19/01/2016 Tuesday in Parliament

Hello and Welcome to Tuesday in Parliament, our look at the best

of the day in the Commons and the Lords.

The sister of a man suspected of being a masked I.S.

Jihadist in a propaganda video asks MPs who her family can turn

Just in terms of what I can do to help my brother, is there anything I

can do? We will certainly be contacting, if it is helpful to you,

the Home Office. Peers voice fears about

the dangers from drones. We warned about the risks from

terrorism and aircraft and we must move on this now.

And an MP who's battled cancer twice pleads for more support

We need a landscape out there that allows for a personalised medicine

that is coming down the tracks to us. Cancer will not wait for the

regulator Nora will it wait for the patient.

The sister of the British man thought to have appeared in a murder

video produced by so-called 'Islamic State' has been talking

In the video, a man with an English accent insults the Prime Minister

before executing five men accused of spying against I.S..

The man was thought to be Siddhartha Dhar from London.

Also known as Abu Rumaysah, he'd fled Britain in 2014

He'd been arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism,

but then was able to travel to Syria.

When his sister, Konika Dhar, appeared before the Home affairs

committee, a Labour MP started the questioning.

Is it fair to say, the sense I get from the evidence you have given,

which in some sense is a little bit different from The Sunday Times

article, is that you are still coming to terms with what has

happened to you and your family? Would I be right in saying that you

are in a bad dream in which you are unable to wake up? You have putted

very well. People underestimate how traumatic the experiences, for the

person and the families left behind and I think people expected me and

everyone else to get on with it. It is harder than in practice. The

committee is interested in the narrative of your brother,

Siddhartha Dhar. The last time I saw him was in September 2014 and he

seemed to me to be OK. Obviously, I was always aware that he was

practising his Muslim religion. He kept his political movements Private

and... He did not discuss it with you all? To be honest, I was not

even aware he went by another name until he left. My instant reaction

was, I do not know that person, I know my brother as the person I grew

up with, I have never known anyone to go through this. It is important

for other families to know what are the appropriate steps one needs to

take in order to get their loved one back, who has the right person to

contact and I thought I did the right thing, and I hope it is, but I

am just a bit wary if I am making things worse. I am not trying to,

but I miss my brother and I am trying to make him realise that none

of this is him. Could you in your hard ever forgive him for what he

has done in betraying the family and obviously the country that he lived

in? I am still holding to the firm belief that what I am seen is not my

brother. I have not have their occasion otherwise. I have said

before that if it is, I don't... It is a difficult one. Yes it is. In

your position, I would be as ambiguous as you are. Is he really

my brother if he has done this? I cannot accept that he would do this.

I cannot accept it. I want to try and explore how he is living his

life, do you still believe him to be a good man and is -- and if he is

supporting Daesh, he is probably engaged in beheading and raping.

This is what Daesh doors. One woman gave evidence, there was an article,

about a number of women who have come forward to give evidence and

one of them said, the saddest thing are member is this little girl, 12

years of age and they raped without mercy. These are the activities your

brother is engaged in, do you still believe he is a good man? I think

this is... This is a sensitive topic to talk about, my opinion will be

biased because he is my brother. I still do not want to associate the

two, the activities that you have just described, with my brother and

I know that may be hard for many people to believe, but that is

because he is my brother and as far as I am concerned, I grew up with a

different person. Thank you for coming in. It has been a very

important thing for you to help us, it may not do anything concerning

your brother, but hopefully it will give the committee and understanding

of what is that tipping point that changes as you have said, and normal

person into someone who is involved in the kinds of activities that we

know Daesh has been involved in and we are very grateful to you for

coming in today. If there is any other information that you want to

help this committee with, please do write to us and we will welcome it.

Thank you so much. Thank you. You are welcome to stay for the rest of

the session. OK. Can I ask a question? Of course. In terms of...

