Browse content similar to 30/03/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to Thursday In Parliament. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
The main news from Westminster... | 0:00:09 | 0:00:10 | |
Fears of a government power grab as Ministers set about disentangling | 0:00:10 | 0:00:13 | |
the UK from European Union law. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
It has been suggested that the Government is looking | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
at Henry VIII clauses to take this through. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
So much for Parliamentary sovereignty. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
Scotland's aspirations for a voice also seem to be given the Henry VIII | 0:00:23 | 0:00:27 | |
treatment with a rough wooing clearly taking place right now. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:31 | |
Will security cooperation be used as a bargaining | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
chip in Brexit talks? | 0:00:33 | 0:00:34 | |
A former police chief thinks an "implied threat" has been issued. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:39 | |
That the UK will withhold security cooperation with the EU if it does | 0:00:39 | 0:00:45 | |
not get the trade deal that it wants was insensitive, reckless, | 0:00:45 | 0:00:50 | |
or an empty threat, or all three? | 0:00:50 | 0:00:53 | |
And calls to increase the jail sentences imposed, in England, | 0:00:53 | 0:00:56 | |
on people who are cruel to animals. | 0:00:56 | 0:01:00 | |
These individuals are practising cruelty, basically, on animals | 0:01:00 | 0:01:02 | |
which they will then transfer on to humans. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:06 | |
Now that Article 50 has been activated, work begins on what to do | 0:01:06 | 0:01:09 | |
with the vast body of regulations generated by the European Union and | 0:01:09 | 0:01:12 | |
enshrined in UK law over 45 years. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
The Government will be introducing a Great Repeal Bill which, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
among other things, will get rid of the European Communities | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
Act or ECA of 1972. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:27 | |
Repealing the ECA on the day we leave the EU enables | 0:01:27 | 0:01:29 | |
a return to this parliament of the sovereignty we ceded in 1972 | 0:01:29 | 0:01:34 | |
and ends the supremacy of EU law in this country. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
It is entirely necessary to deliver on the result of the referendum. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:42 | |
But repealing the ECA alone is not enough. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:46 | |
A simple repeal of the ECA would leave holes in our statute book. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:51 | |
The EU regulations that apply directly to the UK would no | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
longer have any effect and many of the domestic regulations | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
we have made to implement our EU obligations would fall away. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
Therefore to provide the maximum possible certainty, | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
the Great Repeal Bill will convert EU law into domestic law | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
on the day we leave the EU. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:13 | |
This means, for example, that the workers' rights, | 0:02:13 | 0:02:14 | |
environmental protection and consumer rights enjoyed under EU | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
law in the UK will continue in UK law after we have left the EU. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:24 | |
And he said that, as far as possible, power taken back | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
from the EU would be devolved to Northern Ireland, | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
Scotland and Wales. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:31 | |
It is the expectation of the Government that outcome | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
of this process will be a significant increase | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
in the decision-making power of each devolved administration. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
But we must also ensure that, as we leave the EU, no new barriers | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
to living and doing business within our own union are created. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:51 | |
Mr Speaker, nobody underestimates the task of converting EU law | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
into domestic law but the question is how is it done and what is done? | 0:02:54 | 0:03:01 | |
The White Paper on the question of how gives sweeping | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
powers to the executive. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:07 | |
Sweeping because it proposes a power to use delegated legislation | 0:03:07 | 0:03:13 | |
to correct and thus change primary legislation, and also | 0:03:13 | 0:03:19 | |
devolved legislation by delegated legislation. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
Sweeping because of the sheer scale of the exercise. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:26 | |
On these benches, we think the triggering of Article 50 | 0:03:26 | 0:03:28 | |
yesterday was a sad day for everybody in Europe, including | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
everybody in these islands, and an EU which for years has | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
brought us peace, stability, security and prosperity. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:40 | |
We are turning the clock back 40 years and I am | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
glad that the minister reminded his own front benches | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
devolution existed now in a way it didn't exist 40 years ago. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
It has been suggested the Government is looking at Henry VIII clauses | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
to take this through. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:52 | |
So much for Parliamentary sovereignty. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:54 | |
Scotland's aspirations for a voice also seem to be given their Henry | 0:03:54 | 0:03:58 | |
VIII treatment with a rough wooing clearly taking place right now. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:04 | |
I'd like to commend the Secretary of State for ignoring some | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
of the more over excitable demands from parts of the Brexit press | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
and some of his backbenchers, and to confirm as he has today | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
