12/03/2018 House of Commons

I think we are done. Are we done?

OK, urgent question.

Thank you. To

ask the Secretary of State and home

Department if she will make a

statement on hate crime in light of

the inflammatory letters inciting a

punish a Muslim day on the 3rd of

April.

As you will appreciate the

letters described in the question

are part of an ongoing investigation

and as such I'm not in a position to

comment on them but the government

condemns the content of these

letters is clearly a torrent with no

place in decent society -- ab

horrid.

We take a crime and is a phobia very

seriously and we have a framework to

respond to it -- Islamophobia.

Freedom of speech and the rule of

law and equal rights defined us as a

society and the government is

determined to promote these values

actively working in partnership and

alongside Muslim and indeed all

faith communities to demonstrate

that what we have in common is the

best defence against extremists who

would seek to divide and our hate

crime action plan sets out our comp

Ran Singh approach to tackling hate

crime. -- sets out our

comprehensive. We have a strong

range of guidelines. The legislation

provides equal protection under the

law for all ethnic and religious

groups. We have sources of expert

advice on the nature and causes of

hate crime through the anti-Muslim

hate crime working group and the

Independent advisory group on hate

crime. We have committed £2.4

million over three years to help

protect places of worship that have

been subject or vulnerable to a hate

crime attack and we have also

committed a further £1 million

following the terrible Finsbury Park

attack in June last year to help

protect places of worship and

associated community centres which

are vulnerable to attack on racial,

religious or ideological grounds and

so far we have funded 45 mosques

under both schemes and we have also

funded tell Mama to record

anti-Muslim hatred incidents and we

have made it mandatory for police

forces to disaggregate religious

hate crime data held by the police

to reveal the true scale and nature

of the problem which we are

determined to tackle.

Thank you for granting this urgent

question. The letter calling for an

attack on Muslims on April the 3rd

offers reward for attackers, ten

points for verbal abuse, 50 points

for throwing acid, 1000 points for

bombing at a mosque and two and two

and a half thousand points to nuke

Mecca. Can I remind the house that

millions of Muslims fought for us in

the two world wars including members

of my own family. Figures show that

Islamophobia hate crime has

increased by 40%, 1678 anti-Muslim

hate crimes reported in London just

until January this year, so can I

ask the minister if she can explain

why no government ministers in the

last eight years have ever made a

speech on the rise of anti-Muslim

hatred? Recent history has shown

that 50% of the British population

believe that Islam is a threat to

Western democracy and over 30% of

young children believe that Muslims

are taking over England. Given such

anti-Muslim views have gained such

traction what is the government

going to do to help prevent the

growth of such extreme views that

appears to have come from parts of

the print, broadcast and social

media? What concrete stuff is the

government going to do to tackle the

growth in hate crimes and hate

against Muslims question up can the

minister set up the amount of

funding that is provided by the Home

Office to tackle each form of

bigotry? Mr speaker, and I'm sure

every member will accept this, there

has been a sharp rise in the far

right movement in Europe and beyond

with the USA president retweeting

far right material, this is a really

urgent situation and it needs to be

urgently tackled another forward to

hearing the minister respond as to

what concrete stuff will be taken to

deal with this.

I thank you for

bringing forward this urgent

question and may I make it clear

that this government wants to give a

strong message of support to Muslims

across the UK, we are committed to

their safety and security and if

anyone has received this letter or a

similar communication please contact

the police where they will be

treated with the utmost seriousness

and action will be taken. Moving to

the points, the issue of anti-Muslim

and indeed far right extremism, is a

focus for the government. The

preventive strategy which tackles

extremism doesn't tackle Muslim

extremism in and of itself, it

tackles extremism in general and

sadly over a quarter of referrals in

the strategy in 2015 concerned the

far right extremists and and so this

government and in particular this

Prime Minister with the experience

that she brings to her position

following her experience in the Home

Office, all of this is focused on

tackling extremism and

radicalisation and how this affects

our community which is precisely why

we are refreshing the hate crime

action plan this year.

Anna Soubry.

I want to put this on record, the

mayor of rock star happens to be a

Muslim -- Brock Stowe. She happens

to be the first person of colour to

be mayor here and the first person

to be a Muslim mayor and also

happens to be a Tory, and as it also

happens in her office of nearly one

year completed, she has had a warm

welcome where ever she has gone in

my borough and rightly so. People

are sick and tired of hate crime,

Islamophobia, it is absolutely no

longer to be tolerated and I commend

the minister for everything she has

said in her statement and I do

believe that this government takes

it very seriously. This isn't really

a hate crime, this is an act of

blatant incitement to terrorism but

in any event I'm looking over at the

co-chair of the all-party

Parliamentary group on Muslims, the

member for Ilford North, we worked

together on this and I'm sure he'll

agree, the time has come for a

proper legal definition of

Islamophobia, would the minister

agree?

We don't accept the need for a

definitive one

but we know that

Islamophobia is clearly recognised

and we have very effective

monitoring of the anti-Muslim hatred

group in these areas.

Can I

congratulate my honourable friend

for securing it? The despicable

sentiments behind the sickening

letters has caused revulsion across

our communities, and while we can be

confident that thanks to the

tireless dedication of community

leaders, charities, faith groups in

civil society these deliberate

attempts to divide us will not

succeed. Nevertheless, this act will

have struck fear into the heart of

communities, and indeed that was its

intention. This was indeed an

incitement to violence, and it

cannot go unpunished. As we have

heard, hate crimes nationwide are

rising. In London alone there has

been a fivefold increase on attacks

on Muslims in the last year. The

threat from the extreme right wing

as the outgoing territory Mark

Rowley has said is significant and

it requires urgent attention. The

murder of our colleague and friend

Jo Cox, the attack at Finsbury Park

Moss, the jailing of the leaders of

Britain first and the reports from

the Anderson review, which suggested

that the extreme right wing are

engaged in credible attack planning,

including bomb-making. There is now

overwhelming evidence that the

threat from the extreme right is

growing increasingly violent, and we

have to be clear that by threatening

members of our diverse communities,

they are also a threat to our

national security, fax to their

anti-democratic, dehumanising and

murderous beliefs. Given the

overwhelming evidence it is clear

that so-called domestic extremism

needs to be dealt with as a first

order threat, so can the minister

assure us that in mind that the

Anderson review recommendations, the

joint terrorist analysis centre will

increase the role for MI5, JTAC and

the counter terror network in the

monitoring and handling of domestic

extremism? And is it not time to

update the contest strategy to

reflect the growing threat from the

extreme right? More broadly, can we

be assured that counterterrorism

policing has the resources they

need? Last month, only half of what

was requested by the police was

given, for counterterrorism, and

police and our services are facing

unprecedented threat from terrorism

in all forms. These letters are an

attempt to divide us, in that they

will not succeed. We must be united

as a house and a country in bearing

down in the insidious beliefs

contained within and be absolutely

clear how we will bring together the

police, schools, colleges and all

authorities to stand up to hate

crime and terrorism in every single

one of its forms. And finally to

ensure that we, all of us, as

elected politicians are at all times

responsible in our language and

rhetoric, and never seek to embolden

those who hold such insidious and

extremist views.

