger.

One of your

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colleagues, John Woodcock, said that

they could not be read by anyone who

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did not understand the threat Russia

poses to this nation. One of your

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fellow Labour backbenchers. Does Mr

Corbyn understand the gravity of the

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threat which Russia opposes to this

nation?

I think he does. I want to

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make sure that if we are led by

people that they do understand what

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is actually happening. I think it is

pretty clear that when you have this

0:22:570:23:03

sort of absolutely exceptional and

quite atrocious activity within the

0:23:030:23:10

UK, we need a very firm response.

And, just as in the other conflicts

0:23:100:23:16

in times gone past, people of

different political parties, who

0:23:160:23:21

might have normally had

disagreements on day today issues

0:23:210:23:24

have managed to put those aside,

risen above it and come together.

0:23:240:23:29

Clement Attlee and Bevan came

together with Churchill in the

0:23:290:23:32

Second World War. The public want to

see their leaders come together to

0:23:320:23:37

stand up on behalf of the British

public if they are potentially under

0:23:370:23:41

attack.

You thought Mr Corbyn's

response to the Prime Minister's

0:23:410:23:46

statement on Monday wasn't

appropriate. Why?

I felt that part

0:23:460:23:51

of a single point scoring at a time

when our country was potentially

0:23:510:23:54

under attack was not appropriate. I

don't actually regard that as a

0:23:540:23:59

massively unusual statement to make.

There have been some people on

0:23:590:24:02

social media and elsewhere who have

said, if our country is under attack

0:24:020:24:05

that is appropriate still give

partisan attacks. I just disagree

0:24:050:24:09

with that. But, to be honest, I

think we need to move on from what

0:24:090:24:13

happened on Monday. Let's see what

the Prime Minister's course of

0:24:130:24:18

action is going to be and let's see

if Parliament can respond in an

0:24:180:24:23

appropriate way, because the public

are watching and those people who

0:24:230:24:25

have been affected by this attack

are watching. Detectives are in

0:24:250:24:30

Bailey and others, and Skripal is

still in hospital. This is a really

0:24:300:24:36

serious issue and I think the public

want to seriousness from all of

0:24:360:24:39

their elected representatives today.

Thank you for all that. We will let

0:24:390:24:44

you get from central lobby into the

wall for Prime Minister's Questions.

0:24:440:24:50

In Mr Corbyn's response to the Prime

Minister on Monday, there wasn't a

0:24:500:24:54

word of criticism of the Kremlin.

Why?

He condemned the attack...

He

0:24:540:25:00

condemned the attack but he didn't

involve the Kremlin.

He condemned

0:25:000:25:04

the attack and called for action.

You could hardly not condemn a nerve

0:25:040:25:09

gas attack on somebody in this

country with the collateral damage.

0:25:090:25:13

He did, but he why did he not have a

word to say about the Kremlin?

He

0:25:130:25:19

condemned it.

I'm sorry. He didn't

condemn the Kremlin for the attack.

0:25:190:25:25

He didn't even say that if the

Kremlin is involved, we condemn it.

0:25:250:25:30

He obviously condemned the attack -

everybody condemns the attack - but

0:25:300:25:34

he had nothing to say, no words of

criticism, no words of indication

0:25:340:25:40

that the Kremlin was probably

involved and dog attacking them. Why

0:25:400:25:42

not?

He demanded a response, he

proposed to gain what we had already

0:25:420:25:47

tried to get through the week before

in the anti-money-laundering bill,

0:25:470:25:51

the Magnitsky amendments, he propose

one way forward and an angry about

0:25:510:25:55

whether the NHS have the resources

to do it. That strikes me as a

0:25:550:26:01

proportionate response for the

Leader of the Opposition.

Is there

0:26:010:26:04

not a suspicion in your party that

actually Mr Corbyn, John McDonnell

0:26:040:26:09

and those around them and their

private offices are rather

0:26:090:26:12

sympathetic to Russia, rather too

cosy with Russia?

That is not fair

0:26:120:26:17

at all. If you look at things, not

just specific amendments around

0:26:170:26:21

replicating the Magnitsky law, the

things we have been trying to do in

0:26:210:26:24

that committee around registers of

foreign ownership of property in

0:26:240:26:27

London...

That covers everybody, it

is not specific to Russia.

We all

0:26:270:26:34

know London is the favoured

playground of very, very wealthy

0:26:340:26:37

Russian people, many of whom have

links to the Putin regime.

Many of

0:26:370:26:40

those are enemies of Putin.

That is

true and that is part of the process

0:26:400:26:46

but there is clearly a lack of

transparency and a lack of the law

0:26:460:26:49

being applied where we think it

could be. I know there are no talks

0:26:490:26:52

between the two frontbenchers...

To

move on a common basis.

I welcome

0:26:520:26:58

that and that is the right way

forward and I think we will see more

0:26:580:27:01

of that in a statement.

That is not

far away. It is coming at dated

0:27:010:27:08

let's have a look at Big Ben. I'm

afraid Big Ben's basis rather than

0:27:080:27:13

scaffolding. It may be hiding its

face because of what is about

0:27:130:27:17

happen, it doesn't want to look!

Prime Minister's Questions is only a

0:27:170:27:20

couple of minutes away and Laura

Kuenssberg has just joined us. A

0:27:200:27:23

busy day for the political editor of

the BBC. My understanding is that we

0:27:230:27:29

will be getting some outline of what

the Prime Minister is going to say

0:27:290:27:32

and it will involve substantial

expulsions. I was told that you have

0:27:320:27:36

heard it could be on the scale of

close to what Ted Heath did in 1971.

0:27:360:27:42

Indeed, and there is a long history

of diplomatic expulsions of Russian

0:27:420:27:46

diplomats from the UK, and the Prime

Minister's strength of language on

0:27:460:27:51

Monday suggested that she would

really have to come back with

0:27:510:27:54

something that sounded quite

dramatic. She didn't say, we will

0:27:540:28:00

respond in due course with some sort

of detail. She has clearly said that

0:28:000:28:03

we must take stronger measures than

we have on previous occasions. She

0:28:030:28:07

really set the bar very high for

herself today, so while I don't

0:28:070:28:11

expect her to come to the Commons

with anything that will surprise us

0:28:110:28:15

in terms of the actual measure - I

don't mix is going to say anything

0:28:150:28:20

where we will say, "My goodness, I

didn't see that coming," - but I

0:28:200:28:26

think it will be very significant

and I think there will be some

0:28:260:28:28

promise of tightening up some of the

financial regimes around some

0:28:280:28:32

Russians here in London but not a

complete green light for the

0:28:320:28:37

Magnitsky Act because that doesn't

necessarily apply. If you don't know

0:28:370:28:40

who is behind a particular act,

because that is all about targeting

0:28:400:28:43

individuals.

You need to know that

they had been responsible for humans

0:28:430:28:49

right abuse and the money was the

product of corruption. You have to

0:28:490:28:52

have specific information for this

law to click in. To stop and while

0:28:520:28:56

the Government at this point does

believe that Russia was either

0:28:560:28:59

directly or indirectly responsible

for this attack, I don't think it is

0:28:590:29:03

anywhere near the stage of being

able to point figures that

0:29:030:29:05

individuals.

However, as John

Reynolds was just saying, there is

0:29:050:29:12

dialogue about how to move forward

with that act but not in terms of

0:29:120:29:17

the specific response to this

incident.

This is a huge foreign

0:29:170:29:21

policy crisis for the Prime Minister

and the Prime Minister has got very

0:29:210:29:24

little previous experience of

foreign policy. She was Home

0:29:240:29:28

Secretary for six years. It is not

her field. Has she been active in

0:29:280:29:34

trying to bolster support in Europe

from the United States, difficult as

0:29:340:29:39

that is in Washington at the moment,

given that you don't know who the

0:29:390:29:43

secretary of state is from Monday to

the next, and, of course, we are

0:29:430:29:48

done trying to this for the UN

Security Council? Has it been a

0:29:480:29:53

broad campaign, almost, to get

international opinion on site?

I

0:29:530:29:57

think there has been a very

considerable effort in government to

0:29:570:30:00

try to get her allies on board, not

just because they believe it is time

0:30:000:30:06

for the international community to

come together in terms of

0:30:060:30:09

condemnation but also the

realpolitik of it is that Britain is

0:30:090:30:11

an important country but not the

kind of power that it once was and

0:30:110:30:16

so therefore for a response to seem

meaningful, it must be done in

0:30:160:30:20

conjunction with support, not just

warm words, from other countries.

0:30:200:30:26

That is why it will be very

interesting to see whether or not

0:30:260:30:29

the UK is granted its wish in having

a place of the Security Council in

0:30:290:30:35

New York at benighted nations. We

know that the response from the

0:30:350:30:39

United States was, in the end,

pretty much along the lines of what

0:30:390:30:43

the UK was looking for. We know that

the Prime Minister has spoken to

0:30:430:30:47

Angela Merkel. President macron was

the first world leader that she

0:30:470:30:50

spoke to about this. There has

definitely been an effort.

We will

0:30:500:30:56

see how Prime Minister's Questions

goes. Let's go to the comment about.

0:30:560:31:07

Members will also have seen reports

of a number of suspicious packages

0:31:180:31:23

targeting Muslim members. I am sure

the whole house will join in

0:31:230:31:28

condemning this app horror and

behaviour that has no place in our

0:31:280:31:32

society. I can tell the House an

investigation is under way and steps

0:31:320:31:37

are being taken to bring the

perpetrators to justice. I will make

0:31:370:31:41

a statement following PMQs updating

the house on the Salisbury incident.

0:31:410:31:45

This morning I had meetings, in

addition to my duties in this House

0:31:450:31:50

I will have further meetings today.

I want to thank the Prime Minister

0:31:500:31:56

for agreeing to meet with me to

discuss the work of the cross-party

0:31:560:32:02

use violence commission. Youth

violence is complex and needs

0:32:020:32:07

long-term solutions but some things

can be done now, such as legislating

0:32:070:32:12

to ensure all knives and sharp

instruments in shops are knocked

0:32:120:32:16

away or stored behind counters,

ensuring no one can steal them and

0:32:160:32:22

use them.

Will she do this? The honourable

0:32:220:32:26

lady raises an important issue. This

is a complex problem and we need to

0:32:260:32:33

ensure we have long-term solutions.

The Home Secretary will publish a

0:32:330:32:37

strategy that will put emphasis on

interventions early with young

0:32:370:32:41

people. It is important we have

tough legislation, but we need to

0:32:410:32:48

work in partnership with retailers.

We have consulted on measures

0:32:480:32:52

including restrictions on knives

sold online and in 2016 we reached a

0:32:520:32:57

voluntary agreement with major

retailers about how knives were

0:32:570:33:01

displayed and training given to

staff to support action to tackle

0:33:010:33:05

knife crime. She is right to raise

this as a concern.

0:33:050:33:11

On the subject of Northern Ireland,

does the Prime Minister stand-by

0:33:110:33:16

commitments made in the joint report

of December and will she confirm we

0:33:160:33:21

will accept nothing that will

undermine the integrity of the

0:33:210:33:24

United Kingdom.

