:00:12. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Tuesday in Parliament.
:00:15. > :00:19.Divisions within the Labour Party are exposed as MPs debate the future
:00:20. > :00:26.It would really be ludicrous for me to pretend there are not differences
:00:27. > :00:29.of opinion within the Parli`mentary Labour Party and the wider party on
:00:30. > :00:35.Concerns about cuts that cotld harm the police's ability
:00:36. > :00:40.We've been making an arrest a day over the last year or so, which is
:00:41. > :00:43.approaching twice what it would have been three or four years ago.
:00:44. > :00:48.the case for military action in Syria is clear.
:00:49. > :00:53.We do believe that it is morally unacceptable to outsource an action,
:00:54. > :00:56.which is essential to the ddfence of the United Kingdom and UK chtizens
:00:57. > :01:03.But first, a debate calling for the renewal of Trident to be scrapped
:01:04. > :01:07.has exposed divisions insidd the Labour Party on the isste.
:01:08. > :01:10.The Scottish Nationalists are against renewing
:01:11. > :01:14.the nuclear weapons system `nd so is the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
:01:15. > :01:16.But the Labour Party supported Trident
:01:17. > :01:20.at the last election and is now conducting a review of the policy.
:01:21. > :01:26.Many Labour MPs stayed away from the debate after being asked to abstain.
:01:27. > :01:33.The SNP's defence spokesman, Brendan O'Hara, opened the debate.
:01:34. > :01:42.Let us be absolutely clear, there is no moral case for any state
:01:43. > :01:45.possessing weapons of mass destruction, possessing the
:01:46. > :01:50.wherewithal to destroy the world several times over and everxthing in
:01:51. > :01:55.it is not something to be proud of, indeed, it is something I bdlieve to
:01:56. > :02:01.be deeply ashamed of. Not only is tried and morally questionable, I
:02:02. > :02:04.believe it is economic madndss. In 2006 when the successor programme
:02:05. > :02:09.was first discussed, the likely cost of building new submarines was put
:02:10. > :02:16.at between ?50 million and ?20 billion. Yesterday's SDSR btt it at
:02:17. > :02:21.?31 billion. Possession of top end military capabilities withott the
:02:22. > :02:27.ability to exercise them effectively is known in strategic parlance as a
:02:28. > :02:31.hollow force. In many ways, to put it in a more colloquial way, we are
:02:32. > :02:38.acting as having a fur coat and nae knickers! Because Trident is a
:02:39. > :02:40.military and political ego trip that is being paid for on the backs of
:02:41. > :02:40.the poor. Labour MPs reflected both shdes
:02:41. > :02:52.of the debate. There are some members of the Labour
:02:53. > :02:57.Party that support his view. I am one of those, I intend to vote for
:02:58. > :03:03.the motion being put. Does he agree with me that it is not a choice if
:03:04. > :03:07.we want to keep Britain safd between renewing our nuclear deterrdnt and
:03:08. > :03:13.taking the necessary action against Isil, both are vital and th`t it
:03:14. > :03:17.would be foolhardy, not to say arrogant, to believe that anyone in
:03:18. > :03:23.this House can predict the risks and threats Britain will face in the
:03:24. > :03:24.next 30 or 40 years. I think I could not have put that better.
:03:25. > :03:26.The Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, began
:03:27. > :03:40.I should remind members opposite it was Labour Ministers Attlee and
:03:41. > :03:45.Bevan who argued in the 1940s with a nuclear deterrent with a unhon Jack
:03:46. > :03:48.on the top of it. Yet today we find a leader of the Labour Partx
:03:49. > :03:53.opposing his party's offici`l policy. He wants to scrap Trident
:03:54. > :03:59.and he has said he is no longer prepared to use it. And what perhaps
:04:00. > :04:02.is equally worrying is the nonattendance now of the sh`dow
:04:03. > :04:08.Secretary of State, because she has been admirably clear in opposing a
:04:09. > :04:09.leader, while agreeing to ldad a review of the policy.
:04:10. > :04:13.And he explained why the Government believed in renewal.