What I can do to help my brother, is there anything I can do? Well, there

is nothing that this committee can suggest. But we will certainly be

contacting, if it is helpful to you, the Home Office to see what support

is on offer for the families of those who have been left in the way

in which you and your mother have been.

The crisis in UK steel-making means the Northern Powerhouse is actually

more of a 'poorhouse', the claim of Labour's Dennis Skinner,

as the problems in the industry were raised with the Chancellor.

The monthly round of Treasury questions came on the day

the International Monetary Fund downgraded its forecasts

In the Commons, the Shadow Chancellor said just eight weeks ago

George Osborne had promised 'an economic recovery for all'.

Can I ask him on the day that the IMF has warned about the global

economy and called for governments to increase their investment

spending, just as we have on the side consistently called for, while

the Chancellor reconsider his economic plan and investment plan

think in particular? Biker gently suggest that he might want to

changes own economic policy since in last week he has called for the

return of flying pickets, he says he wants to ban companies paying

dividends and he wants to spend billions of pounds on nuclear

missile submarines without any nuclear missiles. And today he said

he will tour the country with the former Greek Finance Minister, to

educate us all about economic 's, I think the one thing they have in

common is that they have both lost their marbles! John McDonnell. If

the Chancellor will not reconsider his plans, can he at least

appreciate how angry families of in South Wales are this morning?

Knowing that when the bankers bonuses were threatened, immediately

shot across to Brussels with lawyers to defend them. He would jump into a

helicopter for a Tory fundraiser but it has taken him four months to lift

a finger for a steelworker to save their jobs. It does it prove he is

the bankers Chancellor? We want a successful financial services

industry because hundreds of thousands of people across the

country work in it. We also want as accessible manufacturing and steel

industry and that is why we have taken action to reduce energy costs,

something that had not happened previously and that comes into

effect today. That is why we are taking action to change procurement

rules so that the British Government and others are encouraged to buy

British Steel, again something that never happened when the Labour Party

was in office. Does the northern powerhouse occur in Redcar, where

the steel industry has been closed because of him allowing the Chinese

to dump steel? Are they talking about it in Scunthorpe where they

have lost 1000 jobs, are they talking about it in Port Talbot

where they are going to lose a lot more jobs? The truth is they do not

talk about the northern powerhouse in the coalfields where the Tories

have shot the last three pits, they call it the northern house! That is

its real name! He seems to forget that the red car works first closed

under the Labour government that he supported. It is also the case that

during that government which he supported from that bench there, the

number of steel jobs lost in this country was 30,000. We are doing

everything we can to preserve the steel jobs that remain. George

Osborne. Labour has failed in an attempt

to reverse a Government decision to scrap maintenance grants

for the poorest students in England In a Labour-led debate,

ministers were warned that not enough consideration has

been given to the impact From this autumn, means-tested

grants are to be switched to loans The Government has said

the change will mean extra As students protested

outside the Commons, the shadow universities minister

said the end of grants would leave them with debts of more

than 50 thousand pounds. Scrapping maintenance grants will

leave people struggling to go to university. People here today have

talked about consequences, people will talk about their own

experiences, I was a student of the open university and I know the

experience of many of the students who I'd taught was that they had

been put off higher education at an earlier age by the cost. What we

have seen is an increase, what we have seen is an increase in the

number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to

university. His argument does not stack up.