I am sure everyone

in the house agrees with the

honourable lady, particularly on

that last point about the importance

of using our language very, very

carefully. In terms of resources,

she asked me about police resources,

of course we have increased fees,

and the Home Secretary, is the

honourable lady will know, reviews

these resources constantly. We asked

the police if they have the

resources we need and the Home

Secretary act accordingly. In terms

of the JTAC and other queries that

she made, may I undertake to write

to the honourable lady specifically,

please? And finally just say it is

gratifying to see so many Members

End house today here unified in

condemning these dreadful letters

and their sentiments, and our

determination to tackle them.

Hate

crime in all its forms is to be

condemned, as is this letter.

Another group which is affected by

growing hate crime is the Jewish

community, and the community

security trust is having to go to

ever greater lengths to protect

local Jewish community centres. Can

we ensure that all these forms of

hate crime are combated as far as

possible?

I thank my honourable

friend for his question, and of

course any group of people who are

the victims of hate crime as a

result of their religious beliefs

deserve our sympathy and also our

action, and I, like him, condemn any

form of anti-Semitism, and I know

that the police are as focused on

this form of crime as they are on

any other form of religious hate

crime.

Can I congratulate the

honourable and landed lady for

Bolton South East in securing this

urgent question, and reassure her

and the rest of the house that the

Scottish National Party joins in the

condemnation of Islamophobia in the

strongest possible terms? We believe

that there is no excuse for any sort

of hate crime, and we were as

concerned as everyone else in this

house to see the significant rise in

hate crime statistics in England and

Wales last year and we note that

followed a spike in hate crime stats

around the time of the EU

referendum, and as others have said

this is happening alongside a

significant rise in right wing

extremism. In Scotland, the police

are committed to making victims,

witnesses and partner agencies feel

more confident in reporting hate

crime, and they do that through a

variety of methods, including a note

network of third-party porting

centres. In Scotland a senior judge

has been appointed to lead an

independent review into hate crime

legislation, and he will be

reporting to the Scottish Government

later this year. Can I ask the

minister what reassurance she can

give us that similar steps are being

taken in the rest of the UK where

hate crime is rising and in

particular that similar steps are

being taken to tackle the specific

problem here, which is Islamophobia?

I thank the honourable lady for her

question and indeed for her

contributions as to what is

happening in Scotland. We very much

look at how we tackle hate crime

particularly throughout hate crime

action plan, which was published in

2016 and will be refreshed this

year, and includes a range of

actions, including funding for

security for places of worship, the

disaggregation of religious -based

hate crime data, and taking further

action in relation to education, so

that teachers can have sometimes

difficult conversations with this

Judon is as to beliefs, and words,

and funding programmes through the

Anne Frank trust and street crimes.

We are determined that our action in

relation to hate crime is up-to-date

and current.

As someone who visited

a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey over

the weekend, I find it a little

offensive that a member on the

opposite side said that no

Conservative minister had actually

ever condemned any kind of Muslim

extremism. Is the Minister aware

that her equivalent at the

Department for Education publicly

rebuked the President of the United

States for retweeting said in

comments and invited him to visit

this link communities in the United

Kingdom?

Iheanacho tamely grateful

to my honourable friend, I wasn't

sure I had heard the honourable lady

correctly, because as I say the

record of the Prime Minister and

Cabinet ministers on the issue of

tackling anti-Muslim sentiment I

thought was pretty clear. But it may

be that the honourable lady can

clarify her remarks at a later

stage.

With regard to the previous

question, I don't think it

represented the point my honourable

friend was making, and I hope that

we can address this issue as a

united Parliament, and not in a way

that is divided, when I think we

should all stand together against

this kind of vile threat, this

insight and this illegal incitement

to violence, and our whole

parliament, the police and

communities across the country

should want to stand firm with

Muslim families, Muslim communities,

against this kind of vile

Islamophobia, because we know from

throughout history that an attack on

some of us is an attack on all of

us, and that is why we stand firm.

But I want to ask the Minister what

the Home Office has done since I

raised last week the prevalence of

national action, illegal propaganda

videos on YouTube still, and also I

discover on Twitter and on Facebook?

Because we know that the former

counterterror chief has warned of

online radicalisation, of the rise

right extremism, and our select

committee has heard in our enquiry

about the serious issues around as a

phobia and hate crime. She will know

we are allowing social media

companies to collude with these far

right extremists if action is not

taken to take this vile illegal

propaganda down.

I am a dream the

grateful to the right honourable

member, and she knows the work that

my right honourable friend the Home

Secretary is doing to work with a

large technology companies to

improve their reaction on this. I

think pretty much everyone in this

place and certainly outside of this

place agrees that technology

companies need to do more to remove

these hateful pieces of incitement

on their platforms. They must do it

much more quickly and they must do

it in working with police. So I'm

sure that we have agreement on that.

Can my right honourable friend

reassure this house that those

spreading this fear and hatred, in

whatever form, should be

investigated by the police, and

where appropriate, dealt severely by

the courts.

Of course, I mustn't

comment on this particular case

because it is a life police

investigation but the principle is

that if there is an incident of hate

crime, the victim of that hate crime

must please report it to the police

so they can do all they can to bring

these people to justice.

Mr Speaker,

these letters are abhorrent and are

causing immense distress across

communities around the country, but

as my right honourable friend has

indicated, this hate crime is being

amplified via the internets. We know

there are still too little action

being taken by those social media

companies. I attended a Round Table

coordinated by two of her

government's department just before

Christmas and we are still to see

action. If I tell her a case that

went to court which saw a man jailed

for two years for the far right

material he put on year -- online,

that material is still up and it

remains the case for many cases

across our country. What action is

the government going to take to make

sure that we don't flame tensions in

our communities by what is seen

online?