:04:14. > :04:22.Our nuclear deterrent works. It deters aggression every single day.
:04:23. > :04:27.There have been many conflicts in the last six decades, not one of
:04:28. > :04:31.them has involved a direct conflict between nuclear states. Not one
:04:32. > :04:39.country under the protection of an extended nuclear umbrella h`s been
:04:40. > :04:41.invaded. Our nuclear deterrdnt is operationally independent, the
:04:42. > :04:45.honourable member for Argyll and Bute is quite wrong about that, it
:04:46. > :04:50.is operationally independent, its command and control system, as well
:04:51. > :04:55.as its decision-making apparatus, our hours and ours alone. It would
:04:56. > :04:58.clearly be ludicrous to pretend there not differences of ophnion in
:04:59. > :05:01.the Parliamentary Labour Party and the wider party on whether this is
:05:02. > :05:04.right policy. National partx conference and the National policy
:05:05. > :05:09.Forum decide what the Labour Party's approach to this qudstion
:05:10. > :05:11.will be in a future. But thhs year's Labour Party conference
:05:12. > :05:18.concluded there were more pressing contemporary motions to deb`te, so
:05:19. > :05:23.the national policy reform ,- four report reaffirmed the party's
:05:24. > :05:26.support for the continued ddterrent. There are strongly held views on
:05:27. > :05:29.each side of this debate and we have the utmost respect for all those
:05:30. > :05:36.deeply held views. But let le be absolutely clear, this issud is too
:05:37. > :05:40.important for the future of our country for members of this House to
:05:41. > :05:45.play a party political games with. We all know that the reason the SNP
:05:46. > :05:47.is scheduled this half day debate, is not to influence governmdnt
:05:48. > :05:51.policy, there was not one shngle question to the Government hn the
:05:52. > :05:58.contribution they make, but in order to attempt to score cheap political
:05:59. > :06:02.points. If anyone seriously believes that what we were going to hear
:06:03. > :06:06.today was a serious case behng brought forward by the Scottish
:06:07. > :06:09.National party, they had to say all they had to do was to witness the
:06:10. > :06:13.speech is being made by the honourable gentleman for Argyll and
:06:14. > :06:17.Bute, who could barely cont`in his delight in the fact that thd Labour
:06:18. > :06:21.Party were reviewing that position. There was no serious contribution to
:06:22. > :06:24.the debate about Trident, no serious challenge to the Government, but
:06:25. > :06:25.this is simply cheap political point scoring.
:06:26. > :06:28.In the end, the SNP motion opposing the renewal of Trident
:06:29. > :06:35.Now, the UK's top counterterrorism officer has warned that major cuts
:06:36. > :06:38.to police budgets could affdct the ability
:06:39. > :06:43.of the police to tackle a P`ris style marauding terrorist attack.
:06:44. > :06:45.Mark Rowley was speaking to the Home Affairs Committee
:06:46. > :06:48.following a leaked letter to the Home Secretary that stressed the
:06:49. > :06:57.importance of mainstream policing in the fight against terrorhsm.
:06:58. > :06:59.You are concerned that reductions in the budget would affect
:07:00. > :07:06.You will have heard the Comlissioner saying in respect of London,
:07:07. > :07:09.we think we can see scope for 1 % more efficiencies, but substantially
:07:10. > :07:13.beyond that, we are concerndd about the impact that would have.
:07:14. > :07:15.That 10% number would probably vary across the country,
:07:16. > :07:19.based on different forces, but the principle that dram`tically
:07:20. > :07:24.So, if it is 20%, would it pass the tipping point
:07:25. > :07:30.Mr Rowley said the police was doing everything
:07:31. > :07:35.We've been making an arrest a day over the last year or so, which is
:07:36. > :07:38.approaching twice what it would have been three or four years ago.
:07:39. > :07:43.And I put those in two broad baskets, for simple purposes.
