:00:19. > :00:25.The bill putting EU legislation into UK law sets out
:00:26. > :00:37.Should England change the rules on organ donation
:00:38. > :00:41.And MPs remember one of the bloodiest battles
:00:42. > :00:53.it is difficult if not impossible to imagine the mud, the blood and the
:00:54. > :00:55.horror and sheer scale of the losses of Passchendaele.
:00:56. > :00:58.The government has launched a key part of its Brexit
:00:59. > :01:01.The Repeal Bill - designed to convert existing EU
:01:02. > :01:03.legislation into British law - was formally introduced
:01:04. > :01:08.Opposition parties say they'll fight its passage through Parliament.
:01:09. > :01:17.At the start of the day the leader of the Commons hailed its arrival.
:01:18. > :01:24.The EU withdrawal Bill will be presented to the House today, as the
:01:25. > :01:29.Brexit secretary has said, this is one of the most significant pieces
:01:30. > :01:33.of legislation that has ever passed through Parliament and it is a major
:01:34. > :01:38.milestone in the process of our withdrawal. It means we will be able
:01:39. > :01:42.to exit the European Union with maximum uncertainty, continuity and
:01:43. > :01:44.control will stop that is what the British people voted for and it is
:01:45. > :01:46.exactly what we will do. But her Labour shadow reckoned
:01:47. > :01:48.despite the fanfare for the repeal bill MPs had had little to do
:01:49. > :02:01.since the general election. I and other opposition members are
:02:02. > :02:04.appalled, saddened and bewildered in equal measures. We have had the good
:02:05. > :02:09.citizens of this country to vote for us and they have. And as we are in
:02:10. > :02:13.the parliamentary democracy they have given their consent to be
:02:14. > :02:17.governed to enable to form MPs to form a government, as the station
:02:18. > :02:21.and form pulled members to account. We have not be allowed to do that.
:02:22. > :02:26.This is not the end of term we have no lessons and a late timetable, or
:02:27. > :02:31.spending or same singing or whistling. It is a time of critical
:02:32. > :02:35.importance to this country and the clock is ticking. We have been back
:02:36. > :02:40.31 days and in that time only had seven votes. A zombie Parliament
:02:41. > :02:45.makes it sound amusing, but this is serious. It is a threat to our
:02:46. > :02:49.parliamentary democracy. She is raising some important points about
:02:50. > :02:52.our parliamentary democracy but I do find it deeply disappointing that
:02:53. > :02:57.the opposition are trying to make something of what is absolutely
:02:58. > :03:02.normal situation following a general election...
:03:03. > :03:07.The government was getting on with business "apace," she said.
:03:08. > :03:13.I am left to conclude that this is gameplaying. The mean refer back to
:03:14. > :03:16.what the Prime Minister said on the anniversary of her leadership of
:03:17. > :03:25.this country. She asked the honourable lady is clearly not
:03:26. > :03:30.glistening... She asked all members of come together in the interests of
:03:31. > :03:34.our country to give their ideas and support as we succeed as seek to
:03:35. > :03:39.fulfil the democratic will of the people of this country to leave the
:03:40. > :03:44.EU and the opposition ridiculed it. They absolutely reject the concept
:03:45. > :03:51.of working together in the interests of our country. 13 million people
:03:52. > :03:54.voted with them and they should actually support those people in
:03:55. > :04:03.their wish to see the democratic will of this country fulfilled. The
:04:04. > :04:09.Great Repeal Bill is up to date, and invitation to climb aboard as it
:04:10. > :04:14.tumbles over the cliff edge. Apparently Labour are going to
:04:15. > :04:17.oppose it by defiantly agreeing with a Tory hard Brexit support except
:04:18. > :04:23.that the single market and an the movement. But opposition is being
:04:24. > :04:25.offered. In the meantime we will continue to look after Scottish
:04:26. > :04:29.interests and fight for a place in the single market. I think it is a
:04:30. > :04:34.great shame that he constantly talks about wanting to stay in the single
:04:35. > :04:42.market which he knows Brad Barritt means not leaving the EU. In other
:04:43. > :04:46.words they would seek to undermine the will of the United Kingdom and
:04:47. > :04:49.that is totally undemocratic on the side of the House and I hub on the
:04:50. > :04:52.opposition benches we will fulfil the will of the people.
