:00:12. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Tuesday in Parliament.
:00:15. > :00:23.Condemnation of Russia's role in the Syria conflict.
:00:24. > :00:29.Now is not the time to talk about weakening EU sanctions against the
:00:30. > :00:29.Vladimir Putin regime. There's another row in the Commons
:00:30. > :00:33.over just how much money is paid A minister announces a new name
:00:34. > :00:43.for a new rail line. From December 2018 the across a
:00:44. > :00:45.route will be known as the Elizabeth line.
:00:46. > :00:49.The Foreign Secretary has told MPs that a ceasefire in Syria will not
:00:50. > :00:51.hold unless the level of Russian airstrikes falls dramatically.
:00:52. > :00:54.Philip Hammond's comment came at Foreign Office Questions,
:00:55. > :00:56.where there was some fierce criticism of the Russia's role
:00:57. > :01:02.The US and Russia have announced that a planned cessation
:01:03. > :01:04.of hostilities in Syria will come into effect at midnight
:01:05. > :01:10.Their statement said the truce did not include so-called
:01:11. > :01:14.Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front,
:01:15. > :01:20.but scepticism remains over the plan.
:01:21. > :01:23.More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict which began
:01:24. > :01:27.Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes,
:01:28. > :01:30.of whom four million have fled abroad.
:01:31. > :01:37.A Labour MP took up the questioning with the Foreign Secretary.
:01:38. > :01:44.The bombing of two hospitals and other health facilities in northern
:01:45. > :01:48.Syria is completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international
:01:49. > :01:53.humanitarian law. Does the Minister agree that those responsible must be
:01:54. > :01:57.brought to justice and that this reinforces the need for a United
:01:58. > :02:01.Nations Security Council to refer this situation to the International
:02:02. > :02:05.criminal Court? The honourable lady of course identifies an incident
:02:06. > :02:10.that has caused widespread outrage across the world but in her question
:02:11. > :02:13.she has put her finger on the problem, a referral to the
:02:14. > :02:17.International criminal Court requires a resolution of the United
:02:18. > :02:20.Nations Security Council one feet to holding member of whom is the
:02:21. > :02:25.Russian Federation so I think it is unlikely that we went to succeed
:02:26. > :02:28.going down that route. The American Secretary of State has a close
:02:29. > :02:33.working relationship with the Russian Foreign Minister talking to
:02:34. > :02:35.him nearly every week. When did the Foreign Secretary does talk to the
:02:36. > :02:39.Russian Foreign Secretary and what is he doing to improve the personal
:02:40. > :02:44.relationship with them? Our relationships are difficult with our
:02:45. > :02:50.Russian counterparts. I just spoke to him on the 11th of February
:02:51. > :02:55.during the Munich ISS G where he and I had some prolonged and robust
:02:56. > :03:00.exchanges around the table during that evening but I do speak very
:03:01. > :03:03.regularly to the US Secretary of State most recently on Saturday
:03:04. > :03:07.morning so I am very much aware of the discussion that he is having
:03:08. > :03:13.with our mutual Russian counterpart. The problem is that Russian policy
:03:14. > :03:17.on Syria is not made in the Russian Foreign Ministry but inside a tiny
:03:18. > :03:23.cabal around President Putin at the heart of the Kremlin. With the
:03:24. > :03:28.Russian indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Syria driving the
:03:29. > :03:32.refugee crisis and deliver it foreign policy tool to destabilise
:03:33. > :03:36.and weaken Europe, will he agree with me that now was not the time to
:03:37. > :03:40.even talk about weakening the EU sanctions against the Vladimir Putin
:03:41. > :03:45.regime? I very strongly agree with him that now is not the time to send
:03:46. > :03:49.Russia any signals of compromise or pulling back. The only language he
:03:50. > :03:53.understands is the language of strength and I am afraid the line
:03:54. > :03:59.which a confrontation. The report of the UN commission on Syria on human
:04:00. > :04:04.rights published earlier this month found that, fragrant violations of
:04:05. > :04:08.human rights and in a humanitarian law continue unabated. Ceasefire due
:04:09. > :04:11.to come into effect this Saturday is desperately needed but will only
:04:12. > :04:16.relieve suffering if it is adhered to. What does he says are the
:04:17. > :04:20.prospects for ensuring that response respects it is fire by ending its
:04:21. > :04:24.attacks on the Syrian people and office does not, further pressure
:04:25. > :04:30.can be put on President Putin to do so? As I have already said, the
:04:31. > :04:34.issue is going to be this, the Russians will say that they are
:04:35. > :04:39.complying with the ceasefire and they will say that continued attacks
:04:40. > :04:44.and air strikes are justified by the terms of the ceasefire and there
:04:45. > :04:48.will be a necessity to pore over individual attacks between the US
:04:49. > :04:52.and Russia in the coordination cell to identify exactly what happened
:04:53. > :04:58.but whatever the technicalities of the thing the big picture is this,
:04:59. > :05:02.unless the level of Russian air strikes dramatically decreases, the
:05:03. > :05:05.ceasefire will not hold because the moderate armed opposition cannot lay
:05:06. > :05:07.down their weapons and will not lay down their weapons while they are
:05:08. > :05:13.being annihilated from the error by Russian aircraft. -- from the error.