Can I confirm that we stand by all

0:33:240:33:30

commitments we made in December. We

have been clear our preferred option

0:33:300:33:35

is to deliver them through the new

partnership with the EU with

0:33:350:33:39

solutions to address the unique

circumstances in Northern Ireland if

0:33:390:33:42

needed. The work we are undertaking

will include that on the final

0:33:420:33:47

so-called backdrop that will form

part of the agreement. I cannot

0:33:470:33:54

approve the text the commission

proposes. We stand ready to work

0:33:540:33:58

with commission and Irish

governments to ensure all

0:33:580:34:01

commitments are included in the

withdrawal agreement.

0:34:010:34:07

I along with the Prime Minister

absolutely condemn the vile messages

0:34:080:34:13

and threatening packages that have

been sent to Muslim members of the

0:34:130:34:16

house. Also the rise in Islamophobia

and abusive messages sent to Muslim

0:34:160:34:24

families all over the country. It

has to be condemned by all, as we

0:34:240:34:29

condemn anybody who attempts to

divide our country by racism or

0:34:290:34:34

extremism. We have to stand united

with any community under threat at

0:34:340:34:38

any time. I am sure the house will

join me in supporting what the Prime

0:34:380:34:46

Minister said about Stephen Hawking,

one of the most acclaimed scientists

0:34:460:34:50

of his generation who helped us to

understand about the world and

0:34:500:34:54

universe and was also concerned

about peace and the survival of the

0:34:540:34:59

world, and also a passionate

campaigner for the NHS. He said, I

0:34:590:35:05

have received excellent medical

attention in Britain. I believe in

0:35:050:35:10

universal health care and I am not

afraid to say so. If we believe in

0:35:100:35:15

universal health care, how can it be

possible someone lives and works in

0:35:150:35:20

this country, pays taxes, but is

denied access to the NHS for

0:35:200:35:27

life-saving cancer treatment?

Can the Prime Minister explain? I

0:35:270:35:33

join with him in saying there is no

place in society for hate crime or

0:35:330:35:40

racism. We should stand united

against such behaviour and

0:35:400:35:44

activities. Can I say to him that we

do ensure, and I am pleased we have

0:35:440:35:52

a good record on cancer provision we

make. We see more people surviving

0:35:520:35:57

cancer as a result of changes and

developments in the NHS, than ever

0:35:570:36:03

before. We works to ensure the

situation we are... The treatments

0:36:030:36:09

we are making available of the best

we can. I am not aware of the case

0:36:090:36:15

the right honourable gentleman

raises.

0:36:150:36:21

raises. But we do want to ensure all

those who are entitled to service

0:36:210:36:28

and treatment through the NHS are

able to achieve it. There are

0:36:280:36:33

questions around particular drug is

made available to individuals, which

0:36:330:36:37

we continue to look at.

I will be

writing to the Prime Minister about

0:36:370:36:43

the case. It is a man who has lived

in this country for 44 years, worked

0:36:430:36:50

and paid his taxes. He is an older

gentleman and is now denied cancer

0:36:500:36:55

treatment. I suspect he is not alone

and I urge her to discuss this with

0:36:550:37:01

the Home Office and others. I

received a letter from Hillary, a

0:37:010:37:06

British pensioner, and it goes to

the point the Prime Minister just

0:37:060:37:10

said, and she says, I am now having

to pay for my thyroid medication

0:37:100:37:16

because the CCG needs to save money.

I have worked all my life, paid

0:37:160:37:21

National Insurance and this is not

fair. Last March the Health

0:37:210:37:26

Secretary said it is essential we

get back to the 95% target for

0:37:260:37:32

accident and emergency waiting times

and he said it should happen, I

0:37:320:37:36

quote, in the course of the next

calendar year. The calendar year is

0:37:360:37:40

up, can she explain why this is no

longer possible?

On the individual

0:37:400:37:46

case I look forward to receiving

details from the right honourable

0:37:460:37:51

gentleman. May I take the

opportunity of reminding him I think

0:37:510:37:54

he raised a case about Georgina with

me last October and has not written

0:37:540:37:58

to me about that.

0:37:580:38:04

So... As I say, I look forward to

receiving the details of the case he

0:38:110:38:17

has just set out. What we have done

in relation to cancer treatment is

0:38:170:38:21

ensure there are more tests taking

place. We see more people being seen

0:38:210:38:28

by specialists for suspected cancer

and more people starting treatment

0:38:280:38:32

for cancer which is why I say we

have seen an improvement in cancer

0:38:320:38:36

treatment available in this country,

and in relation to accident and

0:38:360:38:42

emergency, we have more doctors

working in accident and emergency

0:38:420:38:45

and we have put more money in, for

winter pressures and to ensure

0:38:450:38:51

accident and emergency departments

can provide treatment right for the

0:38:510:38:54

patient before them, because for

some, they do not need to be

0:38:540:39:01

admitted to hospital, they need to

see a GP. We are working with the

0:39:010:39:06

NHS to ensure the treatment patients

receive is right for them.

My

0:39:060:39:13

understanding is Georgina's case was

resolved before. Following my

0:39:130:39:16

raising it here.

0:39:160:39:22

raising it here. If nothing else, Mr

Speaker, it proves the power of

0:39:250:39:28

Parliament. Key A&E waiting targets

have not been met since 2015. NHS

0:39:280:39:36

managers say they will not be met

until 2019, and February was the

0:39:360:39:41

worst ever month for accident and

emergency performances. The NHS

0:39:410:39:50

providers director said, this is the

first time we have had to accept the

0:39:500:39:55

NHS will not meet its key

constitutional standards, if we want

0:39:550:40:00

to provide quality of care, we need

the right long-term financial

0:40:000:40:04

settlement. The NHS is clearly in

crisis, so why was there not a penny

0:40:040:40:11

extra for the NHS in yesterday's

statement by the Chancellor?

We did

0:40:110:40:19

not wait until yesterday's Spring

statement to announce more money, we

0:40:190:40:22

announced it in the budget last

autumn. As a result of that the NHS

0:40:220:40:31

is getting £2.5 billion more in the

forthcoming financial year and more

0:40:310:40:36

to fund the nurses' pay settlement

when resolved.

0:40:360:40:43

when resolved.

Under Labour, the 18

week target for nonurgent operations

0:40:450:40:49

was in place. The target has been

abandoned by the Prime Minister.

0:40:490:40:54

When will it be reinstated? The

right honourable gentleman talks

0:40:540:41:00

under Labour things were being

delivered, perhaps he might look to

0:41:000:41:04

see what Labour are doing in Wales.

The latest annual data shows when

0:41:040:41:15

looking at 12 hour waiting times in

A&E that 3.4% of patients waited

0:41:150:41:20

over 12 hours in Wales, compared to

1.3% in England. If he wants to talk

0:41:200:41:27

about meeting targets he should talk

to a Labour government in Wales.

NHS

0:41:270:41:34

England abandoned the A&E targets

until April 20 19. It is a bit rich

0:41:340:41:39

for the Prime Minister to be

scaremongering about Wales when she

0:41:390:41:43

has abandoned targets in England. A

recent...

Order. Lots of questions

0:41:430:41:53

to get through.

A recent report

states NHS funding will fall by 0.3%

0:41:530:42:03

in 2019. People'slives are at stake.

Is the Prime Minister really saying

0:42:030:42:11

A&E doctors are wrong, NHS managers

are wrong, Royal colleges are wrong,

0:42:110:42:16

health unions are wrong, and

actually it is only she who knows

0:42:160:42:20

best about the NHS?

Can I point out

to the right honourable gentleman,

0:42:200:42:29

he talks about scaremongering in

Wales, I was pointing out the facts

0:42:290:42:33

about what is happening in the NHS

in Wales. That is why we do see

0:42:330:42:41

people in Wales often trying to get

treatment in England, rather than in

0:42:410:42:46

Wales. Can I also say, we are

putting more money into the NHS, but

0:42:460:42:56

what you need in order to be able to

do that is to ensure you have a

0:42:560:43:01

strong economy to provide the money

for the National Health Service.

0:43:010:43:04

What we know about Labour's

policies, it would cause a run on

0:43:040:43:08

the pound, cause a crash on the

economy and there would be less

0:43:080:43:13

money for the NHS.

When people are

dying because of overcrowding and

0:43:130:43:18

long waiting in hospitals I think

the Prime Minister should get a grip

0:43:180:43:21

on it and ensure the NHS now has the

money it needs to deal with the

0:43:210:43:26

patient demands. In a recent

interview the Health Secretary said

0:43:260:43:32

of NHS staff, when they signed up to

go into medicine, they knew there

0:43:320:43:37

would be pressurised moments. What

they also expected was a

0:43:370:43:41

recognition, annual pay rise,

without cuts in paid leave, proper

0:43:410:43:46

funding for the NHS. When there are

100,000 unfilled posts, clearly not

0:43:460:43:51

enough staff around them to share

the burden. We started with

0:43:510:43:58

Professor Stephen Hawking who said a

few months ago, there is

0:43:580:44:03

overwhelming evidence that NHS

funding and the number of doctors

0:44:030:44:06

and nurses are inadequate, and it is

getting worse.

Does she agree with

0:44:060:44:13

Professor Hawking? I am very happy

to point out facts. We have 14,900

0:44:130:44:22

more doctors in the NHS, we have

almost 13,900 more nurses working on

0:44:220:44:30

our wards, why did we put an

emphasis on nurses working in our

0:44:300:44:36

awards? Because of what we saw under

the Labour government in Mid

0:44:360:44:39

Staffordshire. And I say this, what

we need to do to ensure we can

0:44:390:44:46

provide the funding for the NHS, and

we are providing record levels of

0:44:460:44:51

funding for the NHS, is to ensure we

take a balanced approach to the

0:44:510:44:55

economy, an approach that deals with

debts, keeps taxes low on working

0:44:550:45:00

families, and puts more money into

public services like hospitals and

0:45:000:45:05

schools. Labour's approach would

increase debt and mean less money

0:45:050:45:09

for schools and hospitals, and it

would mean higher taxes for ordinary

0:45:090:45:14

working people because what we know

about the Labour Party, it is always

0:45:140:45:19

ordinary people who paid the price

of Labour.

0:45:190:45:25

Last week's launch of a consultation

on all aspects of domestic violence

0:45:280:45:32

will be widely welcomed in

Gloucester and across the country,

0:45:320:45:36

so will the Prime Minister, who has

done so much on these issues,

0:45:360:45:39

confirmed today that the Government

intends to increase spending, bed

0:45:390:45:45

provision and, when Cesare, women's

refuges so that those who have

0:45:450:45:49

survived get the help and save haven

they deserve?

My honourable friend

0:45:490:45:53

has raised a very important issue,

which I have not only given

0:45:530:45:58

considerable attention to but my

right honourable friend the Home

0:45:580:46:02

Secretary continues to follow. It is

a very important point. We are

0:46:020:46:07

entirely committed to developing a

sustainable funding model for

0:46:070:46:10

refugees. -- refugees. I can

guarantee that funding will continue

0:46:100:46:16

to refuges at a similar level to

today because I know how important

0:46:160:46:19

it is to people at a time of crisis.

We will increase the funding for

0:46:190:46:25

short-term supported housing overall

including Refuges indefinitely,

0:46:250:46:30

which means no refuge should worry

about closing or have any doubts

0:46:300:46:34

about our commitment to ensuring we

find a sustainable model for them.

0:46:340:46:42

Thank you, Mr spigot it can I

associate myself with the remarks of

0:46:420:46:45

the Prime Minister and the Labour

Party leader about Islam phobia and

0:46:450:46:51

our thoughts are with the family and

friends of doctor Steven Holker in.

