06/09/2016 Monday in Parliament

Trump has been accused of spreading prejudice.

Coming up next on BBC News, prejudice.

Coming up next on BBC News,

it's Monday in Parliament.

Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament, our look

at the day at Westminster.

The headlines:

The new Brexit Secretary says the British people

are behind him

are willing him on.

The referendum of June the 23rd delivered a bigger vote for Brexit

then that one by any UK Government in history.

Junior doctors strikes planned in England next week may be off -

but further action could start next month.

Labour says the proposed contract changed should be withdrawn.

What the current situation shows is that there has

been a complete breakdown in trust between junior doctors and the

Government.

And the new aviation minister insists a decision on airport

expansion in the South East of England will not be kicked

into the long grass.

I can assure you there is no long grass and to continue

with that metaphor, I have got the lawn mower at the ready

if there was such long grass.

But first - the new Brexit Secretary has told the Commons the mandate

for leaving the EU is the largest ever given to any government.

David Davis said that controlling immigration was a "clear,

large" part of any deal struck as Britain goes it alone.

But Labour say the government is short on detail - and "making it

up as it goes along".

Our instructions from the British people are clear.

Britain is leaving the European Union.

The mandate for that course is overwhelming.

The referendum of June the 23rd delivered a bigger

vote for Brexit is than that won by any UK Government in history.

It's a national mandate and the Government,

this Government, is determined to deliver it in the national interest.

We are confident of negotiating a position that will mean this

country flourishing outside the EU.

Keeping its members as friends, our allies

and our trading partners.

We will leave the European Union that we

will not turn our back on Europe.

We will embrace the opportunities of freedoms that will open up for

Britain.

We will deliver on the national mandate for Brexit and we

will deliver it in the national interest.

The spin before today's statement was so much promise we

heard that we were going to hear what the Government's strategy for

Brexit was.

But what we have heard hasn't been a strategy,

it hasn't been thought out plan, it has

just been more empty platitudes.

From a Government that continues to make it up as it goes along.

So last night we had the Prime Minister

seemingly on a plane, on a plane, it is seemingly, well,

telling us that leads what she wasn't going to be

doing so it seems that we are not going to have a points-based

immigration system and we are not going to have any extra money for

the NHS and we are not going to have any reduction in VAT on fuel.

But what we haven't been told is what

they are going to do.

When are they going to tell us how they are going

to deliver, for example, free trade for British

businesses whilst also imposing immigration control?

In the media today, we have had a certain

amount of speculation about what the details

are of actually what that means in terms of controlling our

borders.

Can I ask him, when he gets to the dispatch box, to confirm to

us that in leaving the European Union,

the number one thing that is

absolutely not negotiable is that this United Kingdom will take

control of its control of its borders and the laws that are

relevant to that and that is not negotiable for any other deal?

A clear large part of it was the question of immigration.

And the Prime Minister has made it very

plain that the current state of immigration cannot go

on and we will bring it to an end as a part of this

process.

I...

LAUGHTER

Congratulate him on not rushing

anything and I encourage him to take as long with his colleagues as he

possibly can in working out a policy and I look forward to hearing from

him again when the Government have found something they can agree on

which indicates what Brexit actually means.

No one expects him to have worked out all of the answers yet

but we do expect him to be able to set out

the outline of some kind of

plan and today we have heard nothing of that.

So let me ask him just even

one specific question, have they even looked, for example,

at what the home affairs issues will be in the negotiations

and have they decided, has he decided whether or

not Britain will be staying in Europol,

a decision that will have to be made this year,

not in many years to come?

The aim is to preserve the relationship with the European Union

on security matters as best we can.

She will remember that last year, there was a decision that was made

which laid aside about 100 measures that we didn't want to be a part of

but kept some, including the European arrest warrant

and one or two others,

controversially, she will remember that.

So, yes, of course we are across that and, of course,

we are aiming to maintain that and that's the answer.

What?

The French and German governments have indicated

not at all that they wish to impose any tariffs on their very

profitable trade with us because they don't

believe in self harm.

That last point goes really to the heart of the question

because free trade is not something which is a

gift from one country to another, it is something that is mutually

beneficial and I fully expect that when we come

to do our negotiation with the European Union, we will see

them recognising France, Germany, all of them, every single one,

has a manufacturing surplus

delivered to us, we have a service surplus the other way typically,

and I expect that we will both gain from the free trade agreement

that comes out of that negotiation.

David Davis.

The Government has given a qualified welcome to a decision by junior

doctors to cancel five days of strike action next week.

The British Medical Association agreed to the move after warnings

by the NHS in England that more time was needed

to prepare contingency plans.

But walk-outs in October, November and December are still due

to go ahead as part of a dispute over the introduction

of a new contract.