:05:14. > :05:16.The head of the Metropolitan Police has told MPs he won't be "bullied"
:05:17. > :05:18.into apologising to high profile people investigated over allegations
:05:19. > :05:22.Sir Bernard Hogan Howe was questioned about
:05:23. > :05:25.the investigation of the former head of the army Lord Bramall.
:05:26. > :05:30.His home was searched in April 2015, but it was only last month
:05:31. > :05:33.that he was told the case was being dropped.
:05:34. > :05:35.Sir Bernard was also asked about the investigation
:05:36. > :05:42.into the former Home Secretary Lord Brittan.
:05:43. > :05:50.Were you able to see Lady Brittan? I was. What this Committee recommended
:05:51. > :05:54.was one of the things, whether to apologise and we would have a little
:05:55. > :05:58.earlier but I am afraid we couldn't arrange it any earlier. I think we
:05:59. > :06:04.started to try it in November and it has only been possible the last two
:06:05. > :06:13.weeks. That took place last week. But was it a full apology? I think
:06:14. > :06:16.she and her family expect it. It was certain a full apology from the fact
:06:17. > :06:21.that we hadn't advised Lady Brittan early enough that her husband. We
:06:22. > :06:26.prosecuted. At the very least in April 2015 that was possible. We
:06:27. > :06:27.still hadn't done it until I think September 2015, so for that delay I
:06:28. > :06:28.apologise. Moving on to the Lord Bramall case -
:06:29. > :06:31.the committee chair asked if the investigation
:06:32. > :06:38.was heavy-handed. Do you think that over the last few
:06:39. > :06:43.months there has been an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to in some
:06:44. > :06:49.way compensate for their failure to investigate more thoroughly it Jimmy
:06:50. > :06:52.Savile case and as a result you have had a number of high-profile cases
:06:53. > :06:56.where perhaps in the past they wouldn't have done the kinds of
:06:57. > :07:02.things that they had done, for example in the Bramall case, sending
:07:03. > :07:10.22 police officers to be very small village in Hampshire to go into his
:07:11. > :07:19.property, move his very ill wife from room to room and started to
:07:20. > :07:26.investigate in such a public way a case against a man of 90 foot stop
:07:27. > :07:31.were subsequently there was time to -- weather was found to be no true
:07:32. > :07:35.evidence to support it. The idea is not to warn the local people or
:07:36. > :07:41.anybody that a search is carried out. It is the complexity of the
:07:42. > :07:45.search, first of all we wanted it quickly and once you have if you
:07:46. > :07:48.search as it will take longer. At the property is large then it will
:07:49. > :07:54.take longer and if you're looking for a very small things which we
:07:55. > :08:00.often do, disks, digital data, documents, any house contains a lot
:08:01. > :08:06.of it. If he did incompletely, we don't look in the silver and you put
:08:07. > :08:11.it back together in disrepair, we are criticised for that also. The
:08:12. > :08:16.number of searches was not to do was trying to alert anybody to the event
:08:17. > :08:19.but it was to do with doing something thoroughly and
:08:20. > :08:24.efficiently. Many feel that the Metropolitan Police do oh my
:08:25. > :08:28.constituent and apology for the heavy-handed approach, that was
:08:29. > :08:33.taken towards him during the investigation. Over 20 officers
:08:34. > :08:37.searching his home. The length of time that it took to notify him that
:08:38. > :08:45.he faced no charges and everything in between, what is your response to
:08:46. > :08:50.that? I express regret. That is not an apology. I was going to go on to
:08:51. > :08:58.say... I think there are differences, in making an apology to
:08:59. > :09:01.a suspect which I will differentiate from the number of apologies I have
:09:02. > :09:06.used in the last 4.5 years. It is not that we are arrogant and don't
:09:07. > :09:11.apologise for failure. We intend to apologise to Lord Bramall? Say any
:09:12. > :09:16.more. But I am not acting one. You're not intending to? I have said
:09:17. > :09:22.that at least four times today and I have said it publicly. So why did
:09:23. > :09:26.Lady Brittan Merit and apology? I thought I had explained that
:09:27. > :09:31.earlier, but it is because there is something to apologise for an
:09:32. > :09:37.orderly in telling her about the outcome of the enquiry and in Lord
:09:38. > :09:41.Bramall's case we will see what the review finds but at the moment there
:09:42. > :09:45.is nothing clearly to apologise for. Throughout all the media circus
:09:46. > :09:53.there has been around this... Are, the media circus! If you want me to
:09:54. > :09:55.be bullied into apologising, that won't happen.