0:46:510:46:54

Mr Speaker, four months the devolved

administrations have been waiting

0:46:540:47:00

for the devolved straight to table

amendments to close 11. On Monday

0:47:000:47:03

bees long awaited amendments were

published but without the agreement

0:47:030:47:07

of the devolved governments. Can the

Prime Minister Talbot House why

0:47:070:47:14

these amendments have been forced on

the devolved administrations?

Can I

0:47:140:47:19

say to him, in one sentence he says

he was waiting for this amendment,

0:47:190:47:24

and the reason we were taking time

is because we were talking with the

0:47:240:47:27

Scottish Government and the Welsh

Government, and when we do publish,

0:47:270:47:35

we -- he complains that we have

published it. You need to get his

0:47:350:47:39

sorry state it

I would encourage the

Prime Minister to listen to the

0:47:390:47:42

question because it was a about

agreement. The Prime Minister

0:47:420:47:48

famously claimed that the UK was

made up of equal partners. What an

0:47:480:47:52

irony, now that she is overseeing

the demolition of the demolition

0:47:520:47:57

settlement. In 1997, the Tories were

happy to oppose the re-establishment

0:47:570:48:01

of the Scottish

0:48:010:48:06

of the Scottish Parliament. Things

haven't changed. Now in 2018 they

0:48:070:48:10

are happy to systematically

destroyed the settlement that the

0:48:100:48:13

parliament provides for. Can I call

upon the Prime Minister once again -

0:48:130:48:19

stop this attack on devolution and

redouble your efforts in working

0:48:190:48:22

with the devolved administrations

and finding agreement.

0:48:220:48:28

and finding agreement.

This is a

government that has given more

0:48:290:48:30

powers to the Scottish Government,

this is a government that will be

0:48:300:48:35

giving more powers to the Scottish

Government, significant extra powers

0:48:350:48:39

will be devolved to the Scottish and

Welsh Government as a result of the

0:48:390:48:42

decisions we are taking around

Brexit. But we have given more

0:48:420:48:46

powers, including, of course, the

tax-raising powers. It is just a

0:48:460:48:51

pity that the Scottish Nationalists

have chosen to use their tax-raising

0:48:510:48:55

powers on people earning £26,000 or

more.

0:48:550:49:02

more.

Horsham last week held an

apprenticeship there, hailed as a

0:49:020:49:07

success. Since 2010 there has been a

70% reduction in youth unemployment.

0:49:070:49:14

Nationally we see increasing

exports, increasing productivity,

0:49:140:49:16

increasing real wages. Were right

honourable friend remind the House

0:49:160:49:21

that it is that sustained economic

performance that underpins our

0:49:210:49:25

investment in our value public

services?

Can I commend Horsham for

0:49:250:49:31

holding an apprenticeship there. It

is important we give young people an

0:49:310:49:35

opportunity for those

apprenticeships but he is right, we

0:49:350:49:38

can only fund those public services

if we have the strength and our

0:49:380:49:41

economy providing the income to

enable us to do that. In the last

0:49:410:49:45

few weeks we have seen money factory

output which has grown for several

0:49:450:49:51

months for the first time since

1968. We have seen the best two

0:49:510:49:56

quarters of productivity growth

since the financial crisis and the

0:49:560:49:59

lowest year-to-date net borrowing

since 2008 and employment near a

0:49:590:50:03

record high. That is what

Conservatives are doing, delivering

0:50:030:50:06

a strong economy, new jobs,

healthier finances, an economy that

0:50:060:50:11

is really fit for the future. Mr

Speaker, last week GKN workers came

0:50:110:50:17

to Parliament, typically 2530 years'

service, their mums and dads before

0:50:170:50:23

them working for a British

engineering icon 259 years old. Sat

0:50:230:50:30

opposite were the three fabulously

wealthy owners of Melrose,

0:50:300:50:34

determined to stage a hostile

takeover of their company, break it

0:50:340:50:37

up and sell it off. Can I ask the

Prime Minister this - she told

0:50:370:50:42

parliament she would at a national

interest. The next ten days will

0:50:420:50:46

decide the future. Wushu use the

powers she has two intervened to

0:50:460:50:52

block this hostile takeover in the

British national interest?

I say to

0:50:520:50:57

the honourable gentleman, as he

knows, the Business Secretary has

0:50:570:51:00

been speaking to both of these

companies on an impartial basis. We

0:51:000:51:04

will always act in the UK national

interest. Actually, it is under this

0:51:040:51:10

government that we've seen the

changes introduced to the takeover

0:51:100:51:14

code to provide greater transparency

to give target firms more time to

0:51:140:51:17

respond. There are a narrow range of

scenarios where ministers can

0:51:170:51:23

intervene on mergers on public

interest grounds but we will always

0:51:230:51:27

act in the national interest.

0:51:270:51:34

act in the national interest.

3157

medical students are going into

0:51:340:51:36

general practice this year, which is

excellent news. But we are still

0:51:360:51:43

losing too many experienced GPs in

their mid-50s due to the tax

0:51:430:51:48

penalties on their old pension

scheme. Would be Government look at

0:51:480:51:54

a targeted, time-limited exemption

on this dedicated group of

0:51:540:51:59

commissions who do so much for the

health of us all?

This is an

0:51:590:52:05

important point. As he will know,

experienced senior hospital doctors

0:52:050:52:10

and GPs who become a member of the

National Health Service pensions

0:52:100:52:14

scheme benefit from one of the best

defined benefit occupational health

0:52:140:52:18

schemes and we provide generous tax

relief stoop allow everyone to build

0:52:180:52:22

up a pension pot worth just over £1

million tax-free but the issue he is

0:52:220:52:27

raising is that GPs are not

penalised if they work after age 55

0:52:270:52:33

but many may have exhausted the

generous allowance for tax relief

0:52:330:52:36

that is available by that time. But

I can say to the honourable friend

0:52:360:52:41

that the Chancellor of the Exchequer

was listening to a question that he

0:52:410:52:44

raised.

The 13th of April this year

represents the 99th

0:52:440:52:59

represents the 99th anniversary of a

massacre in India, in which more

0:52:590:53:03

than 1000 peaceful protesters were

murdered by soldiers under the

0:53:030:53:07

command of general Dire. Will the

Prime Minister join me in

0:53:070:53:12

commemorating the massacre and meet

with me and others campaigning for

0:53:120:53:16

this shameful episode to be

remembered across the UK?

The

0:53:160:53:20

honourable gentleman has raised a

very specific issue and a very

0:53:200:53:24

specific point and I will be happy

to look at the question he has

0:53:240:53:27

raised with me and respond in

writing.

In my constituency,

0:53:270:53:33

Farnborough in the borough of

Rushmore, is the birthplace of

0:53:330:53:36

British aviation and now home to a

thriving range of aviation,

0:53:360:53:42

aerospace and other businesses. Will

the Prime Minister join me in

0:53:420:53:45

extending our best wishes to the

Zephyr team as they look forward to

0:53:450:53:49

making a world record breaking

attempt for high altitude unmanned

0:53:490:53:53

aviation?

I'm very happy to join

with my honourable friend in wishing

0:53:530:53:59

all the very best to the Zephyr team

in the attempt they are making but

0:53:590:54:02

he is right that his constituency

plays a very crucial role in the

0:54:020:54:05

aerospace industry and I am pleased

to say that we are continuing to

0:54:050:54:10

work with that industry through the

aerospace growth partnership, to

0:54:100:54:14

ensure that we can further enhance

that industry and we wish the Zephyr

0:54:140:54:17

team well.

UK has the lowest growth

in the G7, so why is the Government

0:54:170:54:23

's answer to this to give hand-outs

to the wealthiest bankers to fund an

0:54:230:54:29

already lavish lifestyle, paid for

by taking the crumbs off the table

0:54:290:54:35

of those on Universal Credit, whose

children depend on free school

0:54:350:54:39

meals?

0:54:390:54:46

meals?

First of all, the honourable

gentleman might not have noticed

0:54:460:54:49

that the wealthiest 1% people in

this country are now paying the

0:54:490:54:52

biggest share of tax, 28%, than they

ever did under a Labour government.

0:54:520:55:00

If he is referring to the bank levy,

can I also say to him, it was the

0:55:000:55:07

Conservative Party that introduced

the bank levy that has raised £15

0:55:070:55:10

billion and is predicted to raise a

further £11 billion that we can

0:55:100:55:15

spend on public services. It is the

Conservative government that is

0:55:150:55:17

changing the way we do it so we do

it in a better way, so in future we

0:55:170:55:23

will be raising nearly £19 billion

extra from the banks over the next

0:55:230:55:28

five years. That is £3 billion more

money from the banks to be spent on

0:55:280:55:32

public services.

0:55:320:55:39

public services.

Great British food

is produced by hard-working farming

0:55:390:55:41

families in this country. As we

produce the new British agricultural

0:55:410:55:48

policy, does my right honourable

friend agree with me that supporting

0:55:480:55:51

food production in this country is a

public good?

I'm very happy to agree

0:55:510:55:59

with my honourable friend. The

importance of food production in

0:55:590:56:02

this country... I am also happy to

commend the work of hard-working

0:56:020:56:05

farmers up and down the country, but

also all those who work in our food

0:56:050:56:11

production industry and we now have,

as he will know, a historic

0:56:110:56:15

opportunity as we leave the EU to

deliver a farming policy that is

0:56:150:56:18

going to work for the whole

industry.

Just minutes ago, Facebook

0:56:180:56:23

announced that they will be taking

down several pages associated with

0:56:230:56:26

the extremist group Britain First.

Does the primaries to join me in

0:56:260:56:32

welcoming that, but does she not

also accept that Benny is to be a

0:56:320:56:36

clear rule provided by government to

give guidance to social media

0:56:360:56:39

companies on how they operate in our

democracy

I certainly welcome at

0:56:390:56:46

announcement by Facebook and I'm

pleased to say that my right

0:56:460:56:49

honourable friend the Home Secretary

has been working with these

0:56:490:56:51

companies to ensure that they do do

more, act more clearly in taking

0:56:510:56:56

down material of an extremist

nature, but I'm very pleased to

0:56:560:57:00

welcome the announcement that

Facebook has made and I hope other

0:57:000:57:02

companies will follow.

May I first

congratulate the Prime Minister on

0:57:020:57:08

her pioneering work in fighting

modern day slavery. However, has she

0:57:080:57:12

been advised that the central plank

of her law enforcement policy is not

0:57:120:57:16

working? With 65 prosecutions of

traffickers abandoned last year

0:57:160:57:20

because of victim fear as to their

safety and no reparations orders to

0:57:200:57:25

compensate victims for the ordeal is

made against convicted traffickers?

0:57:250:57:31

I thank the raising what is a very

important issue. In fact, at the

0:57:310:57:36

meeting that I chaired recently in a

matter of two weeks ago, I think it

0:57:360:57:41

was, of the Modern Slavery Bill task

force that I have brought together

0:57:410:57:44

to bring people from across

government but also from law

0:57:440:57:47

enforcement, from the judiciary...

Sorry, from criminal justice more

0:57:470:57:52

generally, and from others to look

at how we are working on this, we

0:57:520:57:58

are looking at prosecutions and how

we can ensure that more prosecutions

0:57:580:58:01

go ahead in future and perpetrators

are brought to justice.