And honourable Mende herself

has been the victim of much hatred

online, as indeed have other numbers

of this house, and we are very clear

in our expectation of technology

companies that they will in

accordance with the law remove this

material as and when it is brought

to their attention. We have had some

progress, the technology companies I

think I getting better at this but I

don't for a moment pretend that we

have got the full response that we

would like to see these posts taken

down as quickly as possible, and

that is the expectation that the

Home Secretary makes when she meets

these technology companies.

Could I

ask the Minister whether a national

unit has been established to check

on hate crime and identify those

people that are dealing in it, and

bring them to justice?

We take the

view that hate crime is a matter for

the whole community, given that it

can take ceremony forms, it is not

restricted to one's religion. The

five characteristics are set out

very clearly in the hate crime

legislation and we ensure that the

police and others are trained to

spot the Skrine when it occurs and

to deal with it seriously, and I

hope also sensitively.

These letters

are nothing short of a sick and

cowardly attempt to divide our

communities. We are proud of our

communities living side by side in

harmony. There must be a clear

message sent from this house, across

the house, that we will never cower

to any form of extremism, and we

will never allow it to threaten the

very fabric of our society for stock

can I please urge the Minister that

this government does not sit idly by

and let it happen, as in this great

time of need allowing such awful

hatred to be propagated would send

the worse message of all?

I would

hope that the honourable lady has

understood from my reaction that the

government is not sitting idly by.

We are refreshing, as I say, the

hate crime action plan this year,

because it has to keep up-to-date

with the new threats faced by all

different types of people and

communities. And I can assure her

that we take these allegations, as

indeed we take allegations, as we

have heard already in the chamber

today, of anti-Semitism, online

hatred and so on, we take them very

seriously and I know the police do

as well.

The rising tide of creeping

Islamophobia and anti-Jewish

sentiment is something that should

concern us all. I would like to know

how improving the recording of this

hate crime is helping us to track

what is going on in our society and

how we can tackle it?

I am extremely

grateful to my honourable friend to

that question. Of course we now

increasingly data helps give us

answers, it helps direct our

resources in the right way, and so

we are very much hoping that by this

aggregating the specific type of

hate crime, that that will help

individual constabularies work out

how better to prioritise the

resources to do with the different

types of hate crime that we know

exist.

The level of hate and violence

against Muslims has become utterly

intolerable and for years many of

our constituencies have faced the

onslaught of threats from the image

defence league and the British first

and others, can the minister explain

what action her government is going

to take to provide protections to

those communities who feel under

threat on the 3rd of April and

secondly what action will she take

to prescribe groups who are actively

seeking to incite violence and

hatred across our communities in

this country?

You will understand

that I must not comment on the

particular investigation going on at

the moment, but given it is a live

investigation, by definition,

communities that may be affected by

any such communication will be

uppermost in the mind of the police

when it comes to protection and

their vulnerability, but in terms of

tackling far right extremism more

generally this is part of a cross

government programme of tackling and

also support for victims and this is

why the preventive strategy is a

safeguarding strategy and this is

where it has such an impact because

sadly a quarter of referrals to

Prevent work from far right

extremism and the strategy is about

leading them away from that part of

radicalisation so they don't commit

these terrible acts.

This house is

at its best when it comes to condemn

and comes together to condemn evil

actions and when it is not trying to

score political points against each

other and I think we can all unite

about this letter, and we don't know

who wrote it, it might be some side

individual in a bedsit playing with

his computer or may be something far

more serious, but we are right to

say that this is a condemnation and

an in citation to violence,

especially when it calls on people

to throw acid in people's face. Can

I just ask the house to think of the

moment of the office of the MP for

Bedford. There was an incident in

this place earlier today which

involved him and his staff which may

or may not be connected but we think

it might be, with this letter and we

must come together and make sure

this does not happen, not only here

but also throughout the country.

I

thank my honourable friend from

raising this and I'm sure the

thoughts of the house are with the

member of Parliament and their

members of staff concerned although

I have received a note that the

package found there was not

hazardous which must be of

significant relief to those people

concerned but we give our sincere

thanks to the police and others who

went to the rescue of these members

of staff when they found the

package.

Stella Creasy.

It was

Friday night when I started to

receive reports from residents in

Walthamstow that they had received

one of these letters, the fear and

the terror it caused at the very

point when I was helping other

residents report anti-Semitic

graffiti they had found in our

community, will the minister join in

welcoming the work that tell Mammana

and the security forces are doing to

support these groups? And does she

agree that we had to do more than

just condemn these instances, when

we see Steve Bannon come to Europe

and tell people that they should be

proud to be called a racist, we must

in this house speak up for the

communities we represent and the

power of diversity and immigration

to enrich all of our lives and I

tell the minister the people of

Walthamstow need to demand nothing

less from this government.

They are

getting it. I'm very grateful to the

the honourable lady setting out her

concerns and she has highlighted the

fear that people must have felt when

they received these letters and she

is absolutely right that Tell Mama

is an organisation which is

universally recognised as playing an

important role in this field. I'm

told that from the 1st of January

until the 31st of December 2015,

2622 anti-Muslim hate incidents were

reported to Tell Mama by victims or

third parties, and that shows the

scale, three years ago, that we are

facing in this country after these

worrying incidents of hate crime. We

support Tell Mama to the June >>

STUDIO:

-- we support Tell Mama with money.

There's a urgent question to this,

and so there is a premium on extreme

brevity from back and front benches

alike.

I also condemn these

despicable letters, following the

recent incident in my constituency

which I would classify as racist

abuse, can I confirm that that crime

will be classified correctly and not

just classified as a public order

offence?

Of course what any such

matter is an operational matter for

the police but I know she is such a

good advocate for her local

community but that she will be

asking searching key Western --

searching questions to make sure the

question receives the attention it

deserves.

The government is right to

say this is a hate crime which has

no place in our modern society and I

want to place my thanks to our

communities in Hounslow who have a

track record of working together to

create understanding. Will the

minister confirmed the police would

have the resources to work together

effectively and fast to track where

these horrific letters are coming

from, who is disseminating them, who

is behind them, and to make sure our

schools and communities have the

resources they need to stop this and

to support these committees which

will rightly feel at risk and under

threat?