:09:56. > :09:58.You're watching Tuesday in Parliament here on BBC Parliament
:09:59. > :10:05.Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said policymakers are "not making
:10:06. > :10:11.a judgment" on the outcome or consequences of the
:10:12. > :10:17.Mr Carney told the Treasury Committee that the Bank was treating
:10:18. > :10:20.the June vote as it would "every other political event." The Governor
:10:21. > :10:23.faced questions about the impact of the referendum on the pound,
:10:24. > :10:25.after Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar
:10:26. > :10:32.since Spring 2009 at the start of the week.
:10:33. > :10:43.Were not making a judgment about the potential outcome of the referendum.
:10:44. > :10:47.Which side will win, or an assessment or of the potential
:10:48. > :10:54.consequences of a leave vote. We are this felt exactly how we treat any
:10:55. > :10:58.other political event which is not to make a judgment on the outcome
:10:59. > :11:04.and assume status quo continues. It appears that recent moves had been
:11:05. > :11:10.influenced by the upcoming vote. Secondly that what matters for
:11:11. > :11:14.monetary policy is not just a move in the exchange rate but the
:11:15. > :11:19.persistence of that move and the reasons behind it. We don't think
:11:20. > :11:24.about it as just the isolated effect of a weaker exchange rate. Obviously
:11:25. > :11:27.everything else equal the weaker exchange rate boosts growth and
:11:28. > :11:31.inflation but we have to think of the governor said about why the
:11:32. > :11:34.exchange rate fell and in this case we think the exchange rate is
:11:35. > :11:39.falling because of increased uncertainty about what is going to
:11:40. > :11:42.happen in the period leading up to or following the referendum. It is
:11:43. > :11:46.possible that at some point increased uncertainty from foreign
:11:47. > :11:49.exchange investors also ends up manifesting itself in increased
:11:50. > :11:56.uncertainty by households and businesses which may or may not do
:11:57. > :11:59.they were their spending. -- reduce their spending.
:12:00. > :12:01.There was renewed anger in the Commons over Government plans
:12:02. > :12:05.The funding is an annual payment made to opposition parties
:12:06. > :12:08.at Westminster to help them with the costs of carrying
:12:09. > :12:12.It takes its name from former Labour MP Ted Short who was instrumental
:12:13. > :12:16.In November, the Chancellor proposed reducing the payments by 19% -
:12:17. > :12:18.in line with the average savings in unprotected
:12:19. > :12:22.Whitehall departments - then freezing the sum in cash terms
:12:23. > :12:26.Answering an urgent question, a Cabinet Office minister
:12:27. > :12:33.The cost of short money has gone up by 50% since 2010.
:12:34. > :12:36.And by a whopping 68% by the end of this Parliament
:12:37. > :12:40.At a time when everybody else outside of
:12:41. > :12:42.Westminster has had to tighten their belts,
:12:43. > :12:45.why should politicians expect to be treated differently?
:12:46. > :12:49.Feathering their own nests at taxpayers' expense?
:12:50. > :12:53.Short money is also notably un-transparent.
:12:54. > :12:56.It is taxpayers' money after all, but
:12:57. > :12:58.there is no requirement to publish details of how it's spent.