:07:44. > :07:46.A third of those arrests ard using counterterrorism powers, we are
:07:47. > :07:50.prosecuting people for, whether it is a plot or having terrorist
:07:51. > :07:55.Those are the people more advanced in the sort of development
:07:56. > :08:01.The other two thirds are more disruptive,
:08:02. > :08:03.we are using crime powers, we are prosecuting for fraud,
:08:04. > :08:09.sexual offending, anything that we can use to disrupt their conduct.
:08:10. > :08:12.These are people who are extremists, who are generally sort of
:08:13. > :08:17.migrating towards terrorism, and rather than waiting until the last
:08:18. > :08:21.minute, so to speak, anything we can do to disrupt them is important
:08:22. > :08:24.Talk turned to the killing of the Islamic State militant
:08:25. > :08:29.The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suggested it would have been better
:08:30. > :08:36.I think part of our discusshon in relation to Mohammed Emw`zi,
:08:37. > :08:40.who was killed by a drone strike in November, that somehow it m`y have
:08:41. > :08:45.been possible to arrest him in Raqqa and bring him to justice, is there
:08:46. > :08:50.any official context or lind of communication that you h`ve with
:08:51. > :08:54.people in Raqqa that would have enabled him
:08:55. > :08:58.to have been arrested and bd brought over here and brought to justice?
:08:59. > :09:02.I have no idea how you would ever have done that.
:09:03. > :09:04.We have obviously worked extraordinarily hard,
:09:05. > :09:07.doing an investigation from a distance, to make him prosecutable
:09:08. > :09:11.if he ever surfaced anywherd where he could be arrested.
:09:12. > :09:15.But he was in a lawless, ungoverned space,
:09:16. > :09:20.and I couldn't see any prospects of him coming out of there.
:09:21. > :09:25.It was then the turn of the Minister and the Home Office official
:09:26. > :09:27.in charge of counterterrorism to face MPs' questions.
:09:28. > :09:34.First, the threat of cuts to police budgets.
:09:35. > :09:42.We need to review what we do in the light of Paris in operation`l terms,
:09:43. > :09:43.that is true, and we're doing that, it would be remiss not to.
:09:44. > :09:46.You are also right, if I might say so, Chairman,
:09:47. > :09:48.in acknowledging the police were an important part of that.
:09:49. > :09:51.Of course, we worked very closely with Mark Rowley in those efforts.
:09:52. > :09:54.I mean, it would be immensely impertinent
:09:55. > :09:55.and probably extremely unwise for me to anticipate
:09:56. > :10:01.the police grant settlement, so I won't do that.
:10:02. > :10:05.But what I will say is, as xou will know, we have put an extra 0900
:10:06. > :10:09.additional people into the security services, we are boosting
:10:10. > :10:16.Clearly, the work they do rdlates to what the police do,
:10:17. > :10:19.and as Mark Rowley said in the evidence he gave just now,
:10:20. > :10:22.one of the things that marks out our experience,
:10:23. > :10:25.compared with others, is thd close working relationship
:10:26. > :10:27.they enjoy with those other services.
:10:28. > :10:30.The committee heard 70 UK chtizens had been killed fighting with
:10:31. > :10:45.It is between 750 and 800 who have gone. Since the conflict began.
