0:00:22 > 0:00:24Hello and welcome to the week in Parliament.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The football fans who died at Hillsborough were
0:00:26 > 0:00:27unlawfully killed.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29After the inquest verdict comes the verdict of Parliament.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32How could it have taken 27 years for the truth to emerge?
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Millions of pounds of public money were spent retelling discredited
0:00:34 > 0:00:37lies against Liverpool supporters.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Is Britain walking by on the other side?
0:00:39 > 0:00:41David Cameron faces fury for not taking more child
0:00:41 > 0:00:43refugees from Europe.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46There are children's homes full in Italy and Greece and over 1000
0:00:46 > 0:00:48children will sleep rough in Greece alone tonight.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49How are they safe?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51And time is up at Westminster for Big Ben.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56It is getting what you might call its 5 million bong service.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00But first.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09But first.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It wasn't the first time the Hillsborough disaster had been
0:01:12 > 0:01:14debated in Parliament.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16The unfolding of the tragedy and the subsequent events,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19including what came to be seen as a police cover-up,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21had been discussed by MPs several times before.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27Passions had often run high.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29But the latest debate on Wednesday was the most powerful yet.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32It came with the full force of the verdict of the two-year-long
0:01:32 > 0:01:42inquest into what happened on the fateful day 27 years ago.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44The inquest jury said the 96 Liverpool fans had
0:01:44 > 0:01:45been unlawfully killed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It pointed to serious failures on the day by the police
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and ambulance services and criticised the safety
0:01:50 > 0:01:51arrangements at the ground.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53By contrast with the rowdiness of Prime Minister's Questions,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57the Commons was near silent as the Home Secretary told MPs
0:01:57 > 0:02:03the inquest verdict was of national importance.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05It overturns, in the starkest way possible, the verdict
0:02:05 > 0:02:15of accidental death returned at the original inquests.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22No one should have to suffer the loss of their loved ones
0:02:22 > 0:02:24through such appalling circumstances, and no one should
0:02:24 > 0:02:26have to fight year after year, decade after decade,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27in search of the truth.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I hope that for the families and survivors who have been
0:02:30 > 0:02:31through such difficult times, yesterday's determinations
0:02:31 > 0:02:34will bring them closer towards the peace they have
0:02:34 > 0:02:40been so long denied.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41I commend this statement to the house.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Millions of pounds of public money were spent retelling discredited
0:02:44 > 0:02:48lies against Liverpool supporters.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Lawyers for retired officers threw around disgusting slurs.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Those for today's force tried to establish that others were
0:02:53 > 0:02:59responsible for opening the gate.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01If the police had chosen to maintain its apology,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04this inquest would have been much shorter.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06But they didn't, and they put the families
0:03:06 > 0:03:13through hell, once again.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16The initial coroner said and forced alcohol testing on all the victims
0:03:16 > 0:03:21of this unlawful disaster, including children,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24including a ten-year-old.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27That is a disgrace and we want to know that would never happen
0:03:27 > 0:03:30to a single victim again.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Despite being quest being adversarial, not link yesterday's
0:03:34 > 0:03:41verdict was unequivocal.
0:03:41 > 0:03:41--
0:03:41 > 0:03:43-- the
0:03:43 > 0:03:45-- the inquest.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Liverpool supporters were totally absolved of any blame
0:03:47 > 0:03:50and did not contribute to the disaster in anyway.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53It seems to me that the lesson this house needs to take away
0:03:53 > 0:03:57is that we have to subject ourselves and our situation is quite a lot
0:03:57 > 0:04:02of examination and to maintain it, if we are to ensure for the future
0:04:02 > 0:04:10that we do not have a repetition of this frankly deplorable episode.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15I would like to agree that this must rank alongside bloody Sunday as one
0:04:15 > 0:04:21of the most disgraceful establishment cover-ups of our time.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23The ruling confirms that some police officers
0:04:23 > 0:04:26have behaved abominably.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28And I note what the Shadow Home Secretary said about them
0:04:28 > 0:04:31being from the same force who so brutally repressed
0:04:31 > 0:04:34the miners' strike.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39In the eyes of the establishment, football fans were less than human.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41As soon as the police and the establishment see groups
0:04:41 > 0:04:46of people not as individual people but as less than human,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49then we enter into very dangerous circumstances.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Before then, the miners were less than human and we may look today
0:04:52 > 0:04:56at how we treat disabled people, asylum seekers, or the victims
0:04:56 > 0:04:59of child sex abuse, and wonder if we also think maybe
0:04:59 > 0:05:03they are less than human.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Reaction also in the House of Lords.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10How could it have taken 27 years for the truth to emerge?