:04:53. > :05:00.Well, a short time later the Bill was formally put before Parliament.
:05:01. > :05:07.But don't be deceived by that shout of tomorrow -
:05:08. > :05:10.in parliamentary procedure a Bill is always said to be read tomorrow -
:05:11. > :05:13.in reality the first big debate on the repeal bill will probably
:05:14. > :05:22.Southern Rail's parent company has been fined more than ?13 million
:05:23. > :05:26.following widespread delays and cancellations to services.
:05:27. > :05:30.Southern, owned by Govia Thameslink, has been embroiled in a bitter
:05:31. > :05:35.dispute with the unions over driver-only operated trains.
:05:36. > :05:39.The Department for Transport said a recent report by Chris Gibb -
:05:40. > :05:43.a non-executive director at Network Rail - made clear that
:05:44. > :05:48."the responsibility for disruption was primarily caused by industrial
:05:49. > :05:51."action led by RMT and Aslef and exceptional levels
:05:52. > :05:58.The government says the fine it's imposed on Govia Thameslink will be
:05:59. > :06:01.used to improve services for passengers hit
:06:02. > :06:10.The continuing dispute was raised by Labour at Transport Questions.
:06:11. > :06:18.Two weeks ago today the High Court of the Secretary of State 14 days to
:06:19. > :06:21.make a decision over Southern Rail's claims that its appalling service
:06:22. > :06:26.wasn't their fault but all down to industrial action. With the record
:06:27. > :06:31.fine imposed today, such nonsense has been totally blown out of the
:06:32. > :06:33.water after months and months of the Secretary of State and his ministers
:06:34. > :06:38.coming to the dispatch box and blaming the unions, they have had to
:06:39. > :06:43.come clean and accept the Southern Rail is not fit for purpose. Does he
:06:44. > :06:48.know except that continuing to tolerate such an attitude, expecting
:06:49. > :06:51.a rail service to rely on workers overtime and compromising saving the
:06:52. > :06:59.accessibility, simply won't wash any longer and he now has to call time
:07:00. > :07:02.on GTR? He is clearly still not read the judgment two weeks ago, a case
:07:03. > :07:07.that we actually want. It's because about what has been done today. I
:07:08. > :07:10.have for months that the problems on this railway are not purely down to
:07:11. > :07:15.industrial action. There are other reasons. But I am very clear and so
:07:16. > :07:19.is the Chris Gibb Report that the prime responsibility for the trouble
:07:20. > :07:23.on that network has come from trade unions fighting the battles of 30
:07:24. > :07:26.years ago and still they get support from the Labour Party and the
:07:27. > :07:28.reality is it is the Labour Party and the unions colluding to bring
:07:29. > :07:29.trouble to passengers and it should stop.
:07:30. > :07:30.Newly elected chair of the Transport Committee,
:07:31. > :07:42.The ticketing information passengers are most interested in is the price.
:07:43. > :07:46.Since 2014 commuter rail fare increases have been capped at RBI
:07:47. > :07:51.but an acid to me yesterday the Rail Minister said that there is policy
:07:52. > :07:55.is under review. Next month's inflation figures will determine the
:07:56. > :08:00.cup for January 2018 and at the Department reverts to the old
:08:01. > :08:04.formula, there could rise by 5% or more, pricing many off the railways.
