29/06/2016 Prime Minister's Questions

..Mr Alistair Carmichael.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I know the House will join me in condemning the terrorist attacks

in Turkey last night.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were killed

and those who were injured.

There are no reports of any UK casualties but the Foreign Office

are working with the authorities to establish the full facts.

I spoke to the President this morning to express the UK's

condolences, details are still emerging but we stand

as one in our defiance against these barbaric acts.

This week marks the anniversary of the battle of the Somme,

there will be a two minute silence on Friday morning.

I will attend a service at the memorial near the battlefield

and it is right the country pauses to remember the sacrifices of those

who lost their lives.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues

and I shall have further such meetings later today.

Can I associate myself with the Prime Minister's remarks

of condolence to those who have been affected by this dreadful

attack in Istanbul.

Can I offer him my personal best wishes to himself and his family

for life after Downing Street.

He has served his country but he has not done it alone, it is right

we should acknowledge the support he has had,

as we all have, from our families in public service, before

he goes, though, will he...

Will he attend to one matter, that when he was in opposition

he described as doing enormous moral damage to the moral

authority of our country and that is the involvement

of our security services in rendition.

Now that the CPS have decided they are not going to prosecute

Sir Mark Allen for what he did, will he reinstitute,

reconstitute the Gibson inquiry, so we can know what was done

in our name and on whose authority.

Can I thank the right honourable gentleman for his generous remarks,

and I am proud to have served this country and for the first

Prime Minister for 30 years to get to Shetland and Orkney to look

into his constituency.

He raises an important point about the Libya rendition issue,

the Government co-operated fully with the police investigation

into these cases, the CPS set out their position concluding

there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

I would say and I can say it now, I think there are few countries

in the world that would have such an independent and thorough

investigation into an issue like this, I think the right

approach, as Sir Peter Gibson finished the report, is the ISC has

agreed to look at the issues raised in the report and I think

they should continue to do so.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

As my right honourable friend has said and put current

events in perspective, at 7.30 this Friday we will start

the process of commemorating the 100th anniversary

of the Battle of the Somme.

Will he join me in thanking those involved in organising the Forget

Never project who have done so much to ensure young people will learn

the lessons of the past and forgetting our current

challenges will he join me in encouraging everyone to remember,

salute and commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I join him in commending all those organising these events

particularly that in his constituency.

I think it is important not only because this appalling slaughter,

57,000 people killed or wounded on the first day of this battle,

but also because so many people are learning so much

about their own families' involvement, and I would say in many

ways there is a link between the current events

we are discussing and what happened 100 years ago,

is the importance of keeping peace and stability on our continent.

It was noticeable at last night's European Union dinner

that the French President mentioned the Somme commemorations and how

proud he was we would be standing together and remembering

the sacrifices all those years ago.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

I would like to echo the words of the Prime Minister

concerning the 36 who died and the 100 injured in the vile

terrorist attack in Turkey, I am sure our consular services

will be doing everything they can to assist those that

have been affected.

I would like to thank him for referring to the memorial

for the Somme on Friday and I look forward to being with him

there at the memorial service of those who died in that battle.

I think it would be appropriate if we paid tribute

to Lord Patrick Mayhew who died last weekend.

As Northern Ireland Secretary, he was the driving force behind

the Downing Street Declaration in 1993, that did lead

to the first ceasefire, and I think the relative peace

we have now is in part thanks to him and of course his successor

Mo Mowlam for all she achieved.

What people are worried about is the extra insecurity

to their living standards, jobs, wages and pensions

following the referendum.

In recent days we have heard words about the future of some

of the major companies in Britain like Siemens which has been

here for a long time.

What meetings has the Chancellor had with major companies

to stabilise the situation?

First of all, he is right to mention Patrick Mayhew,

he did play a huge role in the delivery of the peace

process, he was also a brilliant Attorney General

and someone who exuded

a belief in public service and the national interest

and was a kind and goodly man, and I was very sad to hear

of his passing, I sent a message to him via his wife

shortly before he died,

and I know there are many people this this House

who want to send their good wishes to his family.

The Leader of the Opposition asks what conversations we are having

with business and what preparations with are making to deal

with the economic challenges we make, we are in a strong position

to meet these challenges, because we have paid down

so much of our deficit.

We have had strong growth and job creation but I don't belittle

the consequences will be difficult.

There are going to be some very choppy waters ahead,

I don't resile from any of the warnings I made

during the campaign, but we have to find the best way

through this, one of the things we must do is talk with businesses

and reassure them about the stability there is today

and the strength of the British economy, the Business Secretary has

met with a range of businesses already.