0:05:10 > 0:05:14The South Yorkshire Police force put protecting themselves
0:05:14 > 0:05:22above care for the fans, the families and the truth.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24They had relationships with the media which made
0:05:24 > 0:05:26it possible for them, falsely, to smear the
0:05:26 > 0:05:32families and the fans.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34There will be no complete justice until those responsible
0:05:34 > 0:05:37for the events at Hillsborough, for the monstrous cover-up,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41for the lies and the years of organised deceit,
0:05:41 > 0:05:47are properly called to account.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49May I say that the moral culpability of those
0:05:49 > 0:05:55who participated in the cover-up is particularly grave.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Will he do all he can to encourage the prosecuting authorities to come
0:05:58 > 0:06:00to an early conclusion as to whether criminal
0:06:00 > 0:06:03proceedings should follow?
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Parliament's reaction to the inquest verdicts on Hillsborough.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Should Britain be taking more unaccompanied child
0:06:09 > 0:06:12refugees from Europe?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15On Wednesday the former Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
0:06:15 > 0:06:19described as "shameful" the Government's current refusal
0:06:19 > 0:06:21to take extra children.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Two days before that, the Commons had debated the demand
0:06:24 > 0:06:28of the Lords for Britain to accept 3000 Syrian child refugees who've
0:06:28 > 0:06:31travelled to Europe.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34That plan had been initiated by the Labour peer Lord Dubs,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38himself a 1930s child refugee from the Nazis.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41We judge that the best way to make a difference and to help
0:06:41 > 0:06:44the greatest numbers of those in need, is to support the majority
0:06:44 > 0:06:47of refugees to enable them to stay safely in their home region,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50which is why I make the points I do in respect of the aid
0:06:50 > 0:06:55and assistance.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00But where people have made that journey to Europe,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04that we support our European partners to fulfil their duties.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07His decision not to accept the amendment is to ignore the tens
0:07:07 > 0:07:11of thousands of children who are in Europe now.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Now.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16The reality is that we know 10,000 have gone missing in the last year.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19They are in the hands of traffickers now.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21These children are already in Europe.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24They are alone, far from their families.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26They are cold, frightened, hungry, frequently without help
0:07:26 > 0:07:28or access to those who might help or protect them.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Their lives are miserable, brutish, and at least half of them we know
0:07:32 > 0:07:34have experienced or seen violence which we can only dream
0:07:34 > 0:07:42of in our nightmares, or hope that we don't.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45We have a shortage of social workers in the county of Kent
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and a shortage of foster carers.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53My concern, as a constituency MP and as a proud person of Kent,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57is that I want to make sure we have the right facilities,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01professionals and funding to support the children from my county that
0:08:01 > 0:08:06all ready struggling.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10MPs rejected the Lords' proposal 294 votes to 276,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13a government majority of 18.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18But the next day, peers insisted Britain should take the refugees.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22British people are seeing that there is a problem for children
0:08:22 > 0:08:24exposed and vulnerable in various parts of Europe.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26They are not all safe.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29They may be in an EU country but many are in dangerous
0:08:29 > 0:08:32circumstances and the fact that so many have disappeared altogether
0:08:32 > 0:08:42is an indication of how alarming the position is.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Even if the pull factor is applying, if there is concern that children
0:08:46 > 0:08:49should be with their parents, there is no shortage of children
0:08:49 > 0:08:50who are unaccompanied, and need help.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55The minister quoted the United Nations Refugee Agency.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58They cautioned against creating routes and benefits that target
0:08:58 > 0:09:00unaccompanied children because of the risk of encouraging
0:09:00 > 0:09:05families to send children ahead alone.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07In other words, causing children to come unaccompanied,
0:09:07 > 0:09:12and all the risks that go with that.