:08:05. > :08:08.Next week when the Secretary of State announces his investment plans
:08:09. > :08:11.for the control period six, will he pledged that improvements passengers
:08:12. > :08:17.need will come at a price they can afford? I suppose I should welcome
:08:18. > :08:24.her to her new position. She now seems to be wondering about what
:08:25. > :08:28.will be occurring in the future. We have no intention in seeking to
:08:29. > :08:32.raise there is in the way that she describes and I don't think that
:08:33. > :08:36.would be appropriate. Is it that passengers first and we continue to
:08:37. > :08:39.maintain the cup at the moment but we keep ball policies under review
:08:40. > :08:40.at all times, she shouldn't read more into that and is actually
:08:41. > :08:41.there. Another Labour MP asked
:08:42. > :08:51.about provision in the We have heard many flowery words
:08:52. > :08:54.from the Government benches about understanding the experience of our
:08:55. > :08:57.constituents in the north-east forced to use crumbling Rolling
:08:58. > :09:01.stock on Tyne Wear and metro, but flowery words will not get them to
:09:02. > :09:07.work on time. Unless they are matched by investment. Will he now
:09:08. > :09:12.commit to investing from the public purse in our rolling stock? She
:09:13. > :09:17.should know that investment of course is central to what we want to
:09:18. > :09:26.achieve. We are investing 370 million through an 11 year asset
:09:27. > :09:32.renewal problem. We are undertaking major track renewals, refurbishing
:09:33. > :09:33.and modernising stations and vehicles, new Smart style ticketing.
:09:34. > :09:35.What is not to like about that? You're watching Thursday in
:09:36. > :09:42.Parliament with me, Alicia McCarthy. The Defence Secretary has
:09:43. > :09:45.told MPs that a report about civilian casualties in Iraq
:09:46. > :09:49.by Amnesty International should be The human rights group has alleged
:09:50. > :09:55.that Iraqi and coalition forces have used unnecessarily powerful weapons
:09:56. > :09:58.in the battle to retake Mosul from so-called Islamic State -
:09:59. > :10:04.or Daesh as MPs call it - and had failed to take adequate
:10:05. > :10:09.measures to protect civilians. The report was raised by the Shadow
:10:10. > :10:21.Defence Minister, Wayne David. It has been alleged that the actions
:10:22. > :10:29.of the coalition in Mosul have been I quote, disproportionate and even,
:10:30. > :10:35.I quote again, unlawful. I know that the deputy commander of the
:10:36. > :10:38.international anti-Daesh coalition has condemned a report in the
:10:39. > :10:43.strongest possible terms, saying that it is deeply responsible --
:10:44. > :10:47.irresponsible and he has emphatically stated that we should
:10:48. > :10:48.not forget that it is Daesh who are deliberately killing civilians.
:10:49. > :10:51.Sir Michael Fallon said he had not read the report,
:10:52. > :10:53.but said RAF airstrikes were lawful and there were robust procedures
:10:54. > :10:59.designed to minimise the risk of civilians casualties.
:11:00. > :11:09.I have seen no evidence as of yet that an RAF strike has involved
:11:10. > :11:13.civilian casualties. I wait to see that evidence being produced and if
:11:14. > :11:17.anybody has any evidence then it needs to be forwarded to us as
:11:18. > :11:22.indeed other organisations like air awards have been doing throughout
:11:23. > :11:26.the conflict and we are ready to investigate, but otherwise I would
:11:27. > :11:27.urge extreme caution in the handling of the Amnesty report.
:11:28. > :11:30.An SNP MP voiced concern at what he said had been a dramatic
:11:31. > :11:45.In June longer has been a 52% increase in comparison to the month
:11:46. > :11:52.of May's estimated somewhere between 529 744, according to air war is who
:11:53. > :11:56.he mentions in response to the Shadow Minister, of the 1350 UK
:11:57. > :12:01.personnel fighting Daesh air war claim there is not one permanently
:12:02. > :12:07.tasked with monitoring civilian casualties, so can the Minister
:12:08. > :12:13.outline if he will make a commitment to greater scrutiny and transparency
:12:14. > :12:18.on that? This is a highly compact city, very densely populated, with
:12:19. > :12:21.Daesh pushing civilians into buildings, holding them hostage,
:12:22. > :12:27.shooting them if they try to escape, this is a kind of urban warfare that
:12:28. > :12:30.we have not seen and not be involved in since probably a Second World
:12:31. > :12:31.War. A very complex military operation.
:12:32. > :12:36.Now from the conflicts of today to the conflicts of the past.
:12:37. > :12:40.Because these were the fields where, 100 years ago, more than half
:12:41. > :12:44.The battle of Passchendaele - through the summer
:12:45. > :12:47.and autumn of 1917 - is generally regarded
:12:48. > :12:51.as the bloodiest conflict of the First World War,
:12:52. > :12:55.with these Belgian fields seeing weeks of heavy military bombardment
:12:56. > :12:59.and fierce fighting, much of it in atrocious weather.