Tomorrow I have the meeting of my business advisory group

and I am inviting other companies to that, including Siemns who play

a huge role in the British economy, what we need to talk

about the reassurances about stability we can give now,

the fact our circumstances don't change until we leave

the European Union, and then, I want to hear from them,

as we draw up the possible blueprinters for Britain's future

about what they think would be the right answer.

Thank you Mr Speaker, the credit rating agencies have cut

the UK credit rating to AA from AA plus, the Chancellor pledged

to keep a triple-A rating.

What estimate has the Government made of the cost to the Exchequer

of this downgrade, in terms of borrowing costs, and,

of the risks to pension funds.

Well, the Leader of the Opposition

is right that the credit ratings by one agency has been taken down

by several points and another has put it on watch, the answer

to his question is the cost to the Exchequer and the taxpayer

will depend on what happened to the interest rates in the market

at which Britain can borrow, and he is right to draw attention

to that, look, as I said, the head of the ECB confirmed this,

all of the warnings were if we voted to leave the EU, there would be

difficulties in terms of our own economy, and growth

rates, and instability in markets, we are seeing those thing,

we are well prepared in terms of the reaction

of the Bank of England

and the Treasury but there is no doubt in my mind, these

are going to be difficult economic times we must make sure

we maintain our strong economy so we can cope with them.

We shouldn't belittle the challenges, they will be difficult

and we will have to meet them.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

Everyone across the House should be concerned that the indications

from business and investors are the UK is less attractive,

thus putting current and future jobs at risk,

in the circumstances will the Prime Minister consider

suspending the Chancellor's fiscal rule which is in effect preventing

investment from taking place?

I don't believe that would be the right approach.

I think, look, what business needs to hear, what consumers

and investors and people concerned about our economy want to hear,

is that we have taken huge steps over the last six years

to get the deficit down, to make the British economy more

attractive, to make it an attractive destination for investment.

They want it to continue.

Of course if we see economic difficulty, one of the ways we have

to react to that is to make sure that our public finances,

and our economy remain strong.

We shouldn't have taken all the steps of the last six years

to get the deficit down, in order to see us get

on to a more difficult path.

I don't think it would be right to suspend fiscal rule, as I say,

there are three phases to this, the first is the volatility we see,

which the Bank of England and the Treasury must cope with,

the second is the uncertainty about Britain's future status,

which we need to bring to an end as fast as possible but examining

the alternative models and my successors choosing which one

we should go for, then we need to bear in mind the long-term damage

to the British economy, is based on how good our trading

relationship will be with the European Union.

Now for my part I think we want the closest possibly

relationship in terms of trading with the European Union,

and that is something that can be discussed and debated in this House,

as well as by the next Government.

Thank you Mr Speaker, this week sadly there has been more

evidence that racist incidents are increasing,

evidence collated by monitoring groups shows in the last three or

four days attacks an abuse from Stoke to Stockton,

Dorset to the Clyde.

Can I ask the Prime Minister what monitoring systems

he and the Home Secretary have put in place, what reports he has

received from the police, and what extra resources

are going to communities that have been targeted in these vile racist

attacks that are taking place?

Let me agree with him.

These attacks are appallling and they need to stop.

It is right that everyone in this House and everyone on all sides

of the referendum debate utterly condemns them, that is not

what we do in Britain, let me say I reassured

Prime Minister's of countries such of Romania and the Czech Republic

who are concerned about this at the meeting we had last night.

So we do monitor these attacks and the Home Secretary gets regular

report, we will be publishing a new action plan on tackling hate

crime shortly to step up our response, we want new steps

to boost reporting of hate crime and supporting victims,

new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime,

a new fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable

institutions and additional funding to community organisation

so they can tackle hate crime.

Whatever we can do we will do to drive these appalling hate crimes

out of our country.

I thank the Prime Minister for that answer.

Last Thursday, was a rejection of the status quo, that

clearly isn't delivering.

There are now 13.5 million people living in poverty in Britain.

Up 300,000 in the last year, 4.5 million people in England

and Wales are in insecure work and two thirds of children

in poverty are living in households, where at least one adult is in work.

The Prime Minister has two months left.

Will he leave a one nation legacy, and will that one nation legacy

..and will that one nation legacy be the scrapping of the bedroom tax,

the banning of zero hours contracts and cancelling of the cuts

to Universal Credit?