0:09:12 > 0:09:20But peers voted by a majority of 107 to back Lord Dubs.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23So to Wednesday, and at PMQs, the SNP weighed into the argument.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24Europol estimates that 10,000 unaccompanied children
0:09:24 > 0:09:34in Europe have disappeared.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40This is an existential question about the safety
0:09:40 > 0:09:41of vulnerable children.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43The Prime Minister thinks it is not the responsibility
0:09:43 > 0:09:48of the United Kingdom to help unaccompanied children in Europe.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51So I ask him, who has a moral responsibility to feed them,
0:09:51 > 0:09:59to clothe them, to educate them and give them refuge, if not us?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01He asks the question, who is responsible for refugees?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03The person who is responsible is the
0:10:03 > 0:10:05country in which they are in.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08And I want Britain to play our part but
0:10:08 > 0:10:11you have to ask yourself, do we do better by taking a child from a
0:10:11 > 0:10:13refugee camp or taking a child from the Lebanon
0:10:13 > 0:10:15or taking the child from
0:10:15 > 0:10:21Jordan than we do taking a child from France or Italy or Germany.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24And to compare this to the 1930s is frankly to insult those countries
0:10:24 > 0:10:31who are our neighbours and partners.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The Prime Minister has just suggested that child refugees alone
0:10:34 > 0:10:38in Europe are safe.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41There are children's home is full in Italy and
0:10:41 > 0:10:44over 1000 children will sleep rough in Greece alone tonight.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46How are they safe?
0:10:46 > 0:10:4710,000 children have disappeared in Europe.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51How are they safe?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54The agencies say that children are committing survival sex.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56They are the being abused, subject to
0:10:56 > 0:10:58prostitution and rape.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00It is not insulting other European countries
0:11:00 > 0:11:02to offer to help.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05They want us to help.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09So, will he reconsider his position on Alf Dubs' amendment
0:11:09 > 0:11:13before it comes back to the vote and stop with his attitude to lone
0:11:13 > 0:11:22child refugees, putting this House and this country to shame?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24She asks if we are helping other European
0:11:24 > 0:11:28countries, and we are helping other European countries, not least with
0:11:28 > 0:11:32the ?10 million we recently announced.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35But I would say the crucial point is this.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37How do we in Britain best help child refugees?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39We think we helped them by taking them
0:11:39 > 0:11:41from the refugee camps, taking them from Lebanon, taking them from
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Jordan, bringing them to this country.
0:11:45 > 0:11:46That is what we are doing.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50We have a proud record and it is nothing to be ashamed of.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53The arguments over Britain taking more child refugees.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Now, a look at some of the other stories around Parliament
0:11:56 > 0:11:58in the last few days.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01The already bruised Housing Bill, allowing housing association tenants
0:12:01 > 0:12:05to buy their homes, has taken a further battering from peers.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07There'd already been 11 Government defeats on the Bill in the Lords,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10now there've been two more.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13A former Head of the Civil Service said councils should be allowed
0:12:13 > 0:12:18to keep the receipts from sales to provide replacement housing.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Those most in need are denied the opportunity
0:12:22 > 0:12:25of a new home to rent went it becomes vacant.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28The only saving grace for local authorities was the
0:12:28 > 0:12:34prospect of replacement funding.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35It is essential that local authorities
0:12:35 > 0:12:39who have had their budgets reduced, year on year, for some considerable
0:12:39 > 0:12:43time, are not expected to sell off their high-value homes and hand over
0:12:43 > 0:12:49the entire receipts to the Secretary of State.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51We intend to give authorities with particular housing
0:12:51 > 0:12:55needs in their area the opportunity to reach bespoke agreements about
0:12:55 > 0:13:00the delivery of different types of new homes.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03No sign of an end to the junior doctors dispute.
0:13:03 > 0:13:0713,000 operations are cancelled when they walk out again
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and withdraw from emergency work.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Labour says it's all the Health Secretary's fault.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18He can barely show his face in a hospital because he ends up being
0:13:18 > 0:13:21chased down the road.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25This is a deeply, deeply sad day for the NHS.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I'll tell her judgment issue.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It is whether or not you back a union
0:13:31 > 0:13:35which is withdrawing life-saving care from your own constituents.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Health secretaries should stand up for their constituents, for their
0:13:39 > 0:13:40patients.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43So, can I ask the BMA directly whether they will show
0:13:43 > 0:13:48unity, put patients first and draw back from this dangerous escalation?