In a statement to MPs, the Health Secretary said

the disruption would be "unprecedented" and he ignored

opposition calls to halt the imposition of the new

contract next month.

This afternoon's news delaying the first strike

is of course welcome.

But we mustn't let it obscure the fact that the remaining planned

industrial action is unprecedented and in length and severity and

will be damaging for patients, some of whom will

already had operations cancelled.

It is deeply perplexing for patients, NHS leaders and indeed

the Government that the reaction of the BMA leadership who previously

supported this contract is now to initiate the most extreme strike

action in NHS history, inflicting unprecedented misery

on millions of patients up and down the country.

Will

We currently anticipate up to 100,000 elective

operations will be cancelled and up to 1 million hospital appointments

will be postponed.

The Secretary of State said in his statement, talked

about confrontation.

What could be more confrontational than seeking to

impose a contract?

And so even at this late stage, I would like to ask

the Secretary of the state if he will listen to the junior

doctors' leader Dr McCord

when she says we have a simple

ask of the Government, stop the imposition,

if the Government agrees to do this,

the junior doctors can call off industrial action.

The public is looking for the Secretary of State

to try and meet the junior doctors, stop vilifying, stop pretending they

are an enemy within and meet their reasonable demands.

It is almost conceivable...

Inconceivable that in any time in the past, such extreme

and militant action which threatens patients

would have been supported by

the BMA or the Labour Party.

He calls for a turn away from strikes

and to get round the table and cooperate and discussed so when is

the Secretary of State meeting with junior doctors to try

and avert these strikes?

Can I return to the critical issue of how we ensure

safe cover during the week if we are expecting doctors to work

more hours at weekends?

Now, the Secretary of State, has repeated again today

that he will employ more junior doctors but critically,

what is the timescale?

How many net increase in doctors will there be this year and

next year and then in the rest of the parliament?

It's clear from their statement that thousands of

doctors have been in touch to say that they wanted to keep their

patients safe and they will know that you can't keep your patients

safe with five days rolling full walk-outs.

Would then the Secretary of State join me in asking the BMA

to ballot their members to hear their views

before they proceed with

their proposed further damaging five-day walk-outs?

The Health Secretary will know that over the

summer, a worrying number of A and maternity departments have

either been closed or downgraded because

they simply can't get the junior doctors that they need.

Chorley, Ealing, Stafford, I could go on.

If it is the case that we are training

more junior doctors, why do we still have this problem?

The imposition of this contract is not putting patient

safety first.

the

You can train all the extra doctors you wish but

the

current present junior doctors are leaving.

The risk of having the contract imposed on them are causing

them to leave and move to Australia and further afield.

I maintain, as I always have done, but you cannot

create a safe seven-day NHS on a five-day overstretched team.

I did listen as she has asked me to today,

I did sit down and negotiate a deal and that was supported by the

leaders of the BMA and that is why it is incomprehensible that those

same leaders, the people who represented her and her profession,

have now called the most extreme strike in NHS history.

The new Home Secretary Amber Rudd has faced her first question time

in the Commons and one of the main topics was the plight

of unaccompanied children living in a refugee camp in Calais.

Labour's Yvette Cooper related the story of a Syrian

teenager who was waiting there to join his family in Britain.

He's now been given a transfer date of later

this week but only because three MPs and two national newspapers

intervened in his case.

There are hundreds more children and teenagers

in Calais in awful conditions.

What she urgently intervene and speed up

the bureaucracy and sort these cases out?

I recognised the excellent work that the Right Honourable Lady does

in this area in drawing attention to the needs of the people in the

Calais camp.

I would point out to her, I know she may already be aware

of this but perhaps to the general public, that this is French

territory, it is French law that we have to engage with in order

to help these people, we areidentifying the children

who we can help and we are now able to speed up that process

and will continue to watch it carefully.

We have accepted the responsibilities, the finite

that they are taking at risk of attack as we saw from young people,

the risk of exploitation and trafficking.

Surely the line has been crossed.

We have a responsibility to ensure they get

back to their family here and that they avoid being

in positions where they are not saved and let's make

them safe rather than a risk of this exploitation trafficking that

they are facing at the moment.

The Home Secretary will be aware of significant concern on this issue

from humanitarian organisations.

Now with the onset of winter just a couple of

months away, given the time it is taking, will she commit

to these additional resources and will she

commit within the next month to come back and tell us how many children

she is going to be taking?

Mr Speaker, I am always keen to update

the House on the latest results from what my

department is doing.

We are aware of the humanitarian need and

that is why the Government is so committed to making sure that we do

work in the best interest of the children.

I would say to the honourable gentlemen, we are always

I was in Calais this weekend, the second time I went

over the summer.

Both times, I have met some of those 800 young,

unaccompanied children who are in that camp.

Children who told me they

have not spoken in the many months they have been there to a single

Government official.