Shockingly

0:58:010:58:08

in this country, in 2017, there were

2120 children who were identified as

0:58:080:58:15

being a potential victims of child

slavery. I know the Prime Minister's

0:58:150:58:21

personal commitment to tackling this

issue but surely we ought to have

0:58:210:58:25

more data. We have no idea how many

of those children go missing, we

0:58:250:58:30

have no idea how many are deported

and we have no idea how many are

0:58:300:58:35

trafficked again. In this country in

2018, a modern democracy, that isn't

0:58:350:58:40

to not good enough. Can the Prime

Minister tell us what she will do

0:58:400:58:44

about that?

He has raised a very

important issue and it has for a

0:58:440:58:49

long time where children identified

as the victims of slavery and human

0:58:490:58:54

trafficking, and when sometimes we

do see them, sadly, being in a

0:58:540:58:58

position where they are then able to

be taken out by traffickers and

0:58:580:59:04

resubmitted to the horrible

circumstances that that brings to

0:59:040:59:06

them. Just on the point that he is

making about asylum and deportation,

0:59:060:59:11

we don't return unaccompanied

children who don't qualify for

0:59:110:59:16

asylum or humanitarian protection

unless we can confirm that there are

0:59:160:59:19

safe and adequate reception

programmes and arrangements in place

0:59:190:59:22

in their home country, and if we

can't confirm such arrangements we

0:59:220:59:26

grant temporary leave up until the

child is 17.5. We confirmed our

0:59:260:59:31

commitment to roll out independent

child trafficking advocates across

0:59:310:59:34

the country. This is a system we

piloted previously, which will give

0:59:340:59:38

support to those child victims to

ensure they are given the support

0:59:380:59:42

they need and they don't fall back

into the hands of traffickers.

Like

0:59:420:59:49

many towns and cities across the

country, Telford has had some

0:59:490:59:54

experiences of distressing cases of

child sexual exploitation. The

0:59:540:59:59

authorities in Telford have now

agreed to conduct an independent

0:59:591:00:03

inquiry to find out what happened

and to give victims answers. Will my

1:00:031:00:08

right honourable friend join me in

congratulating two brave women,

1:00:081:00:12

campaigner Holly archer and Sunday

Mirror journalist Geraldine McKelvey

1:00:121:00:18

for their working bringing this

about and will she do everything

1:00:181:00:22

possible to ensure this inquiry

starts without delay and leaves no

1:00:221:00:25

stone unturned?

1:00:251:00:29

I think we have all been shocked by

the horrific case we have seen in

1:00:291:00:35

Telford or some of the most

vulnerable being preyed upon by

1:00:351:00:39

ruthless criminals.

Sadly this is

not the first example we have seen

1:00:391:00:43

taking place across our country. I

am happy to join my honourable

1:00:431:00:48

friend in congratulating Holly and

Geraldine for their work. It is not

1:00:481:00:53

easy but it is right they have

brought this to light and action can

1:00:531:00:56

be taken and I am pleased the

authorities will conduct an enquiry.

1:00:561:01:00

It is important it begins its work

in order to get to the truth does it

1:01:001:01:05

as quickly as possible. I understand

my honourable friend will meet

1:01:051:01:13

Parliamentary Under Secretary for

crime, safeguarding and

1:01:131:01:15

vulnerability to discuss this.

Shortly after the Prime Minister

1:01:151:01:20

took office she said she wanted to

put the government on the side of

1:01:201:01:24

the poorest in society. She even

stood in front of a crumbling sign

1:01:241:01:29

that said she wanted a country that

works for everyone, but with the

1:01:291:01:34

recent IFS report stating 37% of

children are set to live in poverty

1:01:341:01:40

by 2022, what went wrong, Prime

Minister?

1:01:401:01:46

Minister?

We have seen 200,000 fewer

children living in absolute poverty

1:01:461:01:50

under this government. We continue

to take action to ensure we are

1:01:501:01:55

helping families get a regular

income by helping people into work,

1:01:551:01:59

we are ensuring the lowest paid get

that pay increase, through

1:01:591:02:06

increasing the national living wage,

and ensuring we help people with the

1:02:061:02:08

standard of living by cutting taxes

for 31 million people.

Is she aware

1:02:081:02:17

the inspirational music man project

in Southend that works with people

1:02:171:02:21

who have learning difficulties has

now set a world record for tinkling

1:02:211:02:26

of the most number of triangles

ever? Does my right honourable

1:02:261:02:33

friend agree that is yet another

reason why Southend should be made a

1:02:331:02:38

city, and will she please now

organise a contest with her

1:02:381:02:45

honourable friends so that Southend

becomes the first post Brexit city?

1:02:451:02:52

I am very happy to congratulate the

music man project in Southend for

1:02:521:02:56

the record achieved in tinkling

triangles. I am sure he has heard

1:02:561:03:04

his bid for Southend to become a

city. I have to say that of course

1:03:041:03:08

there will be a number of members of

the house who will put forward their

1:03:081:03:12

own towns for that accolade. I knew

a city had to have a cathedral, I

1:03:121:03:18

did not know it had to have tinkling

triangles and!

The Prime Minister

1:03:181:03:22

will be

1:03:221:03:27

will be aware the notorious rapist

John Worboys was released from high

1:03:281:03:33

security prison. One of my

constituents who gave evidence at

1:03:331:03:36

his trial as a victim wants to know

why he was not tested first in open

1:03:361:03:43

prison conditions, and why the

parole board is not required to

1:03:431:03:48

publish the reasoning behind its

release decisions, including

1:03:481:03:50

evidence of contrition?

There is a

case before the courts at the moment

1:03:501:03:57

and I understand as part of the case

the parole board will be required to

1:03:571:04:01

explain the reasons why they took

the decision but in terms of the

1:04:011:04:04

overall issue of parole board

decisions, when this decision became

1:04:041:04:11

clear, my right honourable friend

the then Justice Secretary called

1:04:111:04:18

for work to be done which is being

continued under the current Justice

1:04:181:04:23

Secretary to look at the question of

decisions and transparency around

1:04:231:04:27

them.

Thank you. I am immensely

proud to have the world's leading

1:04:271:04:37

teaching hospital of Adam Brookes in

my constituency. Their excellence

1:04:371:04:41

means they rely heavily on doctors

from overseas but of late have

1:04:411:04:45

struggled to bring doctors in

because of restrictions on visa

1:04:451:04:51

numbers and with applications

reducing, it is a problem. Can you

1:04:511:04:56

reassure me and Adam

1:04:561:05:01

reassure me and Adam -- the

hospital?

I am aware of that

1:05:021:05:05

particular issue. In the longer

term, one of the things we are doing

1:05:051:05:10

is to ensure we can train more

doctors in the UK but I am aware of

1:05:101:05:14

the issue she has raised.

I will

look into it. Last year the Prime

1:05:141:05:21

Minister acknowledged our social

care system is broken and promised

1:05:211:05:25

to fix it. Since then two care

providers in Crewe and Nantwich have

1:05:251:05:30

been placed in special measures and

another is worried it may close

1:05:301:05:33

because of a lack of funding. What

do she say to providers whose state

1:05:331:05:40

the local government settlement does

not go far enough and they cannot

1:05:401:05:43

afford to wait for the government

green paper?

I would say that as she

1:05:431:05:49

will know, I have always said there

were short-term measures that needed

1:05:491:05:53

to be taken in terms of pressure on

social care and medium and long-term

1:05:531:05:57

measures. In the short-term we have

provided more funding, 2 billion

1:05:571:06:03

extra was announced by the

Chancellor. We are seeing more money

1:06:031:06:07

going into social care in local

authorities. In the medium term we

1:06:071:06:11

need to assure best practice is

spread across the country and we

1:06:111:06:16

also need to ensure we can develop a

long-term sustainable funding model

1:06:161:06:20

and that is what we continue to work

on.

It is sadly a matter of public

1:06:201:06:30

record that RBS and HBOS

deliberately asset stripped

1:06:301:06:34

thousands of potentially viable

businesses to benefit their own bank

1:06:341:06:37

or bankers. Evidence before the High

Court indicates Lloyds might also

1:06:371:06:41

beat guilty of the same. Would she

considered the cause of the

1:06:411:06:47

all-party group for their business

banking, which has been endorsed by

1:06:471:06:52

the chief executive Andrew Bailey

for a public inquiry into this

1:06:521:06:57

disgraceful scandal?

This is an

issue of concern to many. Small

1:06:571:07:04

businesses the backbone of the

economy and we need to ensure we

1:07:041:07:06

learn lessons from what happened at

RBS and HBOS. The SCA has reported

1:07:061:07:14

areas of widespread inappropriate

treatment of firms by RBS, who

1:07:141:07:18

apologised and set up a compensation

scheme for victims. There an

1:07:181:07:23

investigation conducted by the SCA

into RBS and also they are

1:07:231:07:29

undertaking separate investigations

into HBOS but we will continue to

1:07:291:07:32

work with the regulator and industry

to ensure small and medium

1:07:321:07:35

businesses get the support they

need.

Since Christmas there have

1:07:351:07:41

been five high-profile gun crimes in

Haringey, including last Thursday

1:07:411:07:48

when a 19-year-old young man was

shot in the head with the Marx man

1:07:481:07:53

on the back of the mopeds, to the

entrance of the cinema inward green.

1:07:531:07:58

We know our streets are plagued by

knife crime, now the intent to kill

1:07:581:08:02

with a gun takes the epidemic to a

new level. It cannot go one. Will

1:08:021:08:08

the Prime Minister meet with me and

community leaders to put an end to

1:08:081:08:13

this epidemic of gun crime?

1:08:131:08:19

this epidemic of gun crime?

I

suggest she meets with the Home

1:08:191:08:21

Secretary who will publish a

strategy in relation to this issue

1:08:211:08:26

of serious violence that takes

place. We are concerned about... The

1:08:261:08:29

use of mopeds has been used for

snatching amasses what we have been

1:08:291:08:37

looking at and working on with the

police but on the issue of gun

1:08:371:08:40

crime, I am sure my right honourable

friend will meet her.

1:08:401:08:49

friend will meet her.

Could I agree

entirely with what the member said,

1:08:491:08:53

the Prime Minister has done more

than anyone to end the terrible

1:08:531:08:57

modern day slavery but we have one

problem and that is the treatment of

1:08:571:09:03

child victims. They are put in the

care of local authorities. They are

1:09:031:09:08

then trafficked again. Could we have

a system like we do for adults when

1:09:081:09:13

safe homes all provided Sentry, not

by local government, so that

1:09:131:09:18

trafficking again can not occur? He

follows up on an important point

1:09:181:09:25

about child victims of trafficking.

I will look at the issue he has

1:09:251:09:30

raised. The Independent child

advocates I referred to was one way

1:09:301:09:36

where we can give greater support to

child victims to ensure we do not

1:09:361:09:42

see them being lost to the local

authorities and trafficked again

1:09:421:09:46

because it is a scandal when a

victim goes into the care of the

1:09:461:09:50

local authority and somebody comes

along and removes them from care and

1:09:501:09:55

takes them back into slavery.

Order.

Statement.

1:09:551:10:04

Do everything

1:10:441:10:44

I set out that Sergei Skripal and

his daughter were poisoned with

1:10:511:10:56

Novichok, a military grade nerve

agent developed by Russia.