0:13:48 > 0:13:52From NHS to BHS.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55The familiar store on the high street, where we bought
0:13:55 > 0:13:58the cosy lampshades, goes into administration after
0:13:58 > 0:14:0088 years of trading.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03As a new buyer is sought, the questions start.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06BHS staff and the public will
0:14:06 > 0:14:08understandably want to know whether
0:14:08 > 0:14:10the former owner, who took so many
0:14:10 > 0:14:12millions of pounds out of the
0:14:12 > 0:14:14business, will have to pay his fair
0:14:14 > 0:14:16share of the liabilities which
0:14:16 > 0:14:17accrued during his stewardship.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It is, perhaps, unfortunate that the
0:14:19 > 0:14:21party opposite decided to vote
0:14:21 > 0:14:23against our very moderate but very
0:14:23 > 0:14:24important proposals on Sunday
0:14:24 > 0:14:27trading, where there was clear
0:14:27 > 0:14:29evidence that that would have
0:14:29 > 0:14:30actually helped the retail sector.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Perhaps if they had not on that,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34they might have a bit more credibility.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Dangerously addictive or good fun?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Fixed odds betting terminals,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40sometimes better known as FOBTs
0:14:40 > 0:14:42need more regulation, say most but not all MPs
0:14:42 > 0:14:45in a Westminster Hall debate.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Seven of the MPs across the parties
0:14:48 > 0:14:52agree with me that they are a
0:14:52 > 0:14:54dangerous past time.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56It is about location.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59It is about the proximity of these machines to people who may be
0:14:59 > 0:15:02vulnerable to developing a gambling habit.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Some streets in the east end of Glasgow have as many as four
0:15:05 > 0:15:07bookmakers in the same street, within a few hundred yards of each
0:15:07 > 0:15:10other with multiple units in each shop.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14These machines are already very heavily regulated.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Every aspect of their operation is controlled.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20They must be licensed, the maximum stake is controlled, the maximum
0:15:20 > 0:15:22pay-out is controlled.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26The fact is that gambling is available in many
0:15:26 > 0:15:30forms and there is no control over how much anyone can stake on a five
0:15:30 > 0:15:34furlong flat race which is over in less than a minute.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37In trouble for a Facebook posting.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41After MP Naz Shah says Israel should be moved to America,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44she apologises to the House but hours later is suspended
0:15:44 > 0:15:46from the Labour Party.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49And I wholeheartedly apologise to this
0:15:49 > 0:15:52House for the words are used before
0:15:52 > 0:15:53I became a member.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I accept and understand that the words I used
0:15:56 > 0:15:59caused upset and hurt to the Jewish
0:15:59 > 0:16:00community and I deeply regret that.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Anti-Semitism is racism, full stop.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07And should every maintained school
0:16:07 > 0:16:09become an academy, free from local authority control?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Some Conservatives are known to be doubtful.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Helping them with their doubts is the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Last week, the Prime Minister told the House
0:16:18 > 0:16:23that he was going to put rocket boosters on his forced academisation
0:16:23 > 0:16:24proposals.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27This weekend, in the light of widespread unease,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29including amongst his own MPs, it seems the
0:16:29 > 0:16:31wheels are falling off the
0:16:31 > 0:16:34rocket boosters and the government is considering a U-turn.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38I haven't yet met other rocket booster with a
0:16:38 > 0:16:40wheel on it but I'm sure...
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Rocket science isn't really my subject and
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I think perhaps it isn't his.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I will repeat again, Academy is raising
0:16:47 > 0:16:50standards in our schools.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55And I want a system where it is heads and
0:16:55 > 0:16:56teachers running schools, not bureaucrats.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58David Cameron.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Now a complete change of tone.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03It's kept time in Westminster for more than 150 years.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05But now Big Ben and its clock are due a facelift.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08So what will that mean for the bongs?
0:17:08 > 0:17:15We sent Duncan Smith to the Tower, the Elizabeth Tower that is.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19BONG!
0:17:19 > 0:17:22It is a British icon. BONG!
0:17:22 > 0:17:25A symbol of democracy. BONG!
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And it is in need of repair.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Water damage, rust, and the passing years have taken
0:17:31 > 0:17:35their toll on the Elizabeth Tower and the world-famous clock.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38A ?29 million refurbishment programme is
0:17:39 > 0:17:40due to start next year.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42And the bells will fall silent.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44It is part of British life, isn't it,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46the bongs of Big Ben.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48How do you think we will cope without it?