A pregnant woman who said she had tried to

claim asylum in France that the system is so broken

she was told it could be months before they would

even begin to process her application.

These people are living in hell because of a lack of

bureaucracy.

My colleague is absolutely right.

And they need our safeguarding because they are

sleeping in tents with men, strange men.

Will she meet with me and other MPs are affected by this and

concerned about it to discuss how we can change that?

I would point out to the honourable lady that the

French have already dispersed 5000 people from the camp.

The interior minister has already said

that he has plans by the end of the year

to make sure that the camp is

phased out so that everybody can be rehoused.

It is important for the

children to note as the adults do know that they are not forced to

come to the UK to find a bed, they can claim

asylum in France and the

French Government is willing to do that.

The honourable lady should have a care not to encourage,

unwittingly, the traffickers to bring more children to the camps.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister Theresa May,

ruled out a points-based immigration system -

one of the key promises made by the Leave campaign

before the EU referendum.

In China, the Prime Minister has unilaterally announced that Britain

will not be adopting the points-based system that the Leave

campaign that so much emphasis on during the referendum but will be

doing something more effective.

Can you tell us what it is?

When the Labour Party introduced a points-based system,

the numbers went straight up.

In Australia, they do have a points-based system

and they have higher immigration per capita than in Britain.

A points-based system would give foreign nationals the right to come

to Britain if they make certain criteria.

An immigration system that works for Britain would ensure

that the right to decide who comes to the country resides with this

Government.

You're watching Monday In Parliament.

Our top story...

The government is accused of "making it up as it goes along" on Brexit,

but the new Brexit Secretary says there is an overwhelming mandate

from the British people.

Have UK-supplied weapons being used in strikes on civilians in Yemen

in breach of international humanitarian law?

A Foreign Office minister admitted confusion was caused when the UK

Government retracted some previous statement to Parliament

on the issue.

It had said it had assessed the law has not been broken by Saudi Arabia.

That was later downgraded to a judgment.

The Labour MP Hilary Benn asked an urgent question on the issue,

answered by the Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood.

Neither the Ministry of Defence nor the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

reaches a conclusion as to whether or not

an international humanitarian law violation has taken place

in relation to each and every incident of potential concern that

comes to its attention.

This would simply not be possible in conflicts to which the UK is not

party, as is the case in Yemen.

We are responding to two written ministerial questions that

were in error on trawling through other ministerial questions

of which there are over 90, for more would indeed seem

to be in error.

I came to the House today in order to clarify that but as soon

as I became aware of this I made a statement.

I also wrote to the right honourable gentleman,

I wrote to the right honourable gentleman the chair of the committee

and indeed for arms exports as well as the Foreign Affairs

Select Committee as well.

Will the minister now tell us what detailed assessment preceded

this conclusion reported to the House today,

what information did it draw, will you publish both and finally,

Mr Speaker, will the government now suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia

until it is able to assure the House that it has done a proper assessment

and can explain why it believes that international humanitarian law has

not been breached in Yemen when the United Nations

clearly says that it has?

Given the UK's clear role in the conflict we are still no

closer to learning why this government has failed to carry

out their own independent investigation as to whether

international humanitarian law has been breached.

Hospitals have been bombed and civilians have been killed.

We must end arms sales to Saudi Arabia now and conduct

our own investigation.

Ministers must, must remove their heads from the sand

and apologise to this house for attempting to brush the issue

under the carpet.

I haven't been brushing any issues under the carpet,

quite the contrary.

I've been as open as I can about these matters and I make it

very clear to the House as I said in my letter to the chairman

of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, if we are not satisfied

with the Saudi Arabian investigation itself,

we are not opposed to an independent investigation to be conducted.

But first of all we must honour international standards and allow

the Saudi Arabians to conduct their own investigations

as we would be doing in similar circumstances.

Tobias Ellwood.

Peers have welcomed a new Lord Speaker to the Woolsack.

The former Conservative Cabinet minister, Lord Fowler,

is the first man to hold the post, which is elected

for a five-year term.

I must admit to certain trepidation breaking the ten year female

monopoly on the Woolsack.

I also know perfectly well that when I make my first major mistake

you will find the Leader of the House and the Leader

of the Opposition shaking their heads and saying in perfect

unity, what do you expect if you hand it over to a man.

And for me the truth is that everyone will remember the example

of Baroness D'Souza and the very high standards that she set.

A high standard in this house and a high standard outside,

such as her work with schools.

But more than that she spoke at numerous meetings up and down

the country explaining the work of this house.

His predecessor, Lady D'Souza was widely praised for the work

she had done inside the chamber and beyond.

She was also continually bullying us to make sure that the presence

-- prodding us.

...Of women on these benches became both a possibility

and through the women's Bishops Bill which she supported in coming

through the House making it a reality.