:10:46. > :10:47.About 50% of those have rettrned. Those are the really
:10:48. > :10:49.important numbers for us. Now not all those people,
:10:50. > :10:51.I would emphasise, because ht is, I think, being misreported, not all
:10:52. > :10:54.of those people have joined Isil, that is a smaller subset of that
:10:55. > :10:59.group. But of course, the percentage
:11:00. > :11:02.certainly has... You are watching
:11:03. > :11:04.Tuesday in Parliament I think in many ways,
:11:05. > :11:08.this is the hardest speech I've ever made in 11 years hn
:11:09. > :11:13.this House. On Thursday,
:11:14. > :11:15.the Government will set out its case for extending air strikes
:11:16. > :11:17.into Syria, and a Commons vote on milit`ry
:11:18. > :11:22.action is expected days aftdr. During questions, Foreign Sdcretary
:11:23. > :11:27.Philip Hammond told MPs that the case for military `ction
:11:28. > :11:30.in Syria was clear. Does he agree that when Isil
:11:31. > :11:32.represents the most immediate threat to our national security we
:11:33. > :11:35.should be targeting its headquarters in Syria instead of leaving military
:11:36. > :11:40.action there to other countries Well, I think, Mr Speaker,
:11:41. > :11:43.my honourable friend knows ly views and the views of the
:11:44. > :11:47.Prime Minister on this very well. We do believe that it is morally
:11:48. > :11:53.unacceptable to outsource an action which is essential to the ddfence of
:11:54. > :11:58.the United Kingdom and UK citizens around the world
:11:59. > :12:00.to others. And that is why we will be seeking
:12:01. > :12:04.consensus to build a consensus in this House for taking military
:12:05. > :12:09.action to Daesh in Raqqa. The unanimous agreement of
:12:10. > :12:12.UN Security Council resoluthon 249 last Friday was a significant moment
:12:13. > :12:16.in the fight against Daesh because the world community has
:12:17. > :12:20.come together to fight this evil, in the words of the resoluthon,
:12:21. > :12:24.using all necessary measures. Can the right honourable gentleman
:12:25. > :12:28.give us his latest assessment of how Daesh's base in Syri` is
:12:29. > :12:32.contributing to and coordin`ting threats to both its neighbotrs and
:12:33. > :12:37.to the rest of the world, as we have seen recently and traghcally
:12:38. > :12:41.in the killings in France, the suicide bombings
:12:42. > :12:46.in Lebanon and Turkey, and the blowing up of
:12:47. > :12:48.the Russian airliner and, of course, the killing of British
:12:49. > :12:52.tourists in Tunisia? Well, as the Prime Minister
:12:53. > :12:56.has said on many occasions, there is no doubt that the head
:12:57. > :12:59.of this multi-tentacled monster Its logistics, its controllhng
:13:00. > :13:06.brain, its strategic communhcations, which are extremely effective,
:13:07. > :13:14.are all run from that headqtarters, and we will not destroy it
:13:15. > :13:17.by cutting off its limbs. We can only destroy it by going
:13:18. > :13:20.for the head, for the heart. It is right that I should s`y to the
:13:21. > :13:23.honourable gentleman, some of the activity conducted around the world
:13:24. > :13:26.in the name of Isil is directed In other cases,
:13:27. > :13:32.it is inspired by Isil prop`ganda, but not directly controlled
:13:33. > :13:37.from Raqqa, so it is a mixttre. There was a question about the news
:13:38. > :13:40.that the Turkish military had reportedly shot down
:13:41. > :13:43.a Russian military aircraft Russia's defence ministry
:13:44. > :13:48.said a plane But Turkish military offici`ls
:13:49. > :13:53.said the plane was shot down after repeated warnings
:13:54. > :13:58.it was violating Turkish airspace. As far as the reports coming
:13:59. > :14:01.in this morning of a potenthally Russian air force jet shot down near
:14:02. > :14:07.the Turkish/Syrian border, we are seeking further details urgdntly,
:14:08. > :14:11.both in Moscow and in Ankar`. Clearly, this is potentiallx
:14:12. > :14:14.a serious incident, but I think it would not be wise,
:14:15. > :14:17.Mr Speaker, to comment any further until we have
:14:18. > :14:20.got more certainty on the f`cts Does he regard Turkey as a reliable
:14:21. > :14:25.ally in the battle against Hsil when you consider
:14:26. > :14:29.that not only today have they shot down a Russi`n jet,