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Well, I know the authorities are going to do
0:17:50 > 0:17:53there best to ensure that the striking of the bells can
0:17:53 > 0:17:56take place if there is a big national event
0:17:56 > 0:17:59that needs to be commemorated, even while the clock mechanism isn't
0:17:59 > 0:18:01actually functioning.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03But it is a fact of life, unfortunately, that to
0:18:03 > 0:18:06repair the clock, there will be occasions when we won't be able to
0:18:06 > 0:18:09hear the chimes.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Five, four, three, two, one!
0:18:12 > 0:18:14BONG!
0:18:14 > 0:18:17So, Big Ben will still ring in the New Year but the
0:18:17 > 0:18:21restoration will replace much of the famous landmark under wraps.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25It will have scaffolding from the bottom
0:18:25 > 0:18:27to the top.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32We are going to try and keep as many dials showing as
0:18:32 > 0:18:33possible.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36So, at all times, there will be one dial showing at a time.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40It will be silent for a period but we are hoping to make the impact
0:18:40 > 0:18:41as small as possible.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44At one point, the roof will be taken off so, for
0:18:44 > 0:18:49the public, it will be quite something to live through.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Plans include installing a lift.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Current access for clockmakers and visitors
0:18:54 > 0:18:58is only via 334 stone steps.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02And the clock face may go back to the future.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's black and gold look may be changed to be more in keeping
0:19:05 > 0:19:08with the colours of Pugin's original design.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The conservation architects who work for parliament
0:19:11 > 0:19:15are now researching the original paint specification that it was
0:19:15 > 0:19:17first designed in.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Over the years, it has been changed and altered and,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23at the moment, we don't actually know what the colours were.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But there is an awful lot of research
0:19:27 > 0:19:30going into this and it will be fantastic to restore it to how Pugin
0:19:30 > 0:19:33saw it 150 years ago.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38It has been going for 157 years?
0:19:38 > 0:19:44Yes, it has, virtually nonstop.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49There are not many mechanical things that you can say that for.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51People don't appreciate it.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54And it is still doing exactly what it was put there for.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It is not in a museum, it is an incredible
0:19:57 > 0:19:58piece of machinery.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Will this keep it going for another 157 years?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05I have no reasons to believe it will cause any problems in
0:20:05 > 0:20:06future.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09As long as it is maintained, as long as we have clockmakers to
0:20:09 > 0:20:11maintain it, it won't be a problem.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13BONG!
0:20:13 > 0:20:17News from Duncan Smith on Big Ben.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Well, at the present time...
0:20:19 > 0:20:22you're never more than a few minutes away from the next Referendum story.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Some days in the campaign are more heated than others.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28On Thursday came talk of a conspiracy.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32A leading light in the campaign for the UK to leave the EU accused
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Ministers in the Remain camp of caving in on plans
0:20:36 > 0:20:37to curb union power.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41They say concessions made to the Trade Union Bill were done
0:20:41 > 0:20:44just to get the unions' support, and, more importantly, votes,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47for Britain to stay in the EU.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52It has been confirmed to me, through more than two independent
0:20:52 > 0:20:56sources, that Number Ten instructed these concessions to be made after
0:20:56 > 0:20:59the discussions with trade union representatives.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03This being true would amount to the sale of
0:21:03 > 0:21:07government policy for cash and political favours.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Mr Speaker, this stinks.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14This reeks the same as cash for questions.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16This shows the Government really is at the rotten
0:21:16 > 0:21:18heart of the European Union.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21The Minister said the Bill was in the process of being batted
0:21:21 > 0:21:24between the Commons and the Lords, known as parliamentary ping-pong.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27The trade union bill is now in ping-pong,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and as is customary at such times, ministers have held
0:21:30 > 0:21:32regular discussions times, with
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Shadow ministers to discuss possible compromises that would secure
0:21:35 > 0:21:38passage of the bill and commitment of delivery made in the Conservative
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Party's manifesto.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43There would be concern, if, as part of the
0:21:43 > 0:21:47ping-pong process, any government at any time had made
0:21:47 > 0:21:50concessions on a bill, as a result of something that
0:21:50 > 0:21:52had nothing to do with that bill.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55My honourable friend is an honourable
0:21:55 > 0:21:58man and I am sure that he can confirm that no government that he
0:21:58 > 0:22:01was a part of would ever do that.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03I would just gently say to my honourable and right honourable
0:22:03 > 0:22:08friends that not every compromise is a conspiracy.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Mr Philip Hollbone.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14This is a shabby political episode where the
0:22:14 > 0:22:18government has been caught diluting trade union legislation to persuade
0:22:18 > 0:22:20the trade unions to come
0:22:20 > 0:22:23on board with their campaign to stay in the European Union.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Isn't it now clear that the government, big
0:22:25 > 0:22:29business, big banks, the BBC and now the big trade unions
0:22:29 > 0:22:31are all ganging up on the British people to try and
0:22:31 > 0:22:34persuade them to stay in the European Union?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Now that the government, according to this barmy idea that is
0:22:38 > 0:22:41being propagated this morning from the right
0:22:41 > 0:22:45wing of the Tory party, now that the government is
0:22:45 > 0:22:48seemingly prepared to give way on different subjects,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53can I ask him, what is the price of dropping
0:22:53 > 0:22:57this lousy, rotten, trade union bill altogether?