that he will incorporate into British law some of the EU | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
jewels in the crown such as the Habitats Directive, | 0:04:15 | 0:04:17 | |
the Working Time Directive, the Green Renewable Energy | 0:04:17 | 0:04:19 | |
Directive, which we can all agree upon. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
Although he will know there is a fork in the road. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
The Government will either have to keep those provisions | 0:04:23 | 0:04:25 | |
in domestic legislations, in which case they will reasonably | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
say, "What on earth was the point of leaving the EU | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
in the first place?" | 0:04:30 | 0:04:31 | |
Or they will remove those provisions, in which case the EU | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
will need exacting safeguards to ensure we are not | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
undercutting EU standards. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:40 | |
The Government's aim that EU law, with all its rights and protections, | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
will remain in place is a pragmatic approach and we need to find a way | 0:04:43 | 0:04:47 | |
of making that happen but the Secretary of State will be | 0:04:47 | 0:04:50 | |
aware of concerns that others might try and use this process to get rid | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
of EU laws they have never liked or use these powers to make changes | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
beyond the minimum necessary. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:57 | |
This is really a Great Transfer Bill, that's what it really is. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
Could the Secretary of State give an unequivocal undertaking | 0:05:00 | 0:05:05 | |
that workers' rights, environmental protections | 0:05:05 | 0:05:06 | |
and consumer protections will be in no way changed as a result | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
of this ill and indeed anything else that is taken...? | 0:05:09 | 0:05:19 | |
The Prime Minister has already given those undertakings. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
I thank my right honourable friend for making it clear that two years | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
from today our sovereign parliament will indeed have the power to amend, | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
repeal or improve all this ghastly EU legislation. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:39 | |
I will pass on the assessment of the legislation but I will | 0:05:39 | 0:05:47 | |
of course reinforce the point I have already made, which is the aim | 0:05:47 | 0:05:57 | |
of this bill at the end of the day is to bring the decisions back | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
to this House. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
There's speculation, generated by Theresa May's farewell | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
letter to the European Union, that security cooperation may be | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
used as a bargaining chip during Brexit negotiations. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:08 | |
Some peers are worried about the implications. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:15 | |
Less than a week after four people died as a result | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
of terrorism on our doorstep, does the noble lady, | 0:06:18 | 0:06:24 | |
the minister think that the implied threat made by the Prime Minister | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
in her Article 50 letter, backed up yesterday... | 0:06:27 | 0:06:29 | |
Hear, hear. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:31 | |
..backed up yesterday by the Home Secretary that the UK | 0:06:31 | 0:06:34 | |
will withhold security cooperation with the EU if it does not | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
get the trade deal that wants was insensitive, | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
reckless, or an empty threat, or all three? | 0:06:39 | 0:06:49 | |
My Lords, may I also paid tribute to the people who lost their lives | 0:06:49 | 0:06:54 | |
last week and who still lie in hospital injured? | 0:06:54 | 0:07:01 | |
But I do take exception to what the noble Lord says. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:06 | |
My Lords, the letter says both sides would cope but our | 0:07:06 | 0:07:11 | |
cooperation would be weakened. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:13 | |
We want and we believe that the EU wants security to be part | 0:07:13 | 0:07:16 | |
of a new partnership so that is why it is part of the negotiation. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
The threat was not a threat at all, it was a matter of fact. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:28 | |
Would the minister, for the service of the House, | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
read the two sentences in the letter before the one that she | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
selectively read out? | 0:07:33 | 0:07:38 | |
Because those sentences make it absolutely clear | 0:07:38 | 0:07:41 | |
that the Government's intention and the implied threat is that | 0:07:41 | 0:07:44 | |
unless there is agreement on trade, a comprehensive agreement | 0:07:44 | 0:07:48 | |
as they call it, there will not be an agreement on security. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:58 | |
And by that means they would imperil not only our economic | 0:07:58 | 0:08:00 | |
capability but also, even more seriously, | 0:08:00 | 0:08:02 | |
our security capability. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:10 | |
The noble Lord is actually quite wrong in what he says. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:14 | |
The letter says both sides would cope but our | 0:08:14 | 0:08:16 | |
cooperation would be weakened. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
That is what the letter says. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:21 | |
And we want and we believe the EU wants security to be part | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
of the new partnership and that is why it will be | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
part of the negotiation. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:28 | |
That is the right way forward. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:29 | |
My Lords, does my noble friend realise that the appropriate reply | 0:08:29 | 0:08:36 | |
to the noble Lord Kinnock lies in the Gospel according | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
to Saint Matthew? | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
Chapter six, verse 19. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
LAUGHTER. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:50 | |