Mr Marsden rejected that and attacked the way the decision

was taken in private - accusing ministers of

So we have brought this debate today to hold them to account. Because

this being such a major issue that the government have refused to bring

the changes to the floor of the house themselves but preferred to

stick them through delegated legislation work can be debated and

voted on by only a handful of MPs. It is a scandal in 2013 that impact

statement that the NUS strike out of the Ministry that confirms that this

proportionately affects black and minority ethnic students, affects

women and affects disabled students, does not merit a proper boat and

debate in this house. The fact that the government had proceeded with

this considering the importance of secondary legislation without the

proper full debate is an absolute disgrace. For families who are

living under the constant threat of debt for whom life is a continual

battle to survive between meagre wage packets, the decision to take

out a loan introducing further debt is extremely difficult and often it

is one that they just cannot take. There has been a 36% increased in

the number of the poorest background is going to university and the fact

that we raise the level at which you had to pay back a student loan to

?21,000, the fact that we have reduced the amount you would be

paying back, the fact that you do not start paying interest on it

until you leave university and the fact it has the time

limit on it so that it gets written off after a period of time, all

these things are key aspects in making sure that we get people to

university and meet their potential. He is telling the house in clear

terms, an explicit Conservative story of hard work, opportunity and

meritocracy. In sharp contrast to the narrative opposite... The

minister denied the change have been sneaked in. Rather than using some

obscure procedure as honourable members have suggested, we are

actually following the very parliamentary processes which the

last Labour government created for this purpose. Labour asked for a

debate on the regulations on the 9th of December, the government tabled a

motion which appeared on the order paper on January the 5th, referring

these regulations to delegated Legislation committee, Labour did

not object. This is about social cleansing and

keeping them out of university and it is wrong. Jeremy Corbyn said in

July he should be removed completely with grants attendant Phil. This was

costed by Labour at ?10 billion. These policies move us backwards,

are unsustainable and at the conservative estimate would add ?40

million to the deficit over a five-year Parliament. We should be

clear about this would mean. More reckless borrowing, more taxes on

hard-working people and the reintroduction, inevitably, student

number controls. We have listed student number controls and we will

not allow the Labour Party to reimpose a cap on young people's

aspirations. You're watching our round-up

of the day in the Commons Still to come: Peers voice fears

about the dangers from drones. Blame for the current chaotic state

of Libya lies with the long regime of Colonel Gaddafi, not with British

intervention in the country - that was the claim at a committee

hearing of William Hague, Gaddafi was removed as leader

following the deployment of the RAF in the country - along

with other Western forces - during the time Lord Hague

was Foreign Secretary. But after Gaddafi was overthrown,

Libya descended into violence and instability, with the formation

of hundreds of militant groups. Lord Hague was facing questions

from the Foreign Affairs committee. Did we really understand what was

happening on the ground? Did we understand the extent to which

Islamic extremists were on the rebels' site? Why did we not pick up

on this more? It might have helped when it came to the lamentation,

realising you are dealing with a fragmented situation. They

themselves to and understand the situation. Cardinal Qaddafi and his

intelligence had no idea what was about to happen. -- temp Gaddafi.

They had no idea which was about to hit them. Should that not have been

a lesson to us? That's going back to the broader question. Foreign policy

and decisions are choice between unpalatable alternatives. You are

taking a step into the unknown, there is no military action, very

few in history have had a certain course once they are embarked on,

but on the other hand as we discussed when I came to the

committee before, we had to make a decision about what to do in the

face of the threat to the area, and the state of intention of the

Gaddafi Government. As Doctor Fox said, one of the lessons has got to

be focusing on clearly defined, achievable objectives, and if we are

saying we have no idea how it is going to turn out, that does

question the initial intervention, surely. Now, I don't think it does.

I have placed flowers at the Memorials because in each case, the

world that nothing when thousands of people were being slaughtered.

Hundreds of thousands. When you add in office facing the situation, that

is what you have to think about, are you going to let that happen again?

Members of the House of Lords have called for stricter controls

on drones to prevent a possible terrorist attack.

The Labour peer and former Security Minister Lord west said

the dangers from unmanned aerial vehicles had been raised several

years ago before the London Olympics.

He said capable drones were easily available from supermarkets.

The issue was raised during Lords Question Time.

Colin Smith asserts that there are almost weekly incidents that

endanger air passengers because drones fly into the path

of aeroplanes, whether deliberately or by accident.

What assessment have the Government made of this risk?

Do they believe that we now urgently need to update the licensing

and training processes relating to drones?

We are aware of the advance of the technology.

The Government are looking urgently at the issues involved.

It would be a mistake to rush into legislation at this stage,

but it is important to look at all the facts.