Where I would agree with the right honourable gentleman is of course

we need to do more to tackle poverty, we need to do more

to spread wealth and opportunity, but to pretend that last Thursday's

vote was a result of the state of the British economy is complete

nonsense, the British economy is stronger

than it was six years ago,

we all have to reflect on our role in the referendum campaign,

I know the honourable gentleman says he put his back in to it.

All I would say I would hate to see him when he is not trying.

Mr Speaker, Government figures released yesterday show the number

of children living in poverty has jumped by 200,000 in a year.

To a total now, a disgraceful total of 3.9 million

children in this country, living in poverty.

Does he not think he should at the very least apologise to them,

and the parents that have been failed by his Government,

and do something about it, so that we do reduce the levels

of child poverty, in this country?

If he wants to deal with the figures let me give them to him.

Income and inequality has gone down, average incomes have grown

at the fastest rate since 2001.

He asks about poverty, there are 300,000 fewer people

in relative poverty since 2010.

500,000 fewer people in absolute poverty since 2010.

If he is looking for excuses about why the side he and I were

on about the referendum frankly he should look somewhere else.

I have to say to the honourable gentleman, he talks about job

insecurity and my two months to go, it might be in my party's interest

for him to sit there, it is not in the national interest

and I would say for heavens sake, man, go.

Jeremy Quinn.

While media attentions in this House have been focussed elsewhere,

all of us in this House have constituents with problems that

need to be addressed.

For weeks and weeks, my constituents have been struggling

with the impact of unofficial industrial action on our railways.

Not over jobs, not over wages, but over who gets to press a button.

Will my right honourable friend condemn this in the

strong possible terms and help to resolve those issues?

My honourable friend is right.

Our transport infrastructure is a crucial part of our economy.

I condemn any industrial action that disrupts the travelling public,

and passengers will not thank the RMT for their recent disruption.

The performance of Southern has been unacceptable

and passengers deserve better.

The Transport Secretary will be announcing further details

of compensation soon.

Angus Robertson.

On the terrorist tragedy in Turkey, we in these benches join

with the Prime Minister and the leader of the official

opposition in our condemnation and condolences to

the people of Turkey.

Mr Speaker, a strong majority voted for Scotland to remain

in the European Union.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is in Brussels today,

where she is meeting with the President of

the European Commission, the president of the

European Parliament.

Yesterday, there was a standing ovation in the European Parliament

when the case was made to protect Scotland's place in Europe.

What will the UK Government do to protect Scotland's

place in Europe?

Firstly, let me thank the right honourable gentleman

for what he says about the terrorist attacks and how we should

stand against them.

On the issue of the UK's future and our relationship

with the European Union, we need to negotiate the best

possible deal for the United Kingdom and the closest

possible relationship.

That will also be the best possible deal for Scotland.

That is what needs to be done.

On the contrary, the Prime Minister is wrong on that issue.

Yesterday, the Scottish Parliament passed a motion across

the Parliament including the Labour Party, the Scottish

Liberal Democrats and the Greens, who all mandated the Scottish

Government to have discussions with the UK Government,

other devolved administrations, the EU institutions and member

states to explore options for protecting Scotland's

relationship with the EU, Scotland's place in the single

market and the social implement and economic benefits that

come from that.

Every party in the Scottish parliament voted for that,

except the Conservative Party, who abstained.

When will the Conservatives finally join all other parties in Scotland

in protecting Scotland's place in Europe?

The best way to secure Scotland's place in the single market

is for the United Kingdom to negotiate the closest

possible relationship with the European Union,

including in my view, the closest relationship

with the single market.

Our membership with the European Union is a UK membership

and that is where we should take our negotiating stance.

Market traders in Rossendale make a huge contribution

to our local economy.

With that in mind, would my right honourable friend call with me

and literally thousands of others to stop Blackburn Council going

ahead with its plan to bulldoze Darwin's three-day market?

I join him in paying tribute to all the hard-working market

traders across the country, who provide us with excellent goods,

often locally produced and sourced.

I know how important these markets are.

I hope the local council will listen to my honourable friend's campaign

and make sure this historic market is not lost.

The Prime Minister will recall visiting the Vauxhall car plant

in my constituency as part of the referendum campaign.

Now we have voted to leave the EU, we face a fight to keep those

jobs in this country, so I will be urging General Motors

to recognise their responsibility to build vehicles

where many are bought.

Can the Prime Minister ensure there are early talks with the motor

industry and that they are given the reassurance needed that motor

vehicles will still be able to be exported to the EU

at a competitive price?

The honourable gentleman is right.