:13:00. > :13:02.By October 1917 British and Commonwealth forces had advanced
:13:03. > :13:08.just a few kilometres with the loss of more than 300,000 men.
:13:09. > :13:12.Casualties on the German side numbered 200,000.
:13:13. > :13:16.A special Commons debate has taken place, to mark
:13:17. > :13:26.It is important to remember that many of those who fought at
:13:27. > :13:30.Passchendaele were conscripts and that this was a war which had
:13:31. > :13:36.already led to huge changes around these islands. Women were already
:13:37. > :13:39.playing a vital role in the war effort, particularly in the
:13:40. > :13:45.production of munitions but the artillery which was so critical to
:13:46. > :13:48.the outcome of the fighting. Many of us Passchendaele has come to
:13:49. > :13:54.epitomise horrors of trench warfare on the Western front. But he
:13:55. > :13:57.answered a question about the role of the medical profession after
:13:58. > :14:00.Passchendaele and much of the trench warfare of the First World War given
:14:01. > :14:04.the fact that we are commemorating those who lost their lives and those
:14:05. > :14:07.who came home would have suffered many of them from shell-shocked,
:14:08. > :14:10.some of the advices of psychiatry will end on the front line in
:14:11. > :14:13.dealing with that on the impacts of armies and will not play any part in
:14:14. > :14:19.the commemoration of those who survived? Will have those things in
:14:20. > :14:21.mind. It is very difficult to go back and reinterpret events as they
:14:22. > :14:24.were at the time and as they were experienced bitter at the time but I
:14:25. > :14:30.think the honourable gentleman makes a very perceptive and worthwhile
:14:31. > :14:35.point. Can I share with of photographs that shows Passchendaele
:14:36. > :14:41.village in June 1917 and in December 1917 and even from a distance it is
:14:42. > :14:42.possible to seek how entirely the landscape was obliterated by the
:14:43. > :14:45.bombardment. A Labour MP said his father went
:14:46. > :14:57.to Passchendaele at the age of 15 We cannot look at this without
:14:58. > :15:02.remembering that many who lost their lives did not give their lives, they
:15:03. > :15:08.were told if they went that they would stop the Huns bayoneting
:15:09. > :15:12.Belgian babies. They went there as result of propaganda. We must
:15:13. > :15:14.remember that if we learn the lessons of warfare and the immense
:15:15. > :15:16.loss of life. An MP who's a military historian
:15:17. > :15:26.read a first hand account The Germans did not have much to
:15:27. > :15:32.fear from me that morning. There was no fire in my belly, nothing. I
:15:33. > :15:36.staggered up the hill, I froze and became frightened because of big
:15:37. > :15:41.shell at first and loading up group of our lads to bits. A terrible
:15:42. > :15:46.sight, men blown to nothing. I stood there. It was still and misty. I
:15:47. > :15:51.could taste their blood in the air. I could not move. I stood there,
:15:52. > :15:57.staring. These men had just been killed. We just had to wade through
:15:58. > :16:04.them to get on. That is one thing I will never forget. What I saw and
:16:05. > :16:07.smelt. The battle is notorious not only for the number of casualties,
:16:08. > :16:11.but conditions in which the battle was fought. The first few days of
:16:12. > :16:16.the offensive remark by the heaviest rainfall in 30 years. Turning the
:16:17. > :16:23.field into a quagmire trapping soldiers and horses, immobilising
:16:24. > :16:28.weaponry. One century on in the safety and grandeur of this place,
:16:29. > :16:34.it is difficult, if not impossible to imagine the mouth, the blood, and
:16:35. > :16:39.the horror and sheer scale of the losses of Passchendaele. That is why
:16:40. > :16:48.it is absolutely right that we do remember. 325,000 Allied casualties
:16:49. > :16:50.is difficult to comprehend. As is their bravery, valour and sacrifice.
:16:51. > :16:52.An MP who's a former army officer spoke about the effects
:16:53. > :17:01.The men could not even get into the shell holes, they were full of
:17:02. > :17:09.water. So they are absolutely sitting ducks. Covered in filth.