1:10:561:11:06

The UK Government concluded it was

highly likely it was Russia who was

1:11:101:11:15

responsible for this reckless and

despicable act. There were only two

1:11:151:11:21

plausible explanations, either a

direct act by the Russian state

1:11:211:11:24

against our country or the Russian

government could have lost control

1:11:241:11:28

of the military grade nerve agent

and allowed it to get into the hands

1:11:281:11:31

of others. Mr Speaker it was right

to offer Russia the opportunity to

1:11:311:11:37

provide an explanation. Their

response has demonstrated complete

1:11:371:11:41

disdain for the gravity of these

events. They have provided no

1:11:411:11:47

credible explanation that could

suggest they lost control of their

1:11:471:11:51

nerve agent. No explanation as to

how this agent came to be used in

1:11:511:11:56

the United Kingdom, no explanation

as to why Russia has a chemical

1:11:561:12:03

weapons programme not declared in

contravention of international law.

1:12:031:12:07

Instead, they have treated the use

of the military grade nerve agent in

1:12:071:12:12

Europe with sarcasm, contempt and

defiance. Mr Speaker, there is no

1:12:121:12:18

alternative conclusion other than

the Russian state was culpable for

1:12:181:12:21

the attempted murder of Sergei

Skripal and his daughter and for

1:12:211:12:27

threatening the lives of other

British citizens in Salisbury,

1:12:271:12:31

including Detective Sergeant Nick

Bailey. It is an unlawful use of

1:12:311:12:37

force by the Russian state against

the UK. It has taken place against

1:12:371:12:41

the backdrop of a well-established

pattern of Russian state aggression

1:12:411:12:46

across Europe and beyond. It must

therefore be met with a robust

1:12:461:12:51

response beyond the actions we have

already taken, since the murder of

1:12:511:12:56

Mr Litvinenko and to counter this

pattern of Russian aggression

1:12:561:13:00

elsewhere. As the discussion on

Monday May clear, it is essential we

1:13:001:13:04

come together with allies to defend

our security, to stand up for our

1:13:041:13:10

values, and to send a clear message

to those who would seek to undermine

1:13:101:13:15

them. This morning I chaired a

meeting of the National Security

1:13:151:13:19

Council where we agreed immediate

action to dismantle the Russian

1:13:191:13:23

espionage network in the UK, urgent

work to develop new powers to tackle

1:13:231:13:27

all forms of hostile state activity

and to ensure those seeking to carry

1:13:271:13:33

out such activity cannot enter the

UK and additional steps to suspend

1:13:331:13:37

all planned high-level contacts

between the United Kingdom and the

1:13:371:13:42

Russian Federation. Let me start

with immediate actions. The house

1:13:421:13:47

will recall that following the

murder of Mr Litvinenko, the UK

1:13:471:13:53

expelled four diplomats. Under the

Vienna Convention on the United

1:13:531:13:57

Kingdom will now expelled 23 Russian

diplomats, who have been identified

1:13:571:14:03

as undeclared intelligence officers.

They have just one week to leave. It

1:14:031:14:08

will be the single biggest expulsion

for over 30 years and reflects the

1:14:081:14:12

fact it is not the first time the

Russian state has acted against our

1:14:121:14:17

country. Through these expulsions we

will fundamentally degrade Russian

1:14:171:14:22

intelligence capability in the UK

for years to come and if they seek

1:14:221:14:29

to rebuild it, we will prevent them

from doing so. We will urgently

1:14:291:14:32

develop proposals for new powers to

harden defences against all forms of

1:14:321:14:37

hostile state activity. It will

include the addition of the targeted

1:14:371:14:41

power to detain those suspected of

hostile state activity at the UK

1:14:411:14:45

border. This power is only permitted

currently in relation to those

1:14:451:14:50

suspected of terrorism. I have asked

the Home Secretary to consider

1:14:501:14:55

whether there is a need for new

counter espionage powers to clamp

1:14:551:14:58

down on the

1:14:581:15:04

As I set out on Monday we will table

a government amendment to... In

1:15:071:15:14

doing so, we will play our part in

an international effort to punish

1:15:141:15:18

those responsible for the sorts of

abuses suffered by surrogate

1:15:181:15:23

Magnitsky and I hope, as with all

the measures I'm setting out today,

1:15:231:15:27

this will command cross-party

support. We will also make full use

1:15:271:15:32

of existing powers to enhance our

efforts to monitor and track the

1:15:321:15:36

intentions of those travelling to

the UK who could be engaged in

1:15:361:15:39

activity that of the UK and bye

allies, so we will increase checksum

1:15:391:15:46

private flights, customs and

freight. We will freeze Russian

1:15:461:15:51

state assets wherever we have the

evidence that they may be used to

1:15:511:15:54

threaten the life or property of UK

nationals or residents and, led by

1:15:541:16:01

National Crime Agency, we will

continue to bring all the

1:16:011:16:03

capabilities of UK law enforcement

to bear against serious criminals

1:16:031:16:06

and corrupt elites. There is no

place for these people or their

1:16:061:16:10

money in our country. Mr Speaker,

let me be clear - while our response

1:16:101:16:17

must be robust, it must also remain

true to our values as a liberal

1:16:171:16:21

democracy that believes in the rule

of law. Many Russians have made this

1:16:211:16:26

country their home, abide by our

laws and make an important

1:16:261:16:30

contribution to our country, which

we must continue to welcome. But to

1:16:301:16:35

those who seek to do us harm, my

message is simple - you are not

1:16:351:16:39

welcome here. Let me turn to our

bilateral relationship. As I said on

1:16:391:16:45

Monday, we have had a very simple

approach to Russia - engaged but

1:16:451:16:50

beware - and I continue to believe

it is not in our national interest

1:16:501:16:53

to break off all dialogue between

the UK and the Russian Federation.

1:16:531:16:57

But in the aftermath of this

appalling attack against our

1:16:571:17:00

country, this relationship cannot be

the same so we will suspend all

1:17:001:17:06

planned high level bilateral

contacts between the UK and the

1:17:061:17:09

Russian Federation. This includes

revoking the invitation to Foreign

1:17:091:17:13

Minister Lovegrove to pay a

reciprocal visit to the UK and

1:17:131:17:15

confirming there will be no

attendance by ministers or bumpers

1:17:151:17:18

of the Royal family at this summer's

World Cup in Russia. Finally, we

1:17:181:17:24

will deploy a range of tools from

across the full breadth of our

1:17:241:17:27

national security apparatus in order

to counter the threats of hostile

1:17:271:17:33

state activity. We will set out some

of these measures today. Members on

1:17:331:17:37

all sides will understand that there

are some that cannot...

1:17:371:17:47

are some that cannot... Should we

face further Russian provocation.

1:17:471:17:51

None of the actions we take are

intended to damage legitimate

1:17:511:17:55

activity or prevent contacts between

our populations. We have no

1:17:551:18:00

disagreement with the people of

Russia, who have been responsible

1:18:001:18:03

for so many great achievements

throughout their history. Many of us

1:18:031:18:08

looked at a post-Soviet Russia with

hope. We wanted a better

1:18:081:18:13

relationship and it is tragic that

President Putin has chosen to act in

1:18:131:18:17

this way. But we will not tolerate

the threat to life or British people

1:18:171:18:22

and others on British soil from the

Russian government, nor will we

1:18:221:18:26

tolerate such a flagrant breach of

Russia's international obligations.

1:18:261:18:31

As I set out on Monday, the United

Kingdom does not stand alone in

1:18:311:18:36

confronting Russian aggression. In

the last 24 hours, I've spoken to

1:18:361:18:40

President Trump, Chancellor Merkel

and President Macron. We have agreed

1:18:401:18:44

to cooperate closely in responding

to this barbaric act and coordinate

1:18:441:18:48

our efforts to stand up for the

rules -based international order

1:18:481:18:51

which Russia seeks to undermine. I

will also speak to other allies and

1:18:511:18:56

partners in the coming days and I

welcome the strong expressions of

1:18:561:19:00

support from Nato and from partners

across the European Union and

1:19:001:19:04

beyond. Later today in New York, the

UN Security Council will hold open

1:19:041:19:10

consultations, where we will be

pushing for a robust international

1:19:101:19:14

response. We have also notified the

Organisation for the Prohibition of

1:19:141:19:19

Chemical Weapons about Russia's use

of this nerve agent and we are

1:19:191:19:22

working with the police to enable

the OPCW to independently verify our

1:19:221:19:26

analysis. Mr Speaker, this was not

just an act of attempted murder in

1:19:261:19:33

Salisbury, nor just an act against

the UK. It is an affront to the

1:19:331:19:37

prohibition of the use of chemical

weapons and it is an affront to the

1:19:371:19:40

rules -based system on which we and

our international partners depend.

1:19:401:19:47

We will work with our allies and

partners to confront such actions

1:19:471:19:50

wherever they threaten our security

at home and abroad and I commend

1:19:501:19:54

this statement to the house.

Jeremy

Corbyn.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I

1:19:541:20:03

would like to thank the Prime

Minister Brad Barnes side of her

1:20:031:20:05

statement and echo absolutely her

words about the service of our

1:20:051:20:10

emergency services. -- for advanced

site. The attack in Salisbury was an

1:20:101:20:16

appalling act of violence. Nerve

agents are abominable if used in any

1:20:161:20:20

walk. It is utterly reckless to use

them in a civilian environment. This

1:20:201:20:26

attack on Britain has concerned our

allies in the European Union, Nato

1:20:261:20:28

and the UN and their words of

solidarity has strengthened our

1:20:281:20:34

position diplomatically. Our

response as a country must be guided

1:20:341:20:37

by the rule of law, support for

international agreements and respect

1:20:371:20:43

for human rights. So when it comes

to the use of chemical weapons on

1:20:431:20:47

British soil, it is essential that

the Government works with the United

1:20:471:20:52

Nations to strengthen its chemical

weapons monitoring system and

1:20:521:20:57

involves the office of the

prohibition of chemical weapons. The

1:20:571:21:01

Prime Minister said on Monday,

either this was a direct act by the

1:21:011:21:05

Russian state or the Russian

government lost control of their

1:21:051:21:08

potentially catastrophically

damaging nerve agent and allowed it

1:21:081:21:12

to get in the hands of others. Our

response must be both decisive and

1:21:121:21:18

proportionate and based on clear

evidence. Is the Government believes

1:21:181:21:23

that it is still a possibility that

Russia negligently lost control of a

1:21:231:21:29

military grade nerve agent, what

action is being taken through the

1:21:291:21:33

OPCW with our allies? I welcome the

fact the police are working with the

1:21:331:21:39

OPCW... And has the Prime Minister

taken the necessary steps under the

1:21:391:21:45

chemical weapons convention to make

a formal request for evidence from

1:21:451:21:51

the Russian government under article

9.2? How has she responded to the

1:21:511:21:58

Russian government's request for a

sample of the agent used in the

1:21:581:22:01

Salisbury attack to run its own

tests?

1:22:011:22:08

tests? Has high-resolution trace

analysis been run on a sample of the

1:22:081:22:12

nerve agent, and has that revealed

any evidence as to the location of

1:22:121:22:17

its production or the identity of

its perpetrators? And can the Prime

1:22:171:22:24

Minister update the house on what

conversations, if any, she has had

1:22:241:22:28

with the Russian government? And,

while suspending planned high level

1:22:281:22:37

contact, does the Prime Minister

agree that it is essential to

1:22:371:22:40

maintain a robust dialogue with

Russia? In the interests of our own

1:22:401:22:47

and wider international security.

With many countries, Mr Speaker,

1:22:471:22:54

speaking out alongside us, the

circumstances demanded that we build

1:22:541:23:02

an international consensus to

address the use of chemical weapons.