:14:30. > :14:32.who are also trying to fight Isil, they are buying oil from Ishl
:14:33. > :14:37.in order to prop them up, they are bombing the Kurds,
:14:38. > :14:41.who also fighting Isil? This Syrian engagement is
:14:42. > :14:46.an almighty mess. On the question of Turkey,
:14:47. > :14:49.Turkey is an important Nato ally. It holds the key to a number
:14:50. > :14:54.of really very important qudstions, both in relation to the battle
:14:55. > :14:58.against Isil, but also in rdlation to the migration challenges that
:14:59. > :15:02.Europe faces, and will remahn a very important partner for this country
:15:03. > :15:06.and for the European Union. Now, digital technology
:15:07. > :15:12.is changing the business landscape, and the Business, Innovation
:15:13. > :15:14.and Skills committee is examining
:15:15. > :15:18.this workplace revolution. It's taking evidence from
:15:19. > :15:20.entrepreneurs and new busindsses that use technology to create
:15:21. > :15:23.different ways of working. MPs wanted to know
:15:24. > :15:25.how ideas could be harnessed and how the workers could bd
:15:26. > :15:31.protected and the public kept safe. I was interested in a quote
:15:32. > :15:34.from your submission to us, where you said, "Policy and law
:15:35. > :15:40.should be technology neutral." Do you think the current regulations
:15:41. > :15:42.are technology neutral, and what can be done in orddr to
:15:43. > :15:46.make sure that we facilitatd additional quality, choice
:15:47. > :15:54.and better value for the consumer? I think what I was trying to get at
:15:55. > :15:58.there is simply the fact th`t no one can predict where technologx is
:15:59. > :16:01.going to go in the next fivd years. Even as a software company,
:16:02. > :16:04.we still struggle to figure out Actually,
:16:05. > :16:07.the principles of regulations should be more, we think, about customer
:16:08. > :16:10.safety and customer protecthon. And that means that regulathons
:16:11. > :16:12.should look at setting a nulber of clearly defined quality
:16:13. > :16:14.and safety standards. Previously, if I were a cle`ner
:16:15. > :16:19.I could be employed by a colpany, I would have holiday pay,
:16:20. > :16:22.terms and conditions I don't have that
:16:23. > :16:26.if I'm self-employed. Are we rushing to the bottol
:16:27. > :16:29.in terms of employment rights? I don't believe so, because if you
:16:30. > :16:39.worked for that agency wherd you got sick pay and you got all
:16:40. > :16:41.of the other benefits, you would be paid minimum wage `nd you
:16:42. > :16:45.have to work a set number of hours. 85% of the people that work
:16:46. > :16:48.across my platform are women, and they are typically women who have
:16:49. > :16:51.children, although women th`t are trying to advance their carder and
:16:52. > :16:56.they need a flexible working model. Do you not worry that,
:16:57. > :16:59.in terms of the triumvirate between producers, consumers and workers,
:17:00. > :17:02.that the sharing economy, the geek economy, what ever you want to
:17:03. > :17:04.call it, and disruptive technology, People have agency.
:17:05. > :17:09.They are not victims here. The independent MP Michelle Thomson
:17:10. > :17:13.wondered whether this was a reflection
:17:14. > :17:16.of the real unemployment figures or whether people
:17:17. > :17:22.wanted flexible working. It seems to us about 48%
:17:23. > :17:26.of Uber drivers have come to the platform
:17:27. > :17:28.from another type of work, so they have actively moved
:17:29. > :17:31.over from doing something else. So I think that represent
:17:32. > :17:33.and reflects a genuine desire for flexible working and I think you're
:17:34. > :17:36.absolutely right to say that most of the Uber drivers in London, for
:17:37. > :17:39.instance, come from constittencies That is also reflective of these
:17:40. > :17:44.drivers figuring out what they can do for their families
:17:45. > :17:47.to earn good money, I think I do have some data
:17:48. > :17:52.that I can submit to the colmittee from working with the job cdntres,
:17:53. > :17:55.where we have actually managed to get quite a few long-term
:17:56. > :17:57.unemployed people back into work. That is really important,
:17:58. > :17:59.because if you're out of work for a long time,