:17:10. > :17:21.Trying to go forward, absolutely exhausted. And yet, they did. Some
:17:22. > :17:25.of them sank to their waste in the mud, right down to their waists. It
:17:26. > :17:33.took six soldiers for them to be pulled out. Stretcher bearers could
:17:34. > :17:41.not move. There was no chance of stretcher bearers moving in that
:17:42. > :17:45.mode at all. Our soldiers were not brave, of course they were brave,
:17:46. > :17:47.what they really experienced was terror.
:17:48. > :17:51.Theresa May's decision to do a ?1 billion deal with the DUP
:17:52. > :17:54.to keep her government afloat clearly still rankles with some -
:17:55. > :18:01.They argue that under what's known as the Barnett Formula -
:18:02. > :18:03.the system under which money is allocated to Scotland,
:18:04. > :18:09.Wales and Northern Ireland - if Northern Ireland gets more money
:18:10. > :18:12.The cause was taken up by a Plaid Cymru peer.
:18:13. > :18:18.But the minister argued money had also gone
:18:19. > :18:28.The naval Lord will be aware that 1 billion is being allocated to
:18:29. > :18:34.schools and roads in Northern nine. Barnett elements. The government has
:18:35. > :18:39.perceived an extra needed Northern Ireland, however that is defined.
:18:40. > :18:43.Will they therefore move towards a needs -based former love, for
:18:44. > :18:44.Scotland, Wales and the regions of England?
:18:45. > :18:46.But the minister argued money had also gone
:18:47. > :18:57.There are number of investment is taking place in Wales, outside the
:18:58. > :19:05.Barnett Formula. The Cardiff capital region city deal. ?500 million. The
:19:06. > :19:09.Swansea City deal, ?150 million. The Wales great deal. All outside of the
:19:10. > :19:15.Barnett Formula. Reflected in the particular needs of Wales. As the
:19:16. > :19:20.deal reflects the particular needs of Northern Ireland. What advice
:19:21. > :19:28.would the minister give us? What do we in Wales have to do to get an
:19:29. > :19:32.extra ?1 billion? We spend ?120 in Wales for every ?100 we spend in
:19:33. > :19:37.England. We continue to be committed to that. That is the reason why we
:19:38. > :19:44.increased the overall capital borrowing limit to ?1 billion, up
:19:45. > :19:48.from ?5 million. We continue to look for ways to grow the economy in
:19:49. > :19:54.Wales within the Barnett Formula and outside it. Is it worth the Minister
:19:55. > :19:59.noting, Northern Ireland appears to have considerably more disadvantaged
:20:00. > :20:03.young people as against Scotland. And cannot afford the sort of things
:20:04. > :20:08.Scotland appears to be affording in social care and tuition fees? Does
:20:09. > :20:13.the government understand this is an issue of trust. While the Barnett
:20:14. > :20:21.Formula is not a legal requirement, it is clear to everyone in the House
:20:22. > :20:25.that the additional 1 billion for Northern Ireland is a pork barrel,
:20:26. > :20:32.as they would say in America. Politically induced donation. Which
:20:33. > :20:39.ought to fall within the formula, if one was keeping to the conventions
:20:40. > :20:43.of Parliament. I think it is wrong for the honourable lady to refer to
:20:44. > :20:46.it in that way. The details have been made very clearly, published on
:20:47. > :20:53.the website on the 26th of June. Written ministerial statements. In
:20:54. > :20:59.terms of saying it is a donation. I will stand by a donation of 100
:21:00. > :21:02.million extra for health and education, 400 million for
:21:03. > :21:07.infrastructure, 50 million form as well. 100 million for severely
:21:08. > :21:09.deprived areas. ?150 million for broadband in one of the most needy
:21:10. > :21:10.parts of the United Kingdom. In Westminster Hall a Labour MP
:21:11. > :21:14.called for a change to the rules Dan Jarvis argued there should be
:21:15. > :21:17.a switch to the same system used in Wales,
:21:18. > :21:19.where it's presumed that organs are to be donated
:21:20. > :21:22.after death, unless someone has He said more than 450 people died
:21:23. > :21:38.every year waiting for a transplant. The truth is there is a common
:21:39. > :21:43.misconception about how organ donation works. Only a very small