Ask the Bishop. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
Yes. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
Perhaps the Right Reverend Prelate would like to comment? | 0:08:56 | 0:09:02 | |
to the noble Lord Kinnock lies in the Gospel according | 0:09:02 | 0:09:09 | |
Would the noble Baroness, the minister not agree with me | 0:09:10 | 0:09:15 | |
the best way of answering Lord Paddick's question is to ensure | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
the Government arranges with our European partners to deal | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
with security issues first and foremost and separately | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
from trade to make sure there is no moment when we fall | 0:09:22 | 0:09:25 | |
off a security cliff? | 0:09:25 | 0:09:26 | |
The noble Lord is quite right in the sense that the Prime Minister | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
put these aspects of negotiation right at the forefront. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
I have been in debates in the last few weeks talking | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
about how that cooperation... | 0:09:34 | 0:09:35 | |
We have been world leaders in those areas. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
It is so important as we go forward. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:41 | |
But it is all part of the whole deal and that is bearing in mind | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
the context in which we operate. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:54 | |
With what the noble Lord just said, would my noble friend agree that | 0:09:54 | 0:09:57 | |
as we begin this long and difficult process, intemperate | 0:09:57 | 0:09:59 | |
remarks are hardly helpful? | 0:09:59 | 0:10:03 | |
Well, it pains which intemperate remarks my noble friend | 0:10:03 | 0:10:10 | |
-- Well, it depends which intemperate remarks my noble | 0:10:10 | 0:10:12 | |
friend is referring to that, yes, I think we all have to be very | 0:10:12 | 0:10:16 | |
careful about what we say. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
Back in the Commons, the Transport Secretary was accused | 0:10:18 | 0:10:20 | |
of pursuing a "little Britain" strategy in his approach | 0:10:20 | 0:10:22 | |
to Brexit, which could damage the UK aviation industry. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
The ramifications of leaving the EU-dominated | 0:10:24 | 0:10:26 | |
Transport Question Time from the off. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
The Open Skies Agreement has provided great opportunities for EU | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
registered airlines, including UK companies such | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
as easyJet, who fly largely unrestricted between member states | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
and within member states as well as from the EU to the US, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:37 | |
but Brexit could change all that, so can the Secretary of State | 0:10:37 | 0:10:40 | |
reassure the industry and passengers that the UK will remain part | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
of Open Skies arrangements? | 0:10:43 | 0:10:49 | |
Mr Speaker, as I said a moment ago, we will of course be reaching that | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
agreement in due course. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
It is our intention across the sectors, | 0:10:55 | 0:10:56 | |
whether it is haulage or aviation, to secure the best possible | 0:10:56 | 0:11:00 | |
agreement for the future that will benefit those who seek to do | 0:11:00 | 0:11:04 | |
business in the UK from elsewhere in the EU and those who seek to do | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
business elsewhere in the EU from the UK. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
Sir Desmond Swayne. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
How important is it to make arrangements for the worst-case | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
scenario just to show how serious our negotiating intent is? | 0:11:16 | 0:11:23 | |
Well, Mr Speaker, you will not be surprised to learn | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
that the Government of course takes steps to prepare for all | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
eventualities but we enter the negotiations with good faith | 0:11:28 | 0:11:30 | |
and intention to secure a deal because we believe very strongly | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
it is in everyone's interests both here in the UK and across the EU. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:38 | |
Can the Secretary of State confirm that the worst-case scenario | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
is no arrangement at all? | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
Can he also confirm that for airlines they have to schedule | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
12-18 months in advance and therefore can he confirm | 0:11:47 | 0:11:52 | |
that he has to resolve this within the next six months? | 0:11:52 | 0:11:57 | |
I never speculate on these things but what I would say is I have | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
detailed discussions with the aviation industry, | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
have had over the past few weeks, well aware of the challenges | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
they face around their business models and, of course, | 0:12:05 | 0:12:07 | |
the Government listens very carefully to them about how best | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
to approach this important sector in the context of the negotiations. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
The Prime Minister told the House yesterday that she will, her words, | 0:12:12 | 0:12:16 | |
deliver certainty to UK businesses about the position they | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
will be in post-Brexit. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
But without agreement on the principles behind cabotage, | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
trucking companies are already warning that new customs checks | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
will gridlock roads leading to the Channel ports. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:31 | |
UK-based airlines are already warning that they may need | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
to relocate their bases across the Channel if the UK falls | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
out of the Common Aviation Area. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:42 | |
So just how and when the minister is going to deliver the certainty | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
that those companies need now rather than a kind of ministerial | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
aspiration that everything is going to be all right | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