The honourable lady has

identified that this has a threat

not just on those who received the

letters but also the wider

neighbourhood and please, ask anyone

who has received any of these

communications to report them to the

police and the Home Office is in

constant medication with the police

to make sure they have the resources

they need to tackle this -- constant

communication.

I join my honourable

friend in condemning these letters,

and in view of the similarities

between the anti-Muslim hate crime

and the anti-Semitism we have seen,

will she reassured me that the

action plan proposed by the

government will be adequate?

I'm

very grateful for the question and

he has a long record of supporting

our Jewish committees, and yes, the

hate crime action plan covers all

form of hatred as defined by the act

and sadly anti-Semitism forms part

of that.

The appalling letters that

we have seen have to be seen in the

context of the flames of prejudice

being found in mainstream newspapers

and in the comments made by

mainstream politicians against their

Muslim opponents and also in the

bystanders who are just as complicit

when in person or online they see

Pegida is on Facebook and other

social media platforms -- Basie

prejudice. -- they see prejudice.

And instead of tackling it they look

the other way, can I ask the

minister to confirm that the

government will take action against

this kind of extremism and also in

the weeks leading up to the first

week of April, every mosque receives

a visit from the police to give them

adequate security advice and make

sure that the Muslim community know

that the authorities are with them

and on their side?

The anti-Muslim

hatred working group is a group

which brings together all parties

across government and further afield

to try and tackle this specific form

of hate crime and one of the initial

achievements was to work with the

Society of editors to tackle

anti-Muslim hatred and more recently

with the independent press standards

organisation to develop training for

editors and journalists to tackle

the negative portrayal of Muslims in

the media. On his point about making

sure that mosques are visited in the

run-up to the date mentioned in the

letter, we will send letters happily

to each Chief Constable to make sure

they are aware of this and it is a

matter for chief constables but we

would expect that mosques will be

protected.

I also join with my

honourable friend in condemning

these letters but I also welcomed

the money that has been devoted to

protecting places of worship from

hate crime. Good my right honourable

friend also expand on this? -- code.

I'm happy to do this and it follows

on from the previous question, the

government has committed £2.4

million over three years to help

protect places of worship that have

been subject to or are vulnerable to

a hate attack and we hope this will

make people feel safe in their

places of worship.

You don't have to

have been taught media studies to

know that anti-Muslim sentiment is

comment -- becoming common in our

tabloid press, so could she have a

word with our friends in the Tory

press? These things feed into the

actions of extremists.

I hope

everyone in the house knows that as

the minister for crime and

safeguarding and von ability of

course I'm against language which

leads to the incitement of violence

and hate crime -- vulnerability. I

would help this debate that I would

hope this debate sends a clear

message to the people with whom she

is concerned.

As one house we all

find these letters are awful and our

constituents will feel the same but

can my honourable friend make sure

that police forces will tackle these

instances collaboratively?

Indeed,

we expect police forces to work

collaboratively especially online,

because online extremism and online

radicalisation knows no geographical

boundary and the police are well

versed sadly in working together to

tackle this form of hatred.

There

has been horror and revulsion at

these letters and I'm proud of our

record in standing up against hate

crime in the diverse timidity that

we live in Cardiff, but would the

minister agree that words social

media companies are simply not

enough? Does she share my concern

that representatives of these social

media companies said to me they

would not routinely search for

prescribed organisations? The very

basic level of what they are doing,

does she have a concern?

The Home

Secretary is focused on the conduct

and assistance that technology

companies can give to the police

nationally and locally in taking

down this awful material in this

goes across online with child sexual

expertise you and there is a great

this shows the ignorance of the

perpetrators, and the anonymity is

even more damaging online, so is it

not time not just to do more to take

them down once these things have

been posted but to stop them being

posted in the first place and make

sure that the identity of the people

posting has to be revealed before

they have these accounts?

The Home

Secretary was in California recently

to discuss these matters with the

online companies, the technology

companies, and the question of

anonymity is an issue which we are

looking at in terms of the internet

stretcher to -- internet strategy

because we want the UK to be the

safest place in the world to be

online.

This is the latest addition

to a long line of Islamophobic hate

crimes which have been sadly growing

over the last number of years in

courage by the undeniable rise of

the far right in Dost directly and

indirectly by leaders of powerful --

leaders and powerful figures across

the globe. Within increase in

religious hate crime of 267% since

2011, why has the government record

been so poor? -- with an.

Reflecting

on the overall tone of this urgent

question I'm not going to rise to

the debate but I think we can all

work together to call hate crime at

when it happens, and we have already

heard the forms in which it can take

including anti-Semitism and last

week the member for Grimsby spoke of

experiences in terms of the misogyny

which is not yet a hate crime but

which was the cause of much debate

last week. We are very clear and I

think the house has been very clear

today that this letter and these

letters, their sentiments, by our

holy awful and they are to be

condemned. -- they are entirely

awful and they are to be condemned.

What practical support is being

provided to help the targets of the

victims of hate crime?

I thank my

honourable friend for his question.

Of course we want first of all clues

for victims to report their

experience to the police. The police

are sadly aware of these events

today, and I hope are to be trusted

by the particular groups of people

concerned, and they will receive a

concerned and sensitive welcome from

the police in reporting these

crimes. There is much we are doing

as I have said already in the hate

crime action plan, and also trying

to tackle the root of

radicalisation, so that these awful

sentiments are not expressed in the

first place.

Anti-Muslim hate crimes

and anti-Semitic hate crime is

rising at such a shocking rate, this

sort of anonymous letter can strike

fear into whole communities. But

isn't it also the case that

anonymous social media is also

dissimilar problem and happens on a

daily basis? We have to confront

this question of anonymity in

shedding such bile. Will she address

this?

I have very much heard what

the house has said on this, as the

honourable gentleman will now, the

strategy was published last year,

and I would ensure that in terms of

anonymity, they are very much heard

by the Secretary of State to

culture, media and sport.

What makes

you British is not what you look

like, where your parents were from,

or how you worship, but the

contribution that you make to our

country. And nowhere has the

contribution made by British is and

is being greater than in the West

Midlands, which is why I will be

spending April the 3rd, which has

been identified as this day of hate,

I will be spending the day visiting

as many mosques and community

centres as possible across the

region to ensure Muslims in the West

Midlands of my support and

solidarity to show them I am on

their side, and I hope that other

members of the house will be doing

the same.