1:23:021:23:06

We should urge our international

allies to join us and call on Russia

1:23:061:23:10

to reveal without delay full details

of its chemical weapons programme to

1:23:101:23:19

the Organisation for the Prohibition

of Chemical Weapons. It is, as we on

1:23:191:23:24

these benches have expressed before,

a matter of huge regret that our

1:23:241:23:29

country's diplomatic capacity has

been stripped back, with cuts of 25%

1:23:291:23:34

in the last five years. It is, Mr

1:23:341:23:42

SHOUTING

1:23:421:23:48

It is, Mr Speaker...

Order! The

right honourable gentleman must be

1:23:481:23:51

heard. There will be adequate

opportunity for colleagues on both

1:23:511:23:56

sides of the house to put questions.

Members must be heard. Jeremy

1:23:561:24:02

Corbyn.

I couldn't understand a word

of what the Foreign Secretary just

1:24:021:24:07

said, Mr Speaker, but his behaviour

demeans his office.

1:24:071:24:09

SHOUTING

It is in moments... It is in moments

1:24:091:24:16

such as these that governments

realise how vital strong diplomacy

1:24:161:24:20

and political pressure are four hour

security and national interest. The

1:24:201:24:26

measures we take have to be

effective, not just for the

1:24:261:24:30

long-term security of our citizens

but to secure a world free of

1:24:301:24:34

chemical weapons. So, can the Prime

Minister outline what discussions

1:24:341:24:42

she has had with our partners in the

European Union, Nato and the UN, and

1:24:421:24:46

what willingness there was to take

multilateral action? While the

1:24:461:24:52

poisonings, Mr Speaker, of Sergei

and you Beer Skripal are confronting

1:24:521:24:57

us today, what efforts are being

made by the government to assess the

1:24:571:25:04

death of Mr Skripal's daughter who

died in 2012 and the death of his

1:25:041:25:09

elder brother and son, who have both

died in the past two years? We have

1:25:091:25:13

a duty to speak out against the --

abuse of human rights by a

1:25:131:25:18

government and its borders both at

home and abroad and I join many

1:25:181:25:22

others in this house in paying

tribute to the many campaigners in

1:25:221:25:27

Russia for human rights and justice

and democracy in that country. And,

1:25:271:25:33

Mr Speaker, we must do more to

address the dangers posed by the

1:25:331:25:37

state's relationship with unofficial

Mafia like groups and corrupt

1:25:371:25:43

oligarchs. We must also... We must

also expose the flows of ill gotten

1:25:431:25:51

cash between the Russian state and

billionaires who become stupendously

1:25:511:25:56

rich by looting their country and

subsequently use London to protect

1:25:561:26:00

their wealth. We welcome the Prime

Minister's statement today, clearly

1:26:001:26:05

committing to support the Magnitsky

amendments and implementing them as

1:26:051:26:11

soon as possible, as we on this site

have long pushed for. Yesterday, a

1:26:111:26:17

Russian exile who was close friends

with the late oligarch Boris

1:26:171:26:22

Berezovsky was found dead in his

London home. What reassuring can she

1:26:221:26:26

give to citizens of Russian origin

living in Britain that they are safe

1:26:261:26:30

here? The events in Salisbury early

this month are condemnable and have

1:26:301:26:39

been rightly condemned across the

house. Britain has to build a

1:26:391:26:44

consensus with our allies and we

support the Prime Minister in... Mr

1:26:441:26:53

Speaker, we support the Prime

Minister in taking multilateral

1:26:531:26:56

action and firm action to ensure we

strengthen the chemical weapons

1:26:561:27:02

convention, to ensure that this

dreadful, appalling act, which we

1:27:021:27:07

totally condemn, never happens again

in our country.

1:27:071:27:14

in our country.

The right honourable

gentleman raised...

1:27:141:27:19

STUDIO: That was Jeremy Corbyn,

Leader of the Opposition, responding

1:27:191:27:23

to the Prime Minister's statement on

Russia. The Prime Minister said that

1:27:231:27:26

they had no alternative now but to

conclude that the Russian state was

1:27:261:27:33

culpable in the attacks in Salisbury

and that it involved the unlawful

1:27:331:27:39

use of force against the United

Kingdom, and that a full and robust

1:27:391:27:45

response was demanded. The headline

for

1:27:451:27:53

for that is the expulsion of 22

Russian spies, as Mrs May called

1:27:531:27:58

them, with the Russian Embassy, who

are being expelled within one week.

1:27:581:28:02

The Russian ambassador has already

talked about retaliation and no

1:28:021:28:05

doubt there will be British

diplomats expelled from Moscow. She

1:28:051:28:09

said the purpose of this, other than

sending a symbol, was to degrade

1:28:091:28:13

Russian intelligence capabilities in

the United Kingdom. She also wanted

1:28:131:28:18

to develop new powers to detain

those suspected of intelligence

1:28:181:28:22

activities at the UK border as they

came in. There was more support for

1:28:221:28:26

tougher action against those who

have been involved in human rights

1:28:261:28:30

abuses or corruption or gaining vast

riches through illegal means, and

1:28:301:28:35

talk of freezing Russian state

assets in that way. All major

1:28:351:28:39

bilateral contacts with the Kremlin

have been cancelled forthwith,

1:28:391:28:43

including a visit by the Russian

from the minister to this country.

1:28:431:28:49

-- Foreign Minister. She also said

she had been speeding to Mr Trump,

1:28:491:28:52

Chancellor Merkel in Germany,

President Back run in France, who

1:28:521:28:57

largely were backing the British

position and the response to this

1:28:571:29:00

and that at 7pm London time tonight

there would be a briefing to the UN

1:29:001:29:05

Security Council by Britain of what

evidence they have and why they have

1:29:051:29:10

taken the actions, and what they

believe happened in Salisbury.

1:29:101:29:15

Meanwhile, Nato has asked the

Kremlin for full details of its

1:29:151:29:20

nerve agent programme. The nerve

agent that was used in the attack in

1:29:201:29:26

Salisbury. In their reply, Mr

Corbett concentrated mainly on the

1:29:261:29:35

chemical weapons convention

protocol, mentioning it several

1:29:351:29:37

times, coming back to it after

having mentioned it towards the end

1:29:371:29:41

of his speech as well. He wanted us

to work with our allies to make sure

1:29:411:29:45

this convention protocol was being

observed and being used. He, in the

1:29:451:29:53

end, did involve the Kremlin too but

for most of the time he seemed more

1:29:531:29:59

concerned about making this a story

of the illegal use of chemical

1:29:591:30:04

weapons, rather than a murder

attempt on British soil involving

1:30:041:30:09

the use of chemical weapons. We're

going to look at a lot more of this

1:30:091:30:13

over the next 30 minutes. Let me go

straight to our camp whoa political

1:30:131:30:17

editor Laura Kuenssberg for her

reaction.

1:30:171:30:22

the Prime Minister had promised

extensive measures and in terms of

1:30:221:30:28

the headline from the expelling, 23

so-called diplomats she named as

1:30:281:30:34

basically being Russian spies from

London is a more significant

1:30:341:30:37

response from the last time with the

Litvinenko murder. At that point

1:30:371:30:43

only four diplomats were expelled.

As we expected, there was a promise

1:30:431:30:47

to tighten up the financial grip on

Russians who come here who may have

1:30:471:30:52

links to this kind of behaviour, who

may be linked, and a promise of new

1:30:521:30:59

legislation to try to block people,

associated with Russian espionage,

1:30:591:31:06

coming into the UK. It was a hefty

response as she promised on Monday,

1:31:061:31:11

what she did not do is go as far as

some expected, which was to think

1:31:111:31:17

about how she might involve Nato,

how they might coordinate some kind

1:31:171:31:22

of international response. We know

there are meetings coming and there

1:31:221:31:26

has been a strong response from Nato

but there was no commitment to push

1:31:261:31:31

for an international response to the

incident. She has gone quite far, we

1:31:311:31:37

saw more of that tone from the Prime

Minister that she clearly wants to

1:31:371:31:41

be seen as if she is not going to be

hedging. She is not going to be

1:31:411:31:46

fudging. And more of the

uncomfortable tension in the Commons

1:31:461:31:51

over how Jeremy Corbyn replied. You

could hear the barracking through

1:31:511:31:57

the statement.

Is it sufficiently

robust? I think it was an

1:31:571:32:00

appropriate statement from the Prime

Minister and Jeremy has Leader of

1:32:001:32:04

the Opposition. It is good to see

perhaps more agreement about

1:32:041:32:10

legislative changes we might make in

the Commons. I hope the Russians

1:32:101:32:16

take the opportunity. To say somehow

they lost control of the nerve agent

1:32:161:32:22

and that is the account they could

give that would at least give them

1:32:221:32:26

diplomatic route out of this. I

cannot see any other actions other

1:32:261:32:30

than those we are discussing, I do

not see how we can back down in the

1:32:301:32:35

face of this.

Jeremy Corbyn wants to

share samples with the Russian

1:32:351:32:40

government and that is the Russian

government's position. Should we do

1:32:401:32:44

that? Is this a matter of a Chemical

Weapons Convention? Why did the

1:32:441:32:50

Leader of the Opposition make it so

much about the process of

1:32:501:32:53

implementing a chemical weapons

Convention. This is about the

1:32:531:33:01

attempted murder by a foreign state

of somebody on British soil, that is

1:33:011:33:06

the issue.

As the Prime Minister

said in her statement, if there is

1:33:061:33:13

an undisclosed chemical weapons

programme in Russia, it has to be

1:33:131:33:19

brought under international law.

If

it is not disclosed and the Russians

1:33:191:33:23

have continued with a chemical

weapons capability, which many

1:33:231:33:26

people think is the case, despite

having signed up to the Chemical

1:33:261:33:30

Weapons Convention, the Kremlin is

hardly going to say yes, actually we

1:33:301:33:36

have some of this stuff. Where is

the realism in that?

Whether they

1:33:361:33:40

will or not, that is the appropriate

course to take. We cannot sit back

1:33:401:33:45

and be comfortable...

What makes you

think they would agree to that,

1:33:451:33:49

admit that?

It does not mean the

rest of the world should not take

1:33:491:33:54

action against Russia because of

that.

Nato has asked to learn more,

1:33:541:34:00

has asked the Russians to say, it

looks like you have some of this

1:34:001:34:04

nerve gas will stop we thought it

was to be abolished. It looks like

1:34:041:34:08

you have some, tell us about it.

Nato has done the right thing, but

1:34:081:34:12

why would you think the Russians

would comply to this, and why make

1:34:121:34:17

it... Surely be issue is not the

actual means, dangerous as it was,

1:34:171:34:24

the attempted murder was brought

about. They could have chosen to use

1:34:241:34:28

guns, poisons, all sorts of things.

The issue is surely the attempted

1:34:281:34:33

murder, not the means of the murder.

It is but clearly not one right now

1:34:331:34:37

can ascribe reasonable motive to how

Russia is acting. It is reckless

1:34:371:34:43

behaviour from Russia and these

things should form our response, the

1:34:431:34:48

chemical weapons regime.

You do not

use this as a means of assassination

1:34:481:34:55

without knowing it is going to be

found out. You do not do this unless

1:34:551:34:59

you want to be found out. Unless you

are attempting to send a message.