on the night? | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
Of course, Mr Speaker, this is not simply about UK | 0:12:52 | 0:12:55 | |
companies because the vast majority of haulage-based cabotage that takes | 0:12:55 | 0:13:00 | |
place in the United Kingdom is international hauliers operating | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
in the UK, so they themselves have a vested interest in ensuring | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
that their politicians work with us to ensure we have the best possible | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
arrangement for the future. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:09 | |
That is what we will do and I am confident other European governments | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
will want to do the same. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
The Prime Minister flippantly said in her Article 50 speech | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
that we will be leaving EU institutions but not Europe, | 0:13:16 | 0:13:19 | |
as if that was a good thing. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
The Aviation Safety Agency plays a crucial role in excluding any | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
aircraft or company that have poor safety records from European | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
airspace, safeguarding the security and well-being of people right | 0:13:27 | 0:13:30 | |
across the continent. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
Now that negotiations are underway, this government has a duty | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
to passengers in the aviation sector to tell us if the UK will be | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
a participant or are they happy to compromise our economy | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
and passenger well-being to achieve their "little | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
Britain" hard Brexit? | 0:13:45 | 0:13:51 | |
In the friendliest possible spirit, there is no danger of her suffering | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
ill health as a result of excessive hurry. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:58 | |
Secretary of State. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:02 | |
Well, that may be, Mr Speaker, but the honourable lady | 0:14:02 | 0:14:04 | |
does speak an awful lot of nonsense. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:10 | |
LAUGHTER. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:11 | |
We do not pursue, we do not and are not pursuing | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
a "little Britain" strategy. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
We are looking to build our role in the world. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:19 | |
Aviation will be an important part of that which is why | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
we are expanding Heathrow Airport, seeking to expand Heathrow Airport, | 0:14:22 | 0:14:26 | |
subject to the consultation happening at the moment, | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
and we will, of course, bring forward to this House | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
and to this country our proposals in due course. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
Many of these international bodies went beyond the EU, he added, | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
and the UK would continue to play a role in them. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
Last year, the Speaker announced a new initiative called | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
the Speaker's Democracy Award. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
It enables the Commons to recognise individuals who have championed | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
democracy in some way. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:51 | |
John Bercow has announced the first winner of the award. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
I'm pleased to be able to tell the House that Marvi Memon MP | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
is the winner in this, the inaugural year of the award. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
Ms Memon is a Pakistani politician who is the current | 0:15:01 | 0:15:05 | |
chairperson of the Government of Pakistan's Benazir Income Support | 0:15:05 | 0:15:10 | |
Programme, the BISP, and an elected member | 0:15:10 | 0:15:14 | |
of the National Assembly of Pakistan. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:20 | |
Ms Memon has prompted a substantial and impressive programme | 0:15:20 | 0:15:25 | |
of empowerment through her BISP work by giving over 5.3 million | 0:15:25 | 0:15:33 | |
of the poorest women a modest stipend for essentials such as food, | 0:15:33 | 0:15:37 | |
clothing, health care and education. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
It's hoped that Marvi Memon will visit Parliament | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
to collect the award in person. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
You're watching Thursday in Parliament, | 0:15:47 | 0:15:48 | |
with me, Kristiina Cooper. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:52 | |
There have been distressing stories of animal cruelty in the Commons | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
as MPs called for an increase in penalties | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
for offenders in England. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:01 | |
They want the maximum sentence for offences | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
to be increased to five years. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
It's currently six months. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
There were examples of what some people have done to animals - | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
and what punishment they received. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
A young fox had a habit of going to the large supermarket | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
every night to hunt for food. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
The fox was caught by a gang of boys from my own constituency. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:26 | |
They caught it by the tail, hurled it round and round, | 0:16:26 | 0:16:31 | |
smashed its head against the wall several times | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
and then stamped on its head. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
The punishment for that, well, it was hardly punishment at all, | 0:16:37 | 0:16:42 | |
so I think it's absolutely necessary to increase the penalties | 0:16:42 | 0:16:47 | |
for people who impose that kind of cruelty on animals. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
A small dog named Scamp was found buried alive in the woods | 0:16:51 | 0:16:54 | |