The honourable gentleman

has set out beautifully I think the

values that bind this house and our

countries together, and I wish him

luck on his visit to the many

mosques that must be there in the

West Midlands will stop

I welcome

the funding the Minister has

promised, but of course Muslims do

not only gather at places of

worship, so what reassurance can she

give to the many Muslim community

groups, schools where children

gather, other places which are not

specifically Muslim but where there

will be groups of Muslims, to give

them some reassurance that they will

have funding for extra security,

should that be needed, in Bristol

West?

I thank the honourable lady

for her question. As I say, the

government has not only pledged or

indeed spent up to £2.4 million over

three years, but of course we also

have the funding of tell Mama, which

is a very important, as it were,

intelligence tool, to help us or the

police understand where they need to

best focus their resources. If there

are particular areas in her

constituency about which she has

concerns, I would ask are pleased to

ensure her Chief Constable nose and

her Police and Crime Commissioner

knows, because they must be the ones

who make the operational decision.

My constituency are very worried

about the rise in hate crime. Is the

Minister satisfied that West

Yorkshire and further afield have

the police resources they need in

light of the significant cuts in

order to investigate and apprehend

those responsible for this abhorrent

crime?

Mr Speaker, it is about how

resources are spent, and that is

particularly relevant and pertinent

question of West Yorkshire, I can't

recall the figure of the top of my

head but I seem to recall that West

Yorkshire has several millions of

reserves in savings. Of course how

that is spent is a matter for the

elected Police and Crime

Commissioner. I hope you will be

taking up the Home Office's funding

initiative of increasing council tax

to make sure they have more money to

deal with the resource in issue.

I

have been deeply concerned about

these letters. Like with the Muslim

ban last year they feel unfairly

targeted and under siege. Whilst

this is obviously a target to target

the social media sites and so on,

these were snail mail. Can I pick up

on the Minister to pick out the

Minister from Feltham and Hastings,

can she update us on who sent these

letters, what is being done to stop

these letters and once those people

are apprehended, can she reassure my

constituents that they will feel the

full weight of the law?

I mustn't, I

can't go into more detail on the

specifics of the ongoing police

investigation, because she will not

want me or anyone asked to

inadvertently endanger any future

prosecution, but I can give her the

reassurance that this case is being

investigated very, very carefully,

and that the full force of the law

is being applied.

Anti-Semitic and

Islamic hate crime on the rise, it

is well documented but we'll soon

know there is significant

underreporting, and in my spirit and

by women. Hijabs wearing Muslim

women are often most honourable

because of their visibility. What

assurances can the minister Gibney

in terms of in the community that

the government is doing what it can

to ensure the message of reporting

all hate crime incidents is got out

into the community?

The honourable

lady has hit upon a very important

point: we must all do what we can to

encourage victims of hate crime,

whether it is to do with race,

religion, disability or gender

identity and so on, we must please

encourage people to report it

because we know that underreporting

is a real issue. We know also that

the work of organisations like tell

Mama I hope will help people find

the wherewithal to report those

incidents to the police.

I welcome

that we are all united in condemning

this despicable attempt to divide

our community. Since 2016, national

rhetoric and language has led to a

real increase in hate crime.

Government lead by example and

encourage everyone to turn down

national language and rhetoric?

Yes.

The Minister referred several times

to the £2.4 million funding under

the government's anti-hate scheme.

She also referred to just 45 places

of worship receiving funding. Are

there any plans to increase the

number of funding and the number of

places of worship that will attract

that funding?

May I write to the

honourable lady, because I am an

clear, I will confess, as to whether

applications are in June and I would

not wish to in any way inadvertently

answering correctly so I will answer

the lady by writing.

The best way to

build the longing, tolerance and

relationships is to invest in people

to come together and understanding.

In Oldham, they were completely

undermined by the government

snatching away the grant in 2010

with no assessment made on what

would impact would have.

Of course

we recognise the importance of

bringing communities together, and

there are many ways in which to do

that. The way in which my

constituency may enjoy being brought

together may be very different from

another constituency elsewhere in

the country. I'm not quite clear as

to the direct impact that honourable

gentleman said in relation to that

project but I will happily write to

him about it, thank you.

First of

all, can I condemn this letter along

with every body else, it is

apparent. It has been reported there

has been a spike in hate crime since

the EU referendum, both in

Islamophobia and anti-Semitism,

coming from the hard right and the

hard left. It is also reported by

the CPS that there has been a drop

in the number of prosecutions in

2017 by over 1000 against this

increase in incidents. What is the

Minister doing with the CPS and the

police to ensure that that is

reserved -- reversed?

We know there

has been a drop in referrals

recorded last year which has had an

impact on the number of completed

prosecutions in 2016 and 2017 and

the CPS is working with the police

at a local and national level to

understand the reasons for the

overall fall in referrals for the

past two years. But again the

message is pleased to spread around

our constituencies, if you have been

the victim of hate crime, please

report it because that way we can

try and do something about it.

Those

police forces like Greater

Manchester which have long targeted

hate crime and work hard with the

community nevertheless recognise

that community policing is central

to challenging hate crime. Will the

Minister take that message back,

because frankly the community

policing is about trust, and trust

is fundamental. We need our

community police.

I'm grateful to

the honourable gentleman. Of course

local policing is important, but we

also have to recognise that we can't

just rely on policing alone to reach

into communities, and not just to

reach into, but to build

relationships. This is why

organisations like Tell Mama and

other charities are such an

important part of the overall

picture of people when they feel

they have been the victims of crime,

they know what to do, where to go,

and they feel they will be listened

to and their experiences will be

acted upon.

It is quite clear the

whole house condemns these letters

but it is not just those sending the

letters causing this hate, not just

groups like Britain first was that

it includes groups like the BMP. My

honourable friend and I received a

letter from the BNP with a poem

making racist comments, and on the

back of the letter, would the

Minister condemn the actions of the

BMP and so there should be no part

in political parties who peddle this

hate?

I am absolutely clear that the

British National Party and all the

other far right organisations that

have been described today have no

place in our society, and frankly

they're showing at ballot box is

when they dared to stand for

election shows how little truck the

British public have with them.

Urgent question, Caroline Lucas.

Mr

Speaker, to ask the Leader of the

House about the treatment of House

of Commons staff.