We initially raised the issue of drones way back

when we were preparing for the Olympics.

There was great difficulty getting a cross-party group set up.

Two years ago we were warning of the real risks from

There are now highly capable drones that can carry a substantial weight,

which you can buy for ?2,000 from a supermarket.

They can also do intelligence-gathering.

This is a very real risk and we need to move on it.

Would the Minister not admit that we must really make something

happen as soon as possible this year?

Indeed, I think I have outlined exactly what we are doing.

It is important that we look at the facts first and then come

back with a full report by September, which is not

However, we are not being complacent about the safety issues

Last week, the World Health Organisation declared three

countries of West Africa to be free of Ebola.

The outbreak of the Ebola virus is reckoned to have led

to the deaths of some 11,000 people in Africa.

It's also had a major impact on West African economies,

as borders have been closed and trade has declined.

But within a few days of the WHO announcement,

a 22-year-old female student was found to have died from Ebola.

Her death has served as an illustration that Ebola can

In the Commons, a Conservative MP said the recent death

It is fair to say that the worst predictions during the previous

outbreak did not materialise but across West Africa, more than 11,300

people died between 2014 and 2015. Many more died of preventable

diseases which a bird and health care system was unable to cope with

-- burdened. We should deal with this latest outbreak and deal with

resilience in the health care system to deal with the disease which may

now be endemic in the region. We may all have expected that having

gotten over the maximum period of their outbreak that there would be

sporadic cases that would continue to appear. That is the phase we are

now in. Getting on top of those, as he says, is the way in which we will

get to this resiliency and all be more confident that we won't see any

future cases coming up. We've worked with the Government of Sierra Leone

to work with their health systems and strengthen society including

civil society to allow them to be prepared and we continue to stand by

ACLU on cars as we have always made clear, there is always the potential

for further cases and that is why a response note is made on assisting

Sierra Leone and isolating new cases of Ebola before they spread.

I am a Member of the House with a Sierra Leonean mother,

so will the Secretary of State assure the House,

my family and the wider Sierra Leonean diaspora that support

for Sierra Leone will continue until local facilities are able

to withstand further health difficulties such as this?

Will she also assure the House that our future economic

and diplomatic relationship with Sierra Leone will not be

defined by this darkest period in the history of such

We have to learn the lessons, however.

On many occasions, I had deep reservations about the effectiveness

This is a time to reflect on whether the WHO is

If it is not, the UK should try to do something about it.

The Conservative MP Jo Churchill, who's fought cancer twice,

has again pleaded for a secure future for the Cancer Drugs Fund,

which pays for non-NHS approved drugs that can improve the quality

The ?200 million-a-year fund was set up six years ago

to help patients who've being denied life-extending drugs,

because of decisions taken by the drugs approval body, Nice.

But set up as a stop-gap measure, the fund's future is uncertain.

MPs have been debating the CDF in Westminster Hall.

In the world of pharmaceuticals and, more importantly, genomics,

We need a space where we can trial medicines for use not only in big

cohorts, but for rarer cancers and diseases.

We need a landscape that will allow for the personalised medicine

that is coming down the tracks to us.

I have been diagnosed with cancer and pre-cancerous

That is why I challenge the Minister on behalf of other cancer patients

and my constituents in need, to ensure that the CDF delivers

reforms that will improve patient access to effective cancer medicine.

There are many who believe that, wherever they live and whatever

their age, cancer patients - and there many different types

of cancers - should be able to access clinically effective,

evidence-based treatments in a fair, consistent, timely and transparent

Clearly, when the average survival rate is between two and six months,

even an extra two months' survival gain represents a relatively large

amount of time for patients to spend with their loved ones,

and the value of that was indicated earlier.

After Nice have said no, NHS England have the funds to buy drugs that

Nice have said no to, and there is a commitment to an assessment funds to

look at these drugs that are coming into the stream earlier in the

Do join me for our next daily round-up.

Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.