near Redcar on the 19th of October with a nail hammered into its head. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:58 | |
In February Michael Heathcock and Richard Finch pleaded | 0:16:58 | 0:17:02 | |
guilty to offences under the Animal Welfare Act | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
and they were sentenced to four months, meaning they will probably | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
serve just eight weeks in prison. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
Not enough time for reflection, punishment or rehabilitation. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:14 | |
The people of my constituency have been horrified by these cases | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
and it's important for me to pay tribute to their response. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:21 | |
After hearing of the incident and others, they held vigils | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
with hundreds of people coming to light candles and send | 0:17:24 | 0:17:28 | |
their messages loudly and defiantly. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:32 | |
There are also plans for a dog park to be built in their memory. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:36 | |
The perpetrators do not represent our community. | 0:17:36 | 0:17:40 | |
People in Redcar are decent and kind. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:45 | |
I know passionate animal lovers and I meet many dog lovers | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
as I walk my own dog but my constituents are angry. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:52 | |
They feel the criminal justice system has let them down | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
and that is why I am standing here today. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
The current penalties for animal welfare in England | 0:17:56 | 0:17:58 | |
are too low, far too low. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:00 | |
The maximum sentence of animal cruelty is six months in prison | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
and an unlimited fine. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:05 | |
Will he take an intervention from me? | 0:18:05 | 0:18:08 | |
I will. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:10 | |
I agree with him and his motion but part of the problem | 0:18:10 | 0:18:14 | |
is persuading courts even to impose those minimum sentences | 0:18:14 | 0:18:19 | |
that are far too low. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:20 | |
I thank him for his intervention. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
He is right. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:25 | |
I feel if we had a larger sentence and there was more | 0:18:25 | 0:18:31 | |
flexibility in the courts when you have the worst of cases, | 0:18:31 | 0:18:34 | |
the magistrates would have that ability to make that sentence | 0:18:34 | 0:18:40 | |
but he's right, sometimes there is not enough sentencing, | 0:18:40 | 0:18:46 | |
a long enough sentence even in the amount at the moment. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
I know from working in psychology that there is certainly a link | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
between cruelty to animals and psychopathy and cruelty | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
to humans, so this must be taken as cruelty in terms of animal | 0:18:58 | 0:19:03 | |
welfare but also in thinking of the impact on other victims | 0:19:03 | 0:19:10 | |
of cruelty because these individuals are practising cruelty on animals | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
which they will then transfer on to humans. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:19 | |
At present the maximum penalty for such offences is six months | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
in prison or an unlimited fine or both, and the unlimited | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
fine was only raised from ?20,000 in 2015. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
In addition offenders can be disqualified from owning animals | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
or having influence over the way an animal is kept for as long | 0:19:35 | 0:19:39 | |
as the court sees fit and this is an important point and moves | 0:19:39 | 0:19:44 | |
on from owning an animal to things like transport. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
Lord Gardner, I know, is in regular contact | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
with the Ministry of Justice to discuss maximum sentences. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:56 | |
Current sentencing for such offences does not suggest the courts | 0:19:56 | 0:20:00 | |
are finding sentencing powers inadequate, which is to say that | 0:20:00 | 0:20:04 | |
changing the maximum sentence will not make a difference if courts | 0:20:04 | 0:20:06 | |
consider a lower sentence appropriate, but I can inform | 0:20:06 | 0:20:11 | |
the House that the sentencing council has recently reviewed | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
the Magistrates' Court sentencing guidelines, | 0:20:14 | 0:20:18 | |
including those in relation to animal cruelty, | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
and the sentencing council's revised guidance, published | 0:20:21 | 0:20:24 | |
on their website, which will become effective from May, will allow | 0:20:24 | 0:20:28 | |
magistrates more flexibility as regards imposing penalties | 0:20:28 | 0:20:32 | |
towards the upper end of the scale. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
To the Lords now, where the statement made earlier | 0:20:35 | 0:20:37 | |
by the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, on the Great Repeal | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
Bill was read out to peers. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
One remark that's often made about the Great Repeal Bill | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
is that it doesn't do anything of the sort because it actually | 0:20:44 | 0:20:47 | |
turns all EU laws into British law. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:50 | |
The former diplomat Lord Hannay made the point - in his own way. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:54 | |
Would it not have been better to adopt the byline of the Prince | 0:20:54 | 0:20:59 | |
of Lampedusa's famous remark in The Leopard when he gave | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
a definition of revolution which was "everything must change | 0:21:03 | 0:21:07 | |
so that everything may stay the same"? | 0:21:07 | 0:21:11 | |
I think that is probably more the title and I think | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
the Daily Telegraph's regulatory bonfire may be a bit | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
short of dry kindling. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
Labour thought that mixed messages were coming out | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