1:34:591:35:06

That is not reckless, that is

calculated, that is clear. If you

1:35:061:35:10

simply wanted to do it, you would

hire a hit man and your target would

1:35:101:35:15

be shot in the dead of night and the

hit man would disappear before the

1:35:151:35:19

police ever found out. That would be

a mystery death, not sending a

1:35:191:35:24

message. This has been done in a way

designed to send a message, designed

1:35:241:35:29

to make it public.

That is not

reckless. I think it is reckless in

1:35:291:35:35

the sense of it is hard to see how

it meets Russian objectives in a way

1:35:351:35:39

that does not make them more

isolated in the international

1:35:391:35:43

community, more pressure on the

economy and people associated with

1:35:431:35:47

the regime. It is Russia acting in a

way that takes it down a certain

1:35:471:35:53

path that I would say is not in

their interests.

Ted Heath expelled

1:35:531:36:01

in 1971 when Soviet KGB activity was

rampant in London, almost getting

1:36:011:36:06

out of control, he expelled 105

diplomats. Most of them KGB. There

1:36:061:36:11

was

1:36:111:36:16

was retaliatory action in Moscow. We

are expelling 23, is it enough?

I am

1:36:171:36:21

not sure of the numbers in respect

of the 70s. In terms of 23 it is a

1:36:211:36:31

significant number, certainly more

than the four expelled ten years

1:36:311:36:34

ago. It is part of a process and we

are beginning the process now. We

1:36:341:36:39

are looking at tightening

legislation. We have to look at the

1:36:391:36:46

international response. This is an

attack on democracy that affects not

1:36:461:36:49

just the UK but others. What should

the international response be? As

1:36:491:36:55

you said it is a calculated attempt

by Russia, the use of the Novichok

1:36:551:36:59

nerve agent. A highly dangerous

nerve agent that suggests the

1:36:591:37:05

potential for further attacks in the

future must be taken seriously and

1:37:051:37:08

we have the briefing of the Security

Council. Donald Tusk has said it is

1:37:081:37:13

on the agenda of the EU Council.

Will the British Government, should

1:37:131:37:18

the British Government ask for the

tightening of sanctions, there are

1:37:181:37:23

already sanctions in place and they

have been causing more pain than has

1:37:231:37:29

been reported in the Western media.

It resulted in the failure of the

1:37:291:37:34

Russian oil industry to be able to

get capital needed to modernise oil

1:37:341:37:38

extraction. I have seen evidence the

machine-tool industry in Russia is

1:37:381:37:44

in serious trouble, that its capital

is crumbling away. Should we ask for

1:37:441:37:51

more sanctions? Should be leading

international effort to get more

1:37:511:37:54

sanctions, or leave it where it is?

You cannot simply just have rhetoric

1:37:541:38:00

of taking action and not following

through and in terms of further

1:38:001:38:04

sanctions, absolutely, that is a

proportionate response, looking at

1:38:041:38:08

the effect, the impact of Russia and

Putin's regime.

You would support

1:38:081:38:13

that?

I agree with you, the

sanctions have had profound effects

1:38:131:38:19

in Russia but this is an escalation

from what the position was when they

1:38:191:38:23

were introduced.

1:38:231:38:28

were introduced.

Laura, we have a

Russian guest I'm anxious to go to,

1:38:281:38:32

but Laura, a thought. I think you

will have to go and supply other

1:38:321:38:35

media outlets!

I think it is likely

the government will try to get

1:38:351:38:42

allies to push for further sanctions

but particularly the UN. It is

1:38:421:38:48

extremely difficult. Theresa May

will want to be sure she can count

1:38:481:38:52

on her allies to be supportive

before she pushes forward with the

1:38:521:38:57

high-profile request for sanctions.

If it is not followed up with

1:38:571:39:01

support from allies, it leaves her

looking isolated.

Given the

1:39:011:39:06

importance of London to the Russian

diaspora, particularly the

1:39:061:39:14

diaspora, particularly the wealthy

and, -- wealthy end, there is

1:39:141:39:17

bilateral action that can be taken.

Things she has outlined today will

1:39:171:39:22

have an impact, there will be

consequences. 23 out of 58 diplomats

1:39:221:39:27

leaving by the end of the week. That

is not everybody having to go home

1:39:271:39:32

apart from the Ambassador, but that

will have a consequence. The idea of

1:39:321:39:36

potentially being able to stop

people at the border will have a

1:39:361:39:40

consequence. It is likely the

government will try to lead some

1:39:401:39:45

kind of international coordinated

response that will feel like it has

1:39:451:39:48

more gravity and more impact, but

this is a 360 degrees

1:39:481:39:58

this is a 360 degrees picture. It

only happened last week and it is as

1:39:591:40:01

much as the government has been able

to do but it is not the end of this

1:40:011:40:04

kind of action and there was another

suspicious death reported, in the

1:40:041:40:08

suburbs of London yesterday. This

may well become one of the defining

1:40:081:40:13

issues of the government in the next

couple of years. How do we deal with

1:40:131:40:19

this? How does Britain in this era

deal with, when all the other

1:40:191:40:26

challenges the country faces and our

relationship with the rest of Europe

1:40:261:40:30

and the US, is changing so much, as

well.

It is another huge factor. We

1:40:301:40:35

will leave it. Thank you.

1:40:351:40:41

With me now is the Russian

journalist Oleg Kashin.

1:40:411:40:45

You have worked in Russia and are

now based in London. Given the

1:40:451:40:52

manner of the assassination attempt,

the nerve agent used would be

1:40:521:40:59

discovered.

Novichok.

What was the

purpose of doing it this way?

Nobody

1:40:591:41:10

knows and not so much Russians

believe that the

1:41:101:41:20

believe that the Russian state. I am

sure it is possible for Putin to

1:41:201:41:27

say... I do not think he makes

orders. Some years ago there was an

1:41:271:41:31

attempt to kill me Russia. Russian

detectives found this attempt. It

1:41:311:41:41

was an old friend of Putin. I'm not

sure he did not ask Putin, may I

1:41:411:41:47

kill him, no, no, everybody do

everything by itself. The Russian

1:41:471:41:56

state organism is huge.

Another hand

does not think about another hand.

1:41:561:42:02

You say the Russian state could be

behind this but not necessarily done

1:42:021:42:06

on the orders of President Putin?

What does it mean the Russian State?

1:42:061:42:10

You say Russians, may be you mean

Putin.

1:42:101:42:17

Putin. You say Russians, I did not

try to kill Skripal.

I am not saying

1:42:191:42:24

that but it seems an agency of the

Russian state was involved, it had

1:42:241:42:29

the nerve gas. It is not a gas you

concocting your kitchen overnight.

1:42:291:42:34

The Russian kitchen is huge. We have

a lot of people in this kitchen.

1:42:341:42:44

What person is responsible for this

attempt, you don't know, I don't

1:42:451:42:48

know and maybe Putin does not know.

You raise interesting issues. I want

1:42:481:42:53

to go to the Foreign Office, Alan

Duncan, he joins us from Central

1:42:531:42:58

Lobby. What we heard from Theresa

May, the list of measures, the

1:42:581:43:08

expulsions leading the litany of

things we are doing, is that it, or

1:43:081:43:13

the beginning of further action?

It

is essential we have taken robust

1:43:131:43:18

steps. You never know in diplomatic

activity of this sort what one might

1:43:181:43:24

have to respond to subsequently but

what matters most is we have taken

1:43:241:43:28

firm action against the first time a

military grade nerve agent has been

1:43:281:43:31

used in a European country since

1945, and that was used in Britain,

1:43:311:43:37

its origin is Russian, it put at

risk people in and the broader town

1:43:371:43:43

of Salisbury, it is not acceptable

and that is why the Prime Minister

1:43:431:43:46

properly took the steps today.

I

understand that. What I'm trying to

1:43:461:43:53

get, what the Prime Minister

announced was unilateral actions

1:43:531:43:56

Britain is taking on its own. What I

am trying to work out, is that the

1:43:561:44:02

end of unilateral action, is there

more to come, and are we now working

1:44:021:44:06

for a multilateral reaction of

further sanctions against Russia

1:44:061:44:12

with our allies?

We are seeking the

maximum international support, which

1:44:121:44:17

is why there will be serious

discussions in the National Security

1:44:171:44:22

Council tonight. Before they were

announced I and others briefed

1:44:221:44:26

ambassadors in the UK and of course

the phone lines have been busy with

1:44:261:44:31

the Prime Minister talking to

President Trump and Chancellor

1:44:311:44:34

Angela Merkel and President Macron.

We hope for and we are getting

1:44:341:44:39

significant support across the

world, because I think people

1:44:391:44:42

realise the severity of what has

happened. It could have been equally

1:44:421:44:47

in another European

1:44:471:44:54

in another European town and I'm

sure we would be behind any country

1:44:541:44:57

similarly affected. We have just

seen the statement from Nato and I

1:44:571:44:59

am sure there will be action in the

United Nations but don't forget the

1:44:591:45:03

Russians have a veto on certain

things there, but I hope

1:45:031:45:04

international support will be strong

and firm, because we cannot see the

1:45:041:45:09

proliferation of chemical weapons of

this sort, and we are also invoking

1:45:091:45:14

the details of the office for the

Prohibition of chemical weapons,

1:45:141:45:20

which is something the Prime

Minister also announced in a

1:45:201:45:21

statement.

1:45:211:45:26

Do we want this widespread support

from our allies, which we seem to be

1:45:281:45:31

getting, in terms of verbal support,

to be turned into further sanctions

1:45:311:45:34

against Russia?

I think this will

depend very much on subsequent

1:45:341:45:40

Russian reaction. These things don't

just get done in one day but the

1:45:401:45:43

first steps we have taken are

absolutely right. The Prime Minister

1:45:431:45:48

herself made it quite clear that we

have the option of increasing

1:45:481:45:54

sanctions by introducing legislation

to increase our border controls, in

1:45:541:45:56

order to prevent people whom we

consider to be people with

1:45:561:46:02

hostile...

We can do that

unilaterally. What I'm asking is, do

1:46:021:46:05

we want a broadly -based firm

response?

That will be a matter for

1:46:051:46:11

further discussion. You are asking

questions we cannot answer

1:46:111:46:14

immediately after the statement.

What I'm trying to do... I know

1:46:141:46:18

you're trying to have discussions,

that is what diplomats do. I am

1:46:181:46:22

trying to get the purpose of these

discussions. Is the purpose of these

1:46:221:46:29

discussions to build an alliance for

tougher sanctions against Russia?

1:46:291:46:34

Should other countries are so wish

to combine to do that, I'm sure we

1:46:341:46:38

would welcome support in that form.

But in addition, by the way, we are

1:46:381:46:43

going to do something very important

here as well, which was the Prime

1:46:431:46:48

Minister announcing that we wish to

work very, very cooperatively with

1:46:481:46:51

the Labour Party and other parties

in parliament, which I am already

1:46:511:46:56

doing during the passage of the

sanctions bill which is going

1:46:561:46:59

through Parliament at the moment, to

introduce something which is named

1:46:591:47:03

the Magnitsky Act, which means we

would focus on people who breach

1:47:031:47:08

human rights by being able to have

strong sanctions against them.

You

1:47:081:47:10

have changed your mind on that,

haven't you? Labour have been

1:47:101:47:14

pushing you to do this and you have

resisted.