The Leader of the

House, Andrea Leadsom.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. I am grateful to the

honourable lady for a question. She

and I worked together on a

cross-party working group on an

independent complaints and grievance

policy, and I thank sincerely for

her work on it. Reports of bullying

of house staff are of huge concern

to me, and to honourable members

right across the house. I am

committed to stamping out all kinds

of bullying and harassment in

Parliament in order to create an

environment in which everyone feels

safe and is treated with the respect

and dignity that they deserve. We

can only achieve our goals in this

house with the support of others. A

great debt of gratitude is owed by

us all to the house staff who

support us behind the scenes. I

myself have worked with a large knob

of civil servants and staff of the

house during my time in Parliament,

from the clerks of the Treasury

Select Committee to my private

offices at the Treasury, in energy

and Defra, and now to the team in

the leaders's office, and the

excellent secretariat that supported

the working group. I have always

been impressed and I am very

grateful for the dedication,

professionalism, high standards and

courtesy that all the civil servants

and house staff have shown. I know

that many honourable and right

honourable members across the house,

and in the other place, would say

the same. The house will be aware

that significant progress has been

made in recent months following the

shocking report at the end of last

year of sexual harassment, bullying

and intimidation in this place. The

working group that I'd shared set up

by the Prime Minister has now

published its report and it has been

agreed by both houses -- that I

chaired. Questions are in place to

get the new independence complaint

procedure up and running within the

next three months. The honourable

lady will recall that the working

group wanted house staff to be

included in the new complaints

procedure from day one. However,

following evidence taken and in

consultation with the trade union

representatives of house staff, it

was agreed that the staff of the

house would not immediately be

covered by the new independent

procedure, because they were already

covered by the house's own respect

policy. It was believed that the

respect policy was working well and

that house staff were satisfied with

it. However, it was acknowledged

during the working group evidence

sessions that the respect policy did

not cover complaints of sexual

harassment and violence, and the

aspiration of the working groups is

to take up the question of whether

house staff should have immediate

access to the new independent

complaints procedure, now that the

report has been agreed by both

houses. And following the Newsnight

allegations, and others, it is clear

that the respect policy may not be

sufficient to protect house staff.

I'm aware that the clerk of the

House of Commons has written to

staff saying they are unresolved

issues over bullying and harassment

including sexual harassment which

needs to be addressed and this will

include a review of the respect

policy. The clerk of the House of

Commons has also reassured staff who

wish to come forward with complaints

of bullying that they will be dealt

with in the proper manner with the

support of their managers and

colleagues. It is right that

everyone working for or with

parliament regardless of position or

seniority should have the same

rights and protections and should be

held to the same high standards. The

house commission next meets on

Monday the 19th of March next

Monday, and I've given notice to my

fellow members I will be

recommending a short and dependent

the lead inquiry by the house

commission looking into allegations

of systemic bullying of

Parliamentary staff -- independent.

I will propose the inquiry should

hear from past and current staff

members about their experiences and

help to provide them with closure

where ever possible. I would also

propose that it should take

soundings from current and former

house staff on whether the respect

policy is fit for purpose and

whether house staff would be better

served by having access to the new

independent complaints and grievance

policy from the first day. I'm more

determined than ever that we banish

all kinds of harassment and bullying

from this place because make no

mistake there is a need for change.

Caroline Lucas.

Thank you for

granting this urgent cross-party

question, and this isn't about party

politics and political gain, it is

about doing the right thing by the

staff who support us on a daily

basis and making sure the House of

Commons leads by example would it

comes to robust lead tackling

workplace bullying and sexual

misconduct. Members of the public

will be shocked by the revelations

of bullying at Westminster which

were highlighted by Newsnight last

week and I commend the leader for

her ongoing work to establish the

siege and the need for that because

of the respect policy did not apply

to large numbers of those working in

Parliament -- established that.

There are now considerable grounds

to make sure the same policy does

not have the confidence of the staff

it is intended to protect and that

the new procedure must be expanded

to avoid a two tier system so

ungrateful to the leader of the

house that she broadly agrees with

that and I'm pleased to hear about a

new short inquiry but will she also

confirmed very specifically that

there will be a presumption in

favour of historic allegations being

thoroughly investigated should those

affected choose to make formal

complaints, either under the respect

policy or the new procedure? Will

she acknowledge the positive work

she has led to date risks being

undermined if we continue to allow

sanctions to be determined by a

committee on which MPs are

effectively hold all the power? Will

she agree that the whole process

including sanctions must be handled

by an independent body? Will she

revisit whether good employer and

consent training is an important

part of culture change should start

before the next election? The

evidence is clear that it should. In

the meantime can she make sure that

further complaints will be treated

with the seriousness and respect

which they deserve and will not be

dismissed as they were last Friday

as grotesque exaggeration.

The

leader of the house.

As I've already

mentioned I certainly agree with the

honourable lady and it was the

aspiration of the working group to

cover all staff working here in

Parliament including staff of the

house in our independent complaints

procedure from the first day, and I

share her concern that we should now

take steps to make sure that that

does become the case as soon as that

independent policy is up and running

which we intend to be within three

months from now. Regarding the bond

about historic allegations she will

recall the working group made clear

we will deal with historic

allegations and it will be down to

the working group to establish how

that can be done. What the clerk of

the House of Commons has made clear

is that he will be looking to

provide that reassurance to House

staff that any historic allegations

will be properly dealt with in the

future. She mentions sanctions that

those must be independent, that has

been a part of the work of the

working group and we are now looking

very carefully and closely at how

that impacts on the work of the

independent Parliamentary

Commissioner for standards and the

standards committee itself where

there are both Parliamentary members

and lay members and that work is

ongoing and later today I'm looking

forward to meeting with the

standards committee to have exactly

the start of those discussions. She

mentions consent training and in the

working group we were clear that

consent training should be something

that all people not only who employ

staff but who come into contact with

other people, should be very clear

about what constitutes consent and

precisely what doesn't and I can

assure the honourable lady I'm clear

to provide the carrot that people

want to take up the training but we

did not have the levers at the time

as we said to make it compulsory.

And I totally share her desire to

see all staff here treated with the

dignity and respect that everybody

in this place deserves.

Mark Harper.

Can I welcome what the leader of the

house said about her short inquiry,

and it seems to me a good test for

her to adopt is to make sure that

this house does what all

organisations should do which is to

make sure that everybody that works

here whether they work for members

of Parliament or they work for the

house have the same processes and

can be expecting to be treated to

the same high standards and can she

bring that measure in as soon as she

can.

I completely agree and I can

assure him that that is the

aspiration of the working group and

that is my personal goal.

Thank you.