of the Government about EU law. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
We've heard from the Secretary of State for International Development | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
arguing that to restore Britain's competitiveness we must begin | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
by deregulating the labour market whilst the Foreign Secretary wants | 0:21:31 | 0:21:36 | |
to use the opportunity to axe needless regulations that have | 0:21:36 | 0:21:41 | |
accreted since Britain joined the EU. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
How do those comments chime with the Prime Minister's | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
introduction to the White Paper and indeed the Government's | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
long-standing promise that the same rules and laws will apply on the day | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
after exit as on the day before? | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
So will the Minister confirm that it is the Prime Minister | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
who is the boss and that despite the words of the others, | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
there is no intention to repeal those madcap ideas | 0:22:08 | 0:22:12 | |
within the repeal bill? | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
I know he'll be on his feet for hours on end in the complexities | 0:22:14 | 0:22:17 | |
of these and other bills. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:19 | |
The advantage this bill has is that although the detail may be | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
difficult, the objective couldn't possibly be simpler. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
It is to ensure that this Parliament, | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
and we're all parliamentarians, makes the laws, changes the laws, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:33 | |
amends the laws which the people of this country expect this | 0:22:33 | 0:22:38 | |
Parliament to perform, and that's the duty that | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
in all my experience as an MP, they expect this Parliament | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
to be able to make the decisions on their behalf, so all of us | 0:22:45 | 0:22:49 | |
who are keen parliamentarians and value the priceless authority | 0:22:49 | 0:22:55 | |
we have in either house, but principally in the Commons, | 0:22:55 | 0:22:59 | |
should bear in mind that this is a wholly desirable | 0:22:59 | 0:23:02 | |
piece of legislation. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
I'm delighted the noble Lord sees it this way and I agree that | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
although it is complex, the challenge ahead, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:09 | |
we need to proceed with some simple principles and a simple | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
and approach as possible. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:14 | |
My Lords, I confess to an irresistible urge to return | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
to full-time practice at the bar because this is a legal minefield. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:23 | |
It was the last sitting day for the Commons | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
before the Easter break. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
Labour's Valerie Vaz, the shadow Commons leader, | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
put aside Brexit tensions and tried to introduce some | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
end-of-term levity. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:34 | |
And so to R, Mr Speaker. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
Rock and roll. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
Recently we had the death of the creator of the genre, | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
Chuck Berry, and it is as though he had some songs just | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
for the Government, so we have Maybellene, | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
why can't you be true? | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
Reeling and Rocking - the Government has had some U-turns | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
on National Insurance contributions, disquiet about school funding, | 0:23:54 | 0:24:02 | |
special deals with Tory councils and, Mr Speaker, one for you - | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
Johnny B Goode. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
Finally, I want to say thank you to all our civil servants | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
for all the work they have done when we were part of the EU | 0:24:11 | 0:24:16 | |
and all the ambassadors and all the ministers for Europe, | 0:24:16 | 0:24:21 | |
including the leader of the House, who was an outstanding | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
Minister for Europe and it's because he was so good that I hope | 0:24:23 | 0:24:27 | |
the goodwill will come back when we finish our negotiations. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:32 | |
And I also want to say goodbye and thank you to David Beamish, | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
the clerk of Parliament, who is sadly retiring | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
after 42 years. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
He's done a fantastic job, is a great public servant and worked | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
closely with our own clerk, and also Russell Tatum, | 0:24:43 | 0:24:48 | |
one of the unsung heroes, a backroom person who's worked | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
for both sides, the Labour and Conservative opposition whips. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:56 | |
He's kept us all going. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:57 | |
We wish him well in his new post at the Department of Health and hope | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
he can sort them out too. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:02 | |
And finally can I repeat again, can I thank everyone for everything | 0:25:02 | 0:25:05 | |
they did in the last week, and for everyone connected | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
with the House, a very happy and peaceful Easter. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
Goodbyes and gratitude from Valerie Vaz there, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
bringing us to the end of Thursday in Parliament. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:19 | |
I'll be back at the same time tomorrow for a round-up | 0:25:19 | 0:25:22 | |
of the Week in Parliament. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:23 | |
Until then, from me, Kristiina Cooper, goodbye. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:29 |