The story of the automotive industry in Britain over the last decade has

been a positive one.

There are 150,000 people directly employed.

There are another 300,000 people in the supply

and components industry, more of which has been coming

onshore in recent years.

We need to secure the best possible deal for Britain to make

sure we have full access to the single market,

because many companies, General Motors, Toyota

and Nissan included, one of the reasons they invested

in Britain was because of access to that market.

I would urge General Motors and others to make their voices

heard, and we'll certainly be listening to them

in the weeks ahead.

Michelle Donelan.

Yesterday, a former member of my staff was verbally abused

and attacked while out shopping in London because of

the colour of his skin.

He is of Pakistani origin.

He was chased down the road by a lady shouting about how we had

voted out and that people like him shoot others and blow up people.

Shame! Shame!

Can I ask the Prime Minister to reiterate the commitment he has

given this morning to do everything in his power to eradicate this evil

hatred and reiterate that leaving the EU should not be used to breed

racism but in fact the opposite, and provide us with an opportunity

to be much more international rather than just European?

In this country, we have many imperfections, but we are one

of the most successful multi-race, multi-faith, multiethnic

democracies on Earth,

and we should do everything to safeguard that.

That means the clearest possible statements from all our political

leaders, which you have heard today and should go on hearing.

More to the point, we want action by the police and

prosecuting authorities.

The laws are there for these people to be prosecuted.

They should be used.

We are going to strengthen the guidance in the way

that I suggested.

We should absolutely not put up with this in our country.

Turning now to the Chilcot report, is the Prime Minister satisfied

with the arrangements announced for prior access for service

families of soldiers who died in Iraq?

Given that Mr Blair has had months to prepare his PR defences,

given that he has seen the relevant passages?

And what are the parliamentary arrangements for secure prior access

so this House can properly examine the findings and express any

relevant views concerning the future suitable accommodation for Mr Blair?

First of all, in terms of members with service personnel families,

we have made sure they will not face the cost that they originally were

in terms of accessing the report.

I will check the details for the time they get to access

the report and perhaps write to him.

The parliamentary process, again, I can put in a letter to him

so that we are clear about what time the statement will be,

how much time people, including the Leader

of the Opposition will have to study the report in advance,

and other right honourable gentlemen.

I remember how important this was when I was Leader

of the Opposition, having some access.

As for those people who could be criticised in the report,

he will know that there is a process where letters have to go out so that

people have a chance to respond to what is in the report.

That is entirely independent of the government.

Ministers haven't seen that, I haven't seen that.

That has been dealt with by the Chilcot report under

long-standing conventions, but I shall put that in my letter

to the right honourable gentleman.

Sir Alan Duncan.

Moving to more cheerful matters, would my right honourable friend

educate the House from his experience as Prime Minister on how,

in terms of their country's reputation and success,

he would compare the undemonstrative competence and dignity

of Angela Merkel with the theatrical and comical antics of

Silvio Borisconi?

LAUGHTER.

Fortunately, neither of the people he is talking about are candidates

in this election, an election I will stay firmly out of.

One piece of advice I was given was not to go to a party

with Silvio Berlusconi, and that is advice I have taken.

I thank the Prime Minister for giving us last week's

great exercise in democracy.

BOOING.

Order.

The honourable gentleman will be heard.

It's about us and this place that he will be heard.

Mr Douglas Carswell.

I thank the Prime Minister for giving us last week's

exercise in democracy.

We on the Leave should side recognise that although we won,

it was a narrow mandate with decent, patriotic people voting for Remain.

Does the Prime Minister agree with me that both sides now need

to come together to achieve a new, post-EU national consensus,

whereby we have close links with our friends and allies

in Europe and beyond, while reclaiming our sovereignty?

First of all, I thank the honourable gentleman for making the point

that there were people with a deep sense of patriotism on both

sides of the argument.

I also agree that it is time for people and our country

to come together.

He is also right that we now have to work very hard

on what the alternatives are.

These were debated in the referendum campaign, but they were

hypothetical alternatives.

They are now real alternatives.

One of the roles the government can play in the next few months

is to set out these different blueprints, the Canada blueprint,

the Swiss blueprint and the Norway blueprint and any other blueprints,

and look at the costs and benefits so people can make a reasoned

assessment, now that this is a real choice rather

than a hypothetical one.

Sir Roger Gale.

I know all Kent's members of Parliament would wish to be

associated with the tribute paid by my right honourable

friend to the memory of Paddy Mayhew.

He was a scholar and gentleman and he was a great friend

to his younger colleagues.