It is noted that you have granted

the urgent question even though you

are one of the people mentioned in

media reports, but no one, critics

or otherwise can deny your

commitment to accountability and

transparency and attempt to move the

house forward, recognising diversity

and modern customs and practice. The

opposition take all allegations

seriously and we want to accommodate

everyone and I don't want to, Don

individual cases, that is a matter

for authorities, but I want to ask

the leader of the house, is she

aware of any formal complaints that

have been instigated on the basis of

the cases that have been reported

and if so when? She has suggested an

inquiry, and I'm very pleased that

we can have this discussion at the

commission and we look forward to

that. Some cases predate the respect

policy and I know that as a result

of the work streams following the

report of the working group into

sexual harassment and bullying that

that is also being amended and that

there will be a new behaviour code

and procedure that covers everyone

working on the estate and in our

constituencies. It is imperative

that all staff working here feel

they can raise any complaints and

grievances immediately. Can the

leader that has confirmed that she

would agree to the president of the

staff attending the steering group

which I previously requested. The

working group published its report

in 2018, the steering group is

monitoring the work carried out and

I'm pleased they said permanent

secretariat -- there is a permanent

secretariat. The further work is

being regressed to make sure that

the grievance policy put into place

is fair and robust. It is only when

that is tested will we know if they

work. There will be a continual

process to find them until they are

effective so everyone has confidence

in them. Can the leader of the house

say, and she has touched on the

figure of three months, but we need

to balance speed with making sure

there is an effective process,

whether this work will be completed

by three months or at least by

summer before the house rises? The

opposition Labour Party takes all

complaints of sexual harassment and

abuse and discrimination extremely

seriously so that anyone with a

complaint comes forward and that all

allegations can be fully

investigated and any appropriate

disciplinary action taken in line

with the party's procedures. All of

us have the utmost respect for the

house clerks and any of us have had

dealings with them on the various

select committees know they are

experts in their field and they

offer vital assistance and advice to

everyone. But I know everyone who

works in whatever capacity knows

that they play a vital role in

making sure that our Parliament and

our democracy thrives.

The leader of

the house.

I thank the shadow leader

of the house for her remarks and

also I'm grateful to her for the

part she played in the working group

on setting up the independent

complaints procedure and it was

notable that there was unanimous

support for establishment that

independent procedure which the

whole house can be very pleased

about. Regarding her specific

questions, GR is whether unaware of

specific formal complaints and it

was not in the terms of reference of

the working group -- she asks

whether I'm aware. It was not in the

terms of reference to consider

specific requests, but that I've had

a number of people come to me and

I've sought to deal where ever

possible with complaints that have

been brought to me but I don't

propose to discuss any specific

allegations in the chamber. She asks

about a review of the respect policy

for house staff and I can say to her

that reading from the letter of the

clerk of the house to house staff

today, he says there are unresolved

issues over bullying and harassment

including sexual harassment which

need to be addressed and the clerk

of the house goes on to say that we

will read this it and renew the

respect policy. -- revisit. She asks

whether the house authorities trade

union representative will be invited

to join the steering group and I

believe that has happened, and she

asks when will be finalised

procedures be finished. We have set

the aspiration that the bulk of it

is done within three months and

there will be a final vote in this

house on changes necessary to

standing orders and to adopt the

behaviour code and we certainly

expect and hope that will be before

the house rises in the summary says.

-- summer recess for the.

Is it

appropriate for Mr speaker to remain

in his place when there are

allegations against him which he is

trying to suppress using taxpayer

funded money by sending out letters

through speakers cancelled. --

speaker's council.

The leader of the

house.

It is vital that all

colleagues join together in

supporting the efforts being made by

this house to stamp out all bullying

and harassment where ever we see it

and to make sure that everybody will

be treated in the future with the

respect and dignity that they

deserve.

Can I congratulate the

honourable lady for securing this

urgent question and she like me will

face these urgent questions, and it

is something that comes as it'll

surprise to any of us who has

listened to the evidence as part of

the working group -- little

surprise. This endemic culture has

got to be tackled and I'm sure the

house is confident in the

independent inquiry. Does the leader

of the house agree that historical

allegations must be considered and

does she support the view that we

will be helping victims past and

present if we respond to such

allegations? This is all part of the

normalisation of bullying and

harassment which continues to poison

our politics. ... And last, does she

share that all members, whether they

work for this house or members of

Parliament, are covered by the new

behaviour code and will have access

to the new complaints procedure as

quickly as possible.

I would like to

pay tribute to the honourable

gentleman for his part in the

working group, he was assiduously

attending meetings and taking a full

part in the work and I'm grateful to

him for his contribution. He asked

how the independent inquiry will be

conducted and clearly my intention

is to make this proposal to the

house commission and it will be a

matter for the commission to agree

whether to do that or not at the

house commission is made up of a

number of members from across the

house including one from his own

party but I would like to sit

carried out by an independent

individual who can hear from past

and current members of the staff of

the house so that person can be free

of any input from either employers

or indeed parliamentarians. And

people can feel they can come

forward in confidence. I completely

agree with him, it would be letting

people down if we fail to deal with

it and it is vital that those who

have passed allegations who feel the

time has passed for them to doubt

with seriously, can achieve some

closure by coming forward and be

heard in that way, and I also agree

that it is demeaning to this house

and to all of us if we fail to get a

grip on it and that is why this

house has shown such commitment is

setting up an independent complaints

and grievance policy which is the

right way forward.

I very much welcome the leader's

statement, and she agree with me

that sometimes the accused can be

victims too? And that is why it is

so important that we have an

independent enquiry. But would she

also agree with me that the House of

Commons commission would not be an

independent judge or jury, and

indeed would not be seen to be as

such, simply because of the very

membership of that commission, and

that it does need to be an

independent individual, or group of

individuals?

Of course my honourable

friend raises an important point,

and during the working group

evidence sessions, we were very

conscious that it is important to

protect both complainants, who are

at the heart of the independent

complaints procedure, but also the

alleged perpetrator. It is important

that justice is seen to be done, and

that all parties are properly

supported. He is also right to say

that an enquiry led by the house

commission could not be independent,

which is why my recommendation to

the house commission would be that

it should be an independently lead

enquiry into allegations of

bullying.

Can I say to the Leader of

the House that when she chooses, as

she has done today, to focus on the

thoroughness and decency of the

process of dealing with these

issues, she will get support from

right across this house? And she has

mentioned several times the

involvement of trade union

representatives, so would she just

join me in asserting that it is

right that members of our staff and

members of staff of this house are

members of trade unions if they

choose to be, and that their

representatives ought to be involved

at every stage of this process?