She's been a regular attender at events, parliamentary events

at Lambeth and we are very grateful for that.

One of the things that she seems to have brought to the role

for which we have much to learn on these benches is not so much

the exercise of direct power as about the effective use

of influence and her capacity to be a unifying figurehead.

Perhaps I could learn something from that.

The outgoing Chariman of Committees, Lord Laming, was also praised.

If it's not telling tales, before the summer recess last year

he shared with me that as his office as convener of the cross benches

was coming to an end, he was looking forward to having

more time for other activities in your lordship's house and indeed

as we've heard his work on review for the Prison Reform Trust in care

and out of trouble.

But instead, he was not to have that.

He took on, willingly, a demanding role and that is all times

with his customary courtesy, his impeccable manners

and his thoughtfulness to his work.

The shadow Leader of the House of Lords, Lady Smith.

In Westminster Hall, MPs debated a petition calling

for a second referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.

More than 4 million people back in motion, which stated that

if the Remain or Leave vote was less than 60% based on a turnout less

than 75%, there should be another referendum.

The SNP's Ian Blackford opened the debate, reminding MPs that

Scotland had voted to stay in the EU.

Scotland voted to remain, we remain citizens of Europe

and this must be respected.

Those who have signed this position and pushed for a second referendum

I would hope would recognise that as a Scottish MP seeking to hold

the government in London to account and standing up for the people

of Scotland that voted to remain, that my primary responsibility

is to the people of Scotland.

I think when were talking about a second referendum

it is important to be clear about whether or not we are simply

rerunning the old referendum, I'm not sure that anyone

is suggesting that, that would be absolutely undermining democracy,

but whether or not share should be a referendum on the terms

of a new deal, I think it's absolutely crucial and in that

context, would he agree with me that we should take into account

the conclusions of the electoral reform Society, which has done

a report into the myths, this information is and downright

lies of the last referendum and say we have got to do things

better next time.

What form Brexit will take, or when it might happen,

we don't know whether our future lies within the single market

or outside of it.

When we talk about access to the single market after Brexit,

what do we mean by that?

Of course we will have access, North Korea has access,

that's not what we're talking about.

The question is on what terms will the UK obtain that access,

and at what cost will it obtain?

We should remember if you ask a question the answer might not

always be the one you expected or hoped for.

Now more than two months on from the referendum,

that clamouring has not ceased, as this motion to rerun

the referendum typifies as did this weekend's anti-Brexit rally

in which the pinnacle point of interest seemed to be that

somebody had their beret stolen.

It typifies the rather unsettling desire to fraught or overturn

the properly exercised democratic will of the country.

The Conservative MP, William Wragg.

The new aviation minister has hinted that the long wait for a decision

on airport expansion in the South East of England

could be coming to an end.

Plans to build a second runway at Gatwick or expand Heathrow have

been repeatedly delayed.

But at Lord's Question Time, Lord Ahmad said that what he called

a final view was on its way.

Is not this whole issue now getting a bit out of date and should we not

consider not asking the question as to whether or not Heathrow

is going to have a runway or whether Gatwick is going

to but ask the question of whether Gatwick and Heathrow can

have another runway?

Can the Minister use his enhanced position, which is well deserved

and he's been a good supporter on the expansion issue,

to make sure his Cabinet colleague and the Prime Minister,

who is chairing the relevant committee, understand

that it is critically important that Heathrow can deliver the services

that the rest of the world is going to expect if we are going to be part

of that market.

Let me assure the noble Lord and indeed all noble Lords

the priority the government is giving the importance of this

decision is very much a high priority and Paramount

in their minds and the other element to bear in mind is that it will be

in line with the Davis commission to ensure that we do have that extra

capacity operational by 2030.

My noble friend Lord Spicer asked when the government's decision

will be announced.

I wonder if my noble friend could answer that question?

The best answer I can give is that the government will be

looking to make that decision very shortly.

LAUGHTER.

My Lords, does that not imply that the consistency in terms

of the government's position that the noble lord the Minister

has just referred to, is that this is an issue to be

kept in the long grass for as long as possible?

I can assure you that there is no long grass and to continue that

metaphor, I've got the lawn mower at the ready if there

was such long grass.

Does the decision of the government to widen the M4 to an eight-lane

motorway indicate that the decision has already been made

for a new runway at Heathrow in spite of the enormous opposition

there is to such a project?

Let me assure the noble lord no decision has yet been made.

Will it be sooner or later?

That's a very open-ended question but I will be inclined to say

to my noble friend, sooner.

And that's all from me for now.

Keith McDougall's here for the rest of the week but from me,

Joanna Shinn, goodbye.

Good morning.

This week has the potential to bring us some pretty high temperatures.

Potential that has not been unlocked yet.