Mr Speaker, there are hundreds of thousands of expat

United Kingdom citizens

living around Europe who did not vote in the referendum.

Many of them are elderly and frail.

They live on UK pensions and UK benefits.

Will my right honourable friend seek to ensure that his successor

defends their interests?

First of all, let me add to what he said

on Sir Patrick Mayhew,

who was a wonderful man and a great public servant.

I know he meant a lot to my honourable friend and many others.

On this issue of British citizens living overseas, we should

reassure people that until Britain leaves the EU,

there is absolutely no change in their status.

One of the things that this unit at the heart of Whitehall can do

in the coming weeks is to go through these issues methodically

and work out what might need to change in all the different

scenarios to give these people certainty about their futures.

Mike Gapes.

Mr Speaker, London is the greatest city in Europe and in the world.

It's... It's...

Order!

I have enjoyed listening to the honourable gentleman for

25 years and I want to continue to hear him.

Its prosperity and tax revenue

is vital for the whole United Kingdom.

London voted Remain.

Does the Prime Minister agree with the Mayor of London,

a Labour winner, Sadiq Khan, that London now needs to remain

in the European single market and needs devolved additional powers

to deal with the problems caused by the vote last week?

I certainly agree with the Mayor of London not only that

London is the greatest city on Earth, but that London needs

to make its voice heard in these vital negotiations.

Obviously, there are many vital industries for London,

but financial services, it is the capital not only

of the UK's financial services, but Europe's financial services,

and securing the best possible access to the single market

is going to be a very important challenge in these negotiations.

So, London should have its voice heard.

This is a UK negotiation, and we should listen to the nations

of the United Kingdom, but the cities and regions as well.

I pay tribute to my right honourable friend, his premiership and the many

achievements of his government,

of which we can be proud.

May I also commend his condemnation of the vile

racist attacks that have been reported from all over the country,

and would he take this opportunity

also to condemn the ridiculous and revolting behaviour of a certain

MEP in the European Parliament yesterday, and make clear

that he does not represent this country and he does

not represent...

And he does not...

Order.

I will not have people adding their own take

on these matters.

The honourable gentleman has the floor.

I do not need help from the Scottish National Party

benches.

The honourable gentleman will be heard, and that's

all there is to it.

He does not represent this country, and he does not even represent

the vast majority of patriotic and law-abiding people who voted

Leave in the referendum.

I thank my honourable friend for his kind remarks

and congratulate him for the role he played in the campaign.

As for what MEPs and others have said, people should judge them

by the remarks they make.

I have made clear what I have felt about Nigel Farage and that

appalling poster in the campaign.

I think the motive was absolutely clear and everyone can see

what he was trying to do.

Nick Thomas-Symonds.

My constituency has received substantial amounts of EU funding.

The Leave campaign in the referendum promised that funding would continue

even if we left the European Union.

Does the Prime Minister agree that if my constituency loses a penny

piece of its funding under his successor,

that will be a gross betrayal?

It is the case that Wales as a whole is a net beneficiary of EU funds.

And as I said throughout the campaign, if the vote was a No vote,

I would want to do everything I could to make sure we continued

to help disadvantaged regions and our farmers.

Obviously, it is difficult for anyone to give guarantees

because you don't know what will happen to our economy

in the event of a Leave vote, and our economy

does face challenges.

But it will be a matter for my successor as we leave the EU

to make good on what they said at the time.

Maggie Throup.

I am pleased to announce that residents from across Erewash have

chosen the rocking horse nursery entry as the winning card

for my design a birthday card for the Queen competition.

Will the Prime Minister congratulate the 207 children

who entered the competition?

Order!

I want to hear about these pupils who should be congratulated.

Let's hear the honourable lady.

Will the Prime Minister congratulate

the 207 children who entered the competition with their amazing

designs, and would he agree to present the card to Her Majesty

at his next audience?

There are many ways in which members of Parliament

or able to interact on a more human level

with our constituents, and getting them to do birthday cards

is an excellent idea.

Having Brize Norton in my constituency, someone

once did a Christmas card with Santa letting

presents out of the back of a C17, which I thought

was excellent but some felt it was carpet bombing rather

than handing out largesse.

So, with that proviso, I think it is a good idea and I am sure

Her Majesty will be delighted to receive them.

Paul Blomfield.

Sheffield city region was set to receive ?180 million in

European structural funds through to 2020.

Much of that money is now at risk.

Those leading the Leave campaign did give guarantees that no area and no

sector would lose out as a result of Brexit.