:18:00. > :18:01.either through maternity or because you have been
:18:02. > :18:04.on benefits for a long time, you don't have the confidence,
:18:05. > :18:10.potentially, to go into a workplace and understand punctuality, dealing
:18:11. > :18:12.with lots of different people. A lot of people have used us
:18:13. > :18:14.as a springboard We have got many case studids
:18:15. > :18:19.of people actually going on to much better jobs, and I don't thhnk for
:18:20. > :18:22.a second that cleaning is everyone's aspiration, and we are cert`inly not
:18:23. > :18:25.trying to keep people there. And Charlotte Holloway, frol techUK,
:18:26. > :18:27.said the digital skills shortage is one of the biggest issues
:18:28. > :18:32.facing the digital economy. We see the three most pronotnced
:18:33. > :18:37.shortage being in cyber sectrity specialists and big data an`lysts,
:18:38. > :18:39.and in senior developers. So these are not necessarilx
:18:40. > :18:46.entry-level routes, they ard routes that require more training,
:18:47. > :18:49.more skills and more experthse. The offence of stalking
:18:50. > :18:50.came into force in England and Wales
:18:51. > :18:52.three years ago. Before then, alleged stalkers could
:18:53. > :18:54.be prosecuted for harassment but only when their actions
:18:55. > :18:57.caused a fear of violence. The Home Office Minister Lord Bates
:18:58. > :19:01.said there had been 495 convictions But peers wanted to know
:19:02. > :19:08.what more was being done. It is clear, however,
:19:09. > :19:10.that without effective training and a culture of change
:19:11. > :19:14.in the criminal justice system, perpetrators will
:19:15. > :19:18.still not be brought to justice It is in areas of the country
:19:19. > :19:21.where there has been training I would be grateful
:19:22. > :19:25.if the noble lord, the Minister could cite what investment has been
:19:26. > :19:28.made in the training of prosecutors, and it could he also say whx there
:19:29. > :19:33.are still no sentencing guidelines for stalking,
:19:34. > :19:36.and when this could be expected What we have seen is there has been
:19:37. > :19:39.a great deal of work which has gone on through
:19:40. > :19:41.the College of Policing, which is the vehicle
:19:42. > :19:44.by which most training is provided. Also, the Crown Prosecution Service
:19:45. > :19:47.have done a great deal of work, particularly in the area of actually
:19:48. > :19:51.encouraging more prosecutions under the stalking laws rather
:19:52. > :19:56.than actually with harassment, which was there before,
:19:57. > :19:58.so we're getting a better phcture We continue to look
:19:59. > :20:05.at this important area. Is the Minister aware of thd
:20:06. > :20:07.substantial growth in cyberstalking And is he satisfied that addquate
:20:08. > :20:11.powers are available, either under the anti-stalking legislation
:20:12. > :20:14.or under other legislation, and will he make it
:20:15. > :20:17.his business to link up with those in the police force that ard quite
:20:18. > :20:20.concerned about this? The minister said work
:20:21. > :20:23.was going on to address the issue and that revenge porn
:20:24. > :20:26.had been made an offence. which my noble friend,
:20:27. > :20:31.Baroness Shields, who is the Minister
:20:32. > :20:34.for Internet Safety and Sectrity, is very focused on
:20:35. > :20:37.and having conversations My Lords, during the passagd
:20:38. > :20:44.of the stalking law reforms in your Lordships' house, there was
:20:45. > :20:47.considerable debate about how the CPS could be encouraged not to use
:20:48. > :20:53.the harassment law is an easy way to get a conviction, and the Mhnister
:20:54. > :20:58.has already outlined that hd believes that more cases ard being
:20:59. > :21:03.defined as stalking, and yet
:21:04. > :21:05.the opposite is true in the press. How can the Government ensure that
:21:06. > :21:08.the CPS is held accountable to make sure that stalking cases
:21:09. > :21:12.are taken as that, not with the easy win
:21:13. > :21:15.of harassment? There is a consultation
:21:16. > :21:20.which is going on between the CPS and also the Paladin
:21:21. > :21:23.and the Suzy Lamplugh Trusts, who do so much work in this area, to
:21:24. > :21:27.look at what further training could Certainly, when you look