0:22:57 > 0:23:05Mr Speaker, it is the goal of my life to give leisure to
0:23:05 > 0:23:07the honourable gentleman.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10On Wednesday the Prime Minister, a campaigner
0:23:10 > 0:23:13for Britain to stay in the EU, seemed grateful for this
0:23:13 > 0:23:15question from Labour.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Does the Prime Minister think it makes more
0:23:17 > 0:23:20sense for us to listen to all of our closest friends
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and allies around the world or to a combination of
0:23:22 > 0:23:25French fascists, Nigel Farage and Vladimir Putin?
0:23:25 > 0:23:31I'm glad he takes the English pronunciation of Nigel
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Farage rather than the poncey foreign sounding one that
0:23:34 > 0:23:37he seems to prefer.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I think that is a very good thing.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Obviously, I think we should listen to our
0:23:43 > 0:23:47friends and our allies and as I look around the world, it is hard to find
0:23:47 > 0:23:50the leader of a country that washes as well that wants us to do anything
0:23:50 > 0:23:53other than stay inside a reformed European Union.
0:23:53 > 0:24:02David Cameron replying to Ben Bradshaw.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Now with a look at some of the more off-beat political stories this
0:24:06 > 0:24:07week, here's Alex Partridge.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13In the House of Commons, the SNP's Karen Monaghan
0:24:13 > 0:24:16accuses Labour's John Wilcox of heckling her with the worst language
0:24:16 > 0:24:19than anything she had heard in 20 years of teaching in Glasgow.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21So outraged!
0:24:21 > 0:24:25The Sun reports that old Powles Samantha Cameron and Sarah
0:24:25 > 0:24:34Vine had a foul-mouthed spat as Sam accused Michael Gove of betraying
0:24:34 > 0:24:36the PM by backing Brexit.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37Baffled by Welsh place names?
0:24:37 > 0:24:39So are Ukip it seems.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41In Rhondda, they put out a leaflet that misspelled the
0:24:41 > 0:24:42constituency name.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45For the benefit of any other candidates, it is one N
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and two Ds.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Traditionalists can rest easy as the Queen has
0:24:50 > 0:24:52rejected a plan to arrive at the State Opening
0:24:52 > 0:24:55of Parliament in a car rather than a horse-drawn carriage.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58But rumour has it she will take the lift to reach the House of
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Lords and not the stairs.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Ruth Davidson has promised a serious campaign for Holyrood.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07To show she meant what she said, she rode a buffalo
0:25:07 > 0:25:08on a farm in Fife
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and told Pink News she would be wearing her lucky pants
0:25:11 > 0:25:12on election night.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15So, that's going well, then.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Mmm. Must look mine out of the cupboard!
0:25:22 > 0:25:25A big political week coming up.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Voting takes place for the legislatures of Cardiff
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Edinburgh and Belfast.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31There are also local elections in England.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33This time next week we'll know the results.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Meanwhile, the Commons and the Lords are back in business
0:25:36 > 0:25:37after the Bank Holiday weekend.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40So do join me for the next Week in Parliament.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.