Now, we know those promises were worthless, but will

the Prime Minister join with me in urging his successor to ensure

that Sheffield city region

is compensated by the UK Government for every pound

of funding lost as a result of last Thursday's decision?

As we negotiate our way out of the EU, a range of

decisions will have to be made.

Future governments must make sure we help our universities

and sciences and disadvantaged parts of

the country and we continue to support farmers.

There will be a challenge, but we will be able to judge for

ourselves about whether we have more money to do this because we have

left the EU, or less because of the impact on the economy.

That is something we will judge for ourselves in the years ahead.

Unfortunately, earlier this morning, the Supreme Court ruled against

a right to return of the Chagos Islanderss to their homeland.

I know that my right honourable friend

will be pleased that, shortly, I will not pester him

much more on this issue, but might I suggest that

a fine legacy of his premiership might be to allow these

British citizens to return to their homeland.

The National Security Council has been considering this issue.

We have looked at the alternative options, the costs and benefits

of the various things we could do.

And we will make an announcement in the coming months.

Grade one listed Rochdale town hall has been described

as a rare, picturesque beauty.

A bid to renovate this iconic building was rejected

by the Heritage Lottery Fund in April.

Of the five projects awarded grants,

all five are based in the south of England.

Would the Prime Minister consider supporting the renovation of this

fantastic municipal building?

It is a beautiful building and it is a historic town

that he represents.

In terms of the Heritage Lottery Fund, he's a little unfair

in focusing on those last five projects.

More broadly, he would find at the Blackpool museum received

a grant of over 13 million.

So, I believe it is fairly balanced across the country,

but I will look further and perhaps write to him about the general point

and issue of his town hall.

As well as Brits living abroad in the EU, there are a number of

EU nationals living in this country in my constituency, working hard

and paying taxes entirely legitimately.

What reassurance can the Prime Minister give them

that their position is secure?

A number are very concerned.

First of all, we must praise the contribution they make

to our country.

There are 50,000 EU nationals working in our NHS, 60,000

working in our care sector, looking after our elderly.

There are many working in education.

As I said on Monday, we can obviously say that all rights

are guaranteed as we're members of the European Union.

In the future, I have heard members of the Leave campaign make this

point that people who are already here, already studying and working,

must have their rights and their access guaranteed.

But we can't say that now, we have to say that as part

of the negotiations that will shortly take place.

Can I join with the tributes to you, Prime Minister, for all you have

done in your time of office?

Does the Prime Minister agree that whatever the disagreements

about the European Union, you were in the Remain camp,

I and my party were in the Leave campaign, but the union that matters

is that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain

and Northern Ireland, and that should be of the utmost importance.

What is being done to make sure we stay together in your

remaining time in office?

I agree with the honourable gentleman that keeping the UK

together is the paramount national interest for our country.

Because of the decision that has been made about Europe,

we need to have exhaustive conversations between officials

in Whitehall and Northern Ireland, and strong relations

with the Republic of violence that we keep the benefits

of the Common Travel Area.

-- with the Republic of Ireland that we keep the benefits

of the Common Travel Area.

The honourable gentleman has always supported one blue team,

Leicester City, and one day I hope he supports another blue team.

As members of the single market for over four decades,

many businesses have deeply embedded supply chains and customer

relationships across the EU.

Does the Prime Minister agree that any future deal

with the EU must include access to the single market?

My honourable friend is right.

Obviously, the term "access to the single market" has many

potential different meanings.

Many countries outside the EU have access to the single market,

some through a trade deal, some through World

Trade Organisation rules.

The best access is to be a member of the single market,

and the next Prime Minister will have to decide what sort

of access we want, what are the costs and benefits

of having that sort of access,

and I am sure we will talk about that in a moment

when I give my statement on the European Council.

The Prime Minister will be aware that Terex Trucks in my constituency

is consulting its staff and unions this week to shed a sixth

of its workforce.

The company has approached the UK Government to receive support

from the UK Export Finance, but from the ?40 billion fund,

has only received a guarantee to the value of one of its trucks.

Will he commit to meet with me to discuss this perilous situation

for the company and its workforce and what support his

Government can provide?

I am aware of the recent announcement about these

further job losses.

This will be a difficult time for the truckers and their families.

I understand that the Scottish and UK Government have been working

with the company over the past couple of years as part

of the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment scheme.

The Secretary of State for Scotland is also keeping a close eye

on the situation and I am happy to arrange a meeting between him

and the honourable gentleman to talk about

what more can be done.