:21:44. > :21:49.number of people die in such a way that allows for organ donation. The
:21:50. > :21:54.vast majority of people on the organ donor register will never actually
:21:55. > :21:58.donate their organs. The figures are startling. Around half a million
:21:59. > :22:05.people die every year in the UK. Yet last year out of the half a million,
:22:06. > :22:05.only 5681 people died in circumstances where donation was
:22:06. > :22:07.possible. That was about 1%, so the simple
:22:08. > :22:10.fact was there were not enough donors and people were dying
:22:11. > :22:12.as a result. He accepted there
:22:13. > :22:23.were sensitivities. That some members of Muslim and
:22:24. > :22:30.Jewish communities have different interpretations of the Viv
:22:31. > :22:36.-- the religious legitimacy of donations. I understand their views
:22:37. > :22:42.and have the most upmost respect and sympathy for them. But I firmly and
:22:43. > :22:47.wholeheartedly believe that not only do the benefits of an opt out system
:22:48. > :22:53.far outweigh the risks. But that these risks can be mitigated through
:22:54. > :22:56.first a public awareness campaign, tailored to different ethnic and
:22:57. > :23:00.religious communities, and second, the use of in-hospital safeguarding
:23:01. > :23:03.measures. But one MP raised what she called
:23:04. > :23:15.some "notes of caution" The minister Doing nothing at all triggers a
:23:16. > :23:24.consequence, silent action. Quite a major one. That action is that those
:23:25. > :23:27.organs could be taken at a later date and transplanted. Their consent
:23:28. > :23:33.is deemed even though they have done nothing at all. The crucial point as
:23:34. > :23:37.to what affects a donation is the conversation that happens in the
:23:38. > :23:41.room three medical professionals and bereaved families. We see examples
:23:42. > :23:46.of families refusing consent, they are convinced their relatives really
:23:47. > :23:51.wanted to donate it feels selfless to say no. If only we see that being
:23:52. > :23:55.overruled. What we find is that the highest rates of donation are
:23:56. > :23:58.achieved where we have specially trained nurses, who have that
:23:59. > :24:00.conversation with the family in a sensitive way.
:24:01. > :24:02.But she added the government was interested to see what happened
:24:03. > :24:05.in Wales and it was something ministers were prepared
:24:06. > :24:11.Earlier we heard Labour's Shadow Leader of the Commons, Valerie Vaz,
:24:12. > :24:13.protesting about the way the government was organising
:24:14. > :24:18.She returned to the issue a later when she applied
:24:19. > :24:26.Valerie Vaz complained that the government had not given
:24:27. > :24:30.any opposition parties the chance to organise debates and votes
:24:31. > :24:33.in the Commons and said the rules needed to be changed to reflect
:24:34. > :24:36.the fact that this session of Parliament would run for two years -
:24:37. > :24:41.She had three minutes to make her case, after
:24:42. > :24:47.which the Deputy Speaker, Eleanor Laing, gave her verdict.
:24:48. > :24:56.I can tell the House that Mr Speaker is satisfied that the matter raised
:24:57. > :25:04.by the Honourable member is proper to be discussed understanding order
:25:05. > :25:08.number 24. I now wish to ascertain whether the honourable member has
:25:09. > :25:12.the disease of the House. Labour and MPs from other
:25:13. > :25:16.opposition parties stood up to indicate their support
:25:17. > :25:18.for Valerie Vaz. The debate will take
:25:19. > :25:20.place on Monday afternoon And that's it from me for now,
:25:21. > :25:25.but do join me on Friday night at 11pm for our round-up of the week
:25:26. > :25:28.here at Westminster when among other things we'll be
:25:29. > :25:30.talking to the new chair of the Treasury Committee -
:25:31. > :25:33.Nicky Morgan. And hearing from her fellow
:25:34. > :25:35.backbencher, Simon Hart on what can be done to counter the abuse
:25:36. > :25:41.being levelled at MPs and activists but for now from me,
:25:42. > :25:48.Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.