That's not right,

1:47:141:47:18

actually. In the committee stage we

made it absolutely clear that we

1:47:181:47:22

thought because of the importance of

this it is essential that we have

1:47:221:47:24

cross-party agreement and I think it

is something much better decide on

1:47:241:47:29

the main floor of the House of

Commons than just a committee room

1:47:291:47:32

upstairs because there are strong

feelings about this and rather than

1:47:321:47:35

play party politics with it, we

would like this to be a united,

1:47:351:47:40

agreed House of Commons

Parliamentary statement on this

1:47:401:47:42

particular part of the sanctions

bill.

We have - we as in the British

1:47:421:47:48

state - accused the Russians of this

act. We think the evidence, the

1:47:481:47:55

Prime Minister tells us, is

overwhelmingly that it was from

1:47:551:47:58

Russia, that it was the Russian

State's involvement. The Russian

1:47:581:48:02

state, as we have been hearing, has

many arms and outlets. And we think

1:48:021:48:08

that this nerve gas has been kept in

Russia despite previous chemical

1:48:081:48:12

warfare protocols. The Russians have

asked for a sample of this nerve

1:48:121:48:19

gas. Why wouldn't we give them a

sample?

In asking for that sample,

1:48:191:48:24

they are just playing games. What

one has to appreciate first and

1:48:241:48:28

foremost is that the very existence

of this nerve agent is a breach of

1:48:281:48:32

the chemical weapons convention. Its

use is even more so and the

1:48:321:48:36

organisation through which we work

is the office for the prohibition

1:48:361:48:42

for the -- of chemical weapons. So

we are doing things properly and I

1:48:421:48:45

would urge people not in any way to

allow themselves to be diverted from

1:48:451:48:51

the fundamental, very, very serious

act here by gamesmanship on the part

1:48:511:48:54

of the Russians in orders to try to

play these games, like asking for

1:48:541:48:58

samples and things like that. We

know the origin of this nerve agent

1:48:581:49:02

and we gave the Russians a clear

option. We said, either you did it

1:49:021:49:07

or if you didn't, tell us how on

earth it got out of the production

1:49:071:49:11

facility which you control. And

instead of answering that question

1:49:111:49:16

properly and responsibly, they have

treated us with sarcasm and disdain

1:49:161:49:20

and patronising deceit and that is

why the Prime Minister has announced

1:49:201:49:22

these actions today.

If the Russians

have held onto this nerve gas and

1:49:221:49:29

used it in Salisbury against various

chemical weapons protocols and

1:49:291:49:33

agreements to ban such weapons,

indeed to destroy the arsenals of

1:49:331:49:36

such weapons

1:49:361:49:40

indeed to destroy the arsenals of

such weapons, if they have done that

1:49:401:49:41

and used it they are hardly likely

to admit that they have got samples

1:49:411:49:44

of this, are they?

No but I'm afraid

the evidence points to them so

1:49:441:49:50

clearly because we know the origin

of the nerve agent and that is why

1:49:501:49:54

we are going to the OPCW and I have

no doubt in due course further

1:49:541:49:57

conclusions on this, which I'm

confident we'll corroborate our

1:49:571:50:00

conclusions, will come from Matt,

which is the proper organisation for

1:50:001:50:04

prohibiting chemical weapons.

We

will leave at there. Minister Alan

1:50:041:50:08

Duncan from the Foreign Office,

thank you for joining us live from

1:50:081:50:11

House of Commons central lobby. Our

guest is still with us and I enjoyed

1:50:111:50:18

by Robert Hannigan, the former

director of intelligence at GCHQ. If

1:50:181:50:25

we accept that the British

government is pretty clear that the

1:50:251:50:28

Russians did this and it was a

Russian state involvement, what I'm

1:50:281:50:34

still trying to get to the bottom of

is that they chose the assassination

1:50:341:50:38

using this method, using this agent,

which meant that their complicity

1:50:381:50:43

could not be disguised. Did they

wanted to be known that they were

1:50:431:50:47

behind this?

I think it is a key

question and I think the answer has

1:50:471:50:53

to be taken in the context of a

pattern of reckless behaviour in

1:50:531:50:58

cyberspace, interfering in

elections, and on the ground, where

1:50:581:51:01

they increasingly don't care and

they are stepping outside the normal

1:51:011:51:05

rules of behaviour between

civilisations, so Putin has decided

1:51:051:51:11

to do that. Of the Troisi has made

and in that context, he could not

1:51:111:51:16

possibly user nerve agent of this

sort without it being traced to

1:51:161:51:20

Russia by a sophisticated state.

Everything points to him not really

1:51:201:51:26

caring and that is true of other

things they've done over the last

1:51:261:51:30

four or five years.

Can I ask you

more on the motivation here? As I

1:51:301:51:36

understand it, traditionally, the

target in Salisbury was part of a

1:51:361:51:39

spy swap. Some were returned to

Russia and he came to the United

1:51:391:51:46

Kingdom. As I understand, usually

when that happens, both sides then

1:51:461:51:52

leave their people alone did you

don't go...

Even in the terms of

1:51:521:51:56

Cold War in Stalin's time.

Why would

they want to take him out?

It is an

1:51:561:52:03

argument for Putin because maybe it

isn't Russia, maybe it isn't the

1:52:031:52:06

Russian state it took nobody knows

who did it and why. Today in one of

1:52:061:52:10

the Russian tabloids, it was an

interview of the niece of Mr Skripal

1:52:101:52:17

and she's out that uncle Sergei was

damaged by an angry woman who did

1:52:171:52:25

not want...

Saying the woman had

nerve gas? That's nonsense, isn't

1:52:251:52:32

it? You know that's nonsense. So

this is just fake news and

1:52:321:52:38

disinformation. Let's stick to the

facts here. He was a relatively

1:52:381:52:43

low-level agents. He had almost

certainly...

He was a specialist.

He

1:52:431:52:50

had probably told the British just

about everything that he knew in

1:52:501:52:53

terms of secrets. He could still

mark the British card in terms of

1:52:531:52:58

procedures and the way Russian

intelligence operates but why

1:52:581:53:04

attempt to take him out, is what I'm

tried to get out?

Nobody knows the

1:53:041:53:09

motivation of the attempt to kill Mr

Skripal but, actually, I know... Now

1:53:091:53:18

we have new British sanctions

against Russia and you should know

1:53:181:53:22

that any external pressure to Russia

from the United Kingdom, from

1:53:221:53:29

Europe, will make Putin stronger

inside Russia because you British,

1:53:291:53:36

the British state, say, you Russians

should choose between Mr Putin - I

1:53:361:53:43

don't like Mr Putin - and Mrs May,

who wants to make our Russian lives

1:53:431:53:48

worse. And now a lot of Russians

will choose Putin, even if they

1:53:481:53:55

don't like him.

A lot of people

think that Mr Putin, released those

1:53:551:54:00

around him, are doing this because

the Russian economy is so bad, the

1:54:001:54:05

levels of poverty outside your major

cities...

But Russians have a very

1:54:051:54:11

popular sentence.

This is bread and

circuses for the masses.

If you

1:54:111:54:17

don't leave good, and now we have a

reason to live good.

The Russian

1:54:171:54:21

Embassy has just issued a statement

here in London. The ambassador was

1:54:211:54:25

summoned to the Foreign Office and

informed the 23 diplomats were

1:54:251:54:30

declared persona non grata to use

the diplomatic language for saying

1:54:301:54:32

they have to go home. They say, we

consider this action as

1:54:321:54:39

unjustifiable, short-sighted and all

the responsibility for the

1:54:391:54:42

deterioration of the Russia- UK

relationship lies with the current

1:54:421:54:45

political leadership of Britain.

There will be a response to the

1:54:451:54:50

response. Cannot response hurt us?

I

think at this stage in the

1:54:501:54:54

relationship, probably not very

much, because the relationship is at

1:54:541:54:57

a low base and can't get much lower.

There is not going to be much

1:54:571:55:02

communication from diplomats or

anyone else so it is formalising

1:55:021:55:06

what is already happening. It is a

first step. I think the more

1:55:061:55:09

important things are those that the

Prime Minister pointed to, which is

1:55:091:55:13

targeted economic sanctions against

individuals. There was

1:55:131:55:24

individuals. There was a great deal

of raging collected money and

1:55:241:55:25

individuals and assets flowing

through London and that is what will

1:55:251:55:28

hurt Russia.

YouTube will be the

British government's intention. We

1:55:281:55:30

have the intelligence of the

capability to do this, to identify

1:55:301:55:32

the money flows, asset purchases and

from whom... To the beneficial

1:55:321:55:37

owners were?

I think it will take

time, which is why it is not

1:55:371:55:41

sensible to announcing today but

there is no place for that kind of

1:55:411:55:45

money in the economy anyway so it is

a good moment to bed down and it. I

1:55:451:55:50

think other companies were both

countries are looking at the centre

1:55:501:55:52

top there was a general sense that

patience has run out. In France and

1:55:521:55:58

Germany and the United States and

elsewhere and they're going to

1:55:581:56:04

isolate themselves further. I think

the reaction has been pretty

1:56:041:56:06

measured so far from here because we

don't want to play into Putin's

1:56:061:56:10

hands. A lot of this is about

internal politics, about distraction

1:56:101:56:14

so that the people can be united

around a Nationalist flag.

The bread

1:56:141:56:19

and circuses part of it. At least

the circus. There may not be so much

1:56:191:56:23

bread. But in your former job you

did not see a lot of intelligence,

1:56:231:56:28

use or information that was in the

public domain. My understanding is

1:56:281:56:32

that the Russian economy is still

overwhelmingly dependent on fossil

1:56:321:56:36

fuels, that 4.5 million Russians

have left the country because of the

1:56:361:56:39

economic prospects being so poor.

Tomography is a real problem,

1:56:391:56:45

Russian machinery, industry, is

collapsing. How bad is it?

Russia is

1:56:451:56:51

a small economy and bolted onto this

is the trapping of a superpower,

1:56:511:56:55

nuclear weapons, a vast military

intelligence machine, which

1:56:551:57:00

essentially control the country.

Putin is just one of large group.

1:57:001:57:06

That is not going to change even if

the leader were to change.

Will this

1:57:061:57:12

end badly? Where does it go from

here?

Two years ago, where it could

1:57:121:57:19

go from here? I don't know. But now

Russia is the best place for living.

1:57:191:57:27

You are not sure?

Russia isn't the

best place.

It isn't? Because of the

1:57:271:57:36

state of the economy?

Not only

economy, the whole political

1:57:361:57:41

situation and social situation.

Is

Russia heading to... It has now

1:57:411:57:50

moved in an authoritarian direction.

Yes, but it is not very good for us,

1:57:501:57:56

for citizens... Antics during the

last 20, 25 years, there was no one

1:57:561:58:06

moment that we could understand the

West is our friend. Know your enemy

1:58:061:58:12

is Putin and I'm not sure that...

And post Cold War there were plenty

1:58:121:58:22

of Western policies.

Now we have a

new Cold War.

We may be root reaping

1:58:221:58:28

the consequences.

Absolutely, Russia

needed to be helped to reform its

1:58:281:58:32

economy, to diversify, to tackle

corruption. We missed that

1:58:321:58:37

opportunity.

It will be a while

before it comes back again.

1:58:371:58:40

Gentlemen, all of you, thank you for

joining me. That's all for today. Jo

1:58:401:58:46

will be here tomorrow at noon. I

will be back on BBC One tomorrow

1:58:461:58:53

night on This Week, when we will be

also covering this story. Thank you

1:58:531:58:57

very much. Goodbye.

1:58:571:59:02

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