:21:28. > :21:35.at the figures and you see that there are 9,180 prosecutions under
:21:36. > :21:39.harassment, and 606 under stalking, then clearly there
:21:40. > :21:44.is still further work to be done to make sure
:21:45. > :21:46.that people are being prosecuted Could the Government say,
:21:47. > :21:50.first of all, when the new domestic violence
:21:51. > :21:52.offence will be introduced, if I'm right in saying
:21:53. > :21:54.this hasn't happened alreadx? And, secondly, what action hs being
:21:55. > :21:58.taken to make sure that trahning will be provided throughout
:21:59. > :22:01.the police and judicial system, including prosecutors, judgds and
:22:02. > :22:07.magistrates, to ensure that the new laws, and the reason for it
:22:08. > :22:10.as the psychological intimidation and control it is intended to
:22:11. > :22:12.address, is fully and effectively understood, and that the new
:22:13. > :22:15.law is used and applied as intended for all
:22:16. > :22:17.relevant parts of the country? The evidence, including that from
:22:18. > :22:20.the stalking laws, suggests that inadequately completed training
:22:21. > :22:23.about new offences leads to cases not been pursued properly, `nd to
:22:24. > :22:27.unduly lenient sentences because the seriousness of the new offence is
:22:28. > :22:31.not fully understood or recognised? Coercive and controlling behaviour,
:22:32. > :22:35.which is a new provision in the Serious Crime Act, that will
:22:36. > :22:41.be enforced by the end of ydar, and it WILL be enforced
:22:42. > :22:44.by the end of the year. Along with training,
:22:45. > :22:46.which will be provided alongside it. And finally, in what emerged
:22:47. > :22:50.as a very personal debate, why he believed the children
:22:51. > :22:57.of alcoholics needed more stpport. I think, in many ways, this is
:22:58. > :23:00.the hardest speech I've ever made This is the first time that
:23:01. > :23:07.I've talked publicly about being
:23:08. > :23:13.the child of an alcoholic. My dad was an amazing indivhdual -
:23:14. > :23:18.he was warm, he was charism`tic He dragged himself into gralmar
:23:19. > :23:24.school, into university. He was a great idealist and devoted
:23:25. > :23:28.his life to public service. It was his warmth and charisma
:23:29. > :23:31.and his idealism that inspired me to
:23:32. > :23:37.join the Labour Party when H was And it was his example that inspired
:23:38. > :23:43.me to get stuck into politics, to try and make
:23:44. > :23:46.our country a bit better. My dad, though, battled
:23:47. > :23:48.with an addiction to alcohol And, when he lost the woman that he
:23:49. > :23:57.loved so passionately, my mother, at the age of 52, to pancreatic cancer,
:23:58. > :24:02.it knocked him over the edgd. I know from first-hand experience
:24:03. > :24:09.that damage and the harm that comes to
:24:10. > :24:13.families living with an alcoholic. I know all too well the feeling that
:24:14. > :24:17.most children of alcoholics have, they kind of wrestle
:24:18. > :24:19.with why they can't fix things. Children of alcoholics
:24:20. > :24:25.are five times more likely Children of alcoholics are something
:24:26. > :24:31.like three times more likelx And children of alcoholics
:24:32. > :24:40.are 3-4 times more likely It is a testament, I think, to him
:24:41. > :24:46.and to his determination to give a voice to the many thousands of
:24:47. > :24:51.children who today find thelselves in a similar predicament
:24:52. > :25:01.that has led to today's deb`te, and I'm sure to many conversations
:25:02. > :25:03.that will follow I look forward to working whth him,
:25:04. > :25:07.and the organisations which have helped him in the preparation
:25:08. > :25:12.for today's debate. So we can take stock not only
:25:13. > :25:15.of some of the progress that has been made, but also
:25:16. > :25:17.where there are shortcomings, where there is
:25:18. > :25:19.a lack of understanding. Sometimes a lack of encouragement
:25:20. > :25:26.to those out there who feel still very much un`ble to
:25:27. > :25:33.let others know of the suffdring that they are having to deal with
:25:34. > :25:38.day after day after day. I'll be here
:25:39. > :25:43.for the rest of the week. So until tomorrow, from me,
:25:44. > :25:48.Georgina Pattinson, goodbye.