The

honourable lady gives me the

opportunity to thank and pay tribute

to the very good staff

representatives who were on the

working group, a representative from

Unite, working as a researcher for a

member of the Labour Party, the

representative of the members and

peers staff Association who works

for a member of the Conservative

Party and a representative of the

NUJ, who works for the Scottish

Nationalists here. They all made a

great contribution and are to be

commended for their contributions.

Does my right honourable friend

agree that unfortunately the system

we have at the moment is that House

of Commons staff believe that they

make a complaint about bullying and

harassment it would be taken

seriously and secondly they believe

it will be seriously detrimental to

their future career? I welcome the

fact we will have an independent

investigation into the allegations

we heard on Newsnight. When will

that start and when will it

complete?

The house commission meets

next Monday. I will be making that

recommendation there and then that

will start as soon as possible.

The

house is exceptionally well served

by de Klerk star. I think that is a

matter of common accord, so surely I

hope it goes without saying that

these complaints required to be

investigated with the rigour in a

conference of and independently. Mr

Speaker, when you and I first

entered the house, the house was

almost entirely self-regulating. The

position today is very, very

different, but that change has come

in a way that is piecemeal. What

surely now is required is a proper

comprehensibility again at the

question of Parliamentary privilege

and self-regulation. So can I say in

welcoming the short independent

enquiry that the leader seeks to

establish that once that is done,

she should apply her mind to

revisiting the work of the joint

committee set up in 1998 to look at

the question of the extent of

definition of Parliamentary

privilege?

I think the right

honourable gentleman makes a very

interesting observation and I will

certainly look at it.

Does the

Leader of the House agree with me

that every single individual

complete made against a member

reflects badly on each and every one

of us in this place? And given the

Newsnight allegation that the

policies and play was not up to

scratch, and certainly was something

we decided amongst ourselves, though

she agree with me that we not only

need an independent investigation

but we also need an external

independent body to establish our

board policy going forward?

I hope I

can reassure my honourable friend

that the independence grievance

policy we are in the process of

establishing will ensure that the

culture in this place changes to the

benefit of all who work here. But I

would also just like to say that

many honourable members are very

troubled by these allegations. That

is as ever a small minority of

people who behave badly and he is

right to point out that it demeans

all of us when a fewer of us behave

badly.

Mr Speaker, having been in

the house quite a long time, I

recall in nearly days that if

warnings to particularly young women

of this house was not just a certain

small group of members of parliament

but some senior clerks who were

known to be bullies, and as chair of

the anti-bullying group of MPs for

some years, I have been fighting

everyone's corner in that respect,

and I have to say in recent years I

have never known a speaker as

strong, in terms of reforming that

particular part of our lives. But

can I urge her to get on with as

quickly. We want justice to be seen

and to be seen to be done, but I

also want this committee to know

there are certain, only a tiny

minority of members of this house

have used this, it is a must like a

new kind of McCarthyism, you know,

to name someone from someone is put

into purge on that side or the side

with no redress, dreadful things

happening to their families, one

doesn't even know what happens to

the families and the members who are

accused. There is a danger of a kind

of political McCarthyism that we

also have two stamp out in this

place.

So again I would remind the

honourable gentleman the independent

complaints procedure will be exactly

that, it will be independent, it

will be confidential, so that

complainants who very often don't

want to come forward, for fear of

having to then deal with the person

they are accusing, so they will come

forward in confidence. The alleged

perpetrator will also be able to

have their side of the story hurt in

confidence. There will therefore be

natural justice rules applied to the

entire process, but there will also

be very serious sanctions for

wrongdoing. I genuinely believe that

this work will change the culture in

Parliament. It will take us to a new

stage where people can come forward

and it will make people think twice

about some of their attitudes.

I

appreciate there may be problems

with definition. Lots of these cases

would have been investigated and

often at best the details will be

sketchy at this stage. But can the

Leader of the House give a house an

indication of the scale of this

issue? How many cases of abuse of

house or members staff have been

brought to her attention in her

recent dealings with this issue?

I

don't really think I can give my

honourable friend and idea of the

scale of the problem. I think like

all honourable members different

cases appear in the media and it is

very difficult to understand the

enormity and range of the problem.

But suffice to say that going

forward I think across this house we

are determined to see change for the

better.

I welcome the Leader of the

House's emphasis she has placed on

June process, -- due process, and

complainants have to be taken

seriously. The person who is being

complaint against also has rights

and a case should be heard on the

basis of evidence. I think that is

really a potent in this whole

process will stop Krygios of say a

word about the independent

commission of Parliamentary

standards that we currently have,

and they can be put to the

Parliamentary privileges committee.

That is also a route that needs to

be incorporated into the new process

she is envisaging.

The honourable

gentleman is exactly right and

indeed that is part of the process.

Very specifically, it is heard in

confidence, and if there is a

finding against the alleged

perpetrator that would then in the

case of a member of Parliament being

complained about go to the

Parliamentary Commissioner for

standards, who would either carry

out an appeal and look at the

evidence again or find against the

member, or find that there is no

cause to answer, and then she will

have expanded sanctions at a lower

level, or indeed she will pass it

onto the committee for standards for

them to consider, including

recommending suspension to this

house, which could lead to the

recall of members of Parliament act

2015 being invoked.

Does the Leader

of the House agree that any member

of staff who feels that he or she

has been bullied must have an

absolute guarantee that their career

will not suffer in any way if they

make a complaint? And if they have

that guarantee, does she agree that

the reputation of members of

Parliament should not be sullied by

accusations that they are bullies

unless a complaint against them has

actually been made?

Yes, I think my

honourable friend sums it up very

well. It is vital that complainants

are protected, so they can come

forward in confidence and not be

further victimised, but it is also

essential that people who are

complained about have the

opportunity to put their side of the

story, and to receive proper

justice.

Can I commend the leader of

this house on their counterparts and

indeed you yourself Mr Speaker in

response to these issues so far. As

the Leader of the House agree with

me that this is a moment for each

and every one of us to reflect on

our behaviour and constantly reflect

on our behaviour? Because it is not

about what we judge to deem the

appropriate behaviour but how we

make others feel is the critical

issue, and that is why the

independent nature of her proposals

is so critical, because this has to

be without political fear or favour,

or political campaigns against

opponents or anybody else, so that