:12:59. > :13:02.There are, rightly, requirements on the parallel policy development
:13:03. > :13:05.grants and on pretty much every other area
:13:06. > :13:10.How can it be right, in the modern age, for politicians
:13:11. > :13:15.to be expect to be bunged a load of taxpayers' hard earned cash,
:13:16. > :13:21.more than ?35 million in total since 2010 for the Labour Party,
:13:22. > :13:25.for example, without at least explaining how it gets spent?
:13:26. > :13:28.But the opposition was furious with the proposals.
:13:29. > :13:32.This is the shoddiest so-called consultation
:13:33. > :13:38.It deliberately forgets to mention that short money is linked to how
:13:39. > :13:42.many seats and how many votes all the opposition parties got
:13:43. > :13:48.So the main reason that short money has increased in 2015
:13:49. > :13:51.is because this Government has a much smaller majority
:13:52. > :13:54.than the Labour Government or the Coalition Government
:13:55. > :13:57.and the opposition parties got more seats and more
:13:58. > :14:03.Fair-minded people will conclude that this Government is developing
:14:04. > :14:06.a nasty authoritarian streak, and its
:14:07. > :14:10.overweening executive wants to crush all opposition because they're
:14:11. > :14:16.There's nothing wrong in principle with reducing the cost of politics.
:14:17. > :14:19.Therefore, can we get some assurances in the reducing
:14:20. > :14:21.the number and cost of special advisors, and indeed
:14:22. > :14:25.This is actually about gagging the opposition.
:14:26. > :14:28.Will the Minister scrap this rushed consultation,
:14:29. > :14:31.abandon the attack on the scrutiny of Government, and look again at how
:14:32. > :14:35.the cost of politics can be reduced, including, for instance,
:14:36. > :14:38.by dropping the budget for special advisers?
:14:39. > :14:41.This needs to be reconsidered, This decision for such
:14:42. > :14:50.It does seem to be unacceptable that it's being introduced in one year.
:14:51. > :14:54.Everybody understands the need for financial stringency
:14:55. > :14:56.and the need for this House to take its share
:14:57. > :15:02.But could the Minister at least look to whether
:15:03. > :15:09.And could the Minister also pick up carefully the point that's been made
:15:10. > :15:14.Could the Minister tell the House what effect he supposes a cut
:15:15. > :15:17.in short money would have on scrutiny and the comfort
:15:18. > :15:19.or discomfort that the executive feels as it goes
:15:20. > :15:24.Mr Speaker, as I mentioned before, the amount of short money has
:15:25. > :15:31.So opposition parties have a great deal more money with which to do
:15:32. > :15:45.But there was one opposition party that gave the proposed
:15:46. > :15:49.Can I urge ministers to stick to your guns, don't retreat.
:15:50. > :15:51.The sight of special pleading from political parties wanting
:15:52. > :15:53.to get their hands on taxpayers' cash is disgraceful.
:15:54. > :15:56.Can I urge ministers not only to slash short money,
:15:57. > :15:58.but to insist that all political parties publish fully audited
:15:59. > :16:00.accounts on what they spend that short money on,
:16:01. > :16:03.as my party will be doing at the end of this year.
:16:04. > :16:06.So we can see the hotel bills and what it is they spent taxpayer
:16:07. > :16:10.Douglas Carswell giving his full backing to Government plans
:16:11. > :16:14.Later in the day, ministers set about trying
:16:15. > :16:16.to reverse two defeats inflicted on the
:16:17. > :16:20.Welfare Reform And Work Bill by peers.
:16:21. > :16:23.The Lords voted to keep targets aimed at reducing child poverty,
:16:24. > :16:26.forcing the Government to reconsider its plan
:16:27. > :16:30.Peers also threw out plans to cut ?30 a week
:16:31. > :16:33.from the benefits of sick and disabled people who have been
:16:34. > :16:39.But when the Bill return to the Commons, the Employment Minister
:16:40. > :16:42.argued those cuts to the Employment Support Allowance -
:16:43. > :16:51.I want to stress that this Government is fully focused
:16:52. > :16:53.on getting people who can work into work.
:16:54. > :16:56.We want to end a broken system that is patently failing those it
:16:57. > :17:01.And to ensure that a good proportion of the savings are recycled
:17:02. > :17:04.into practical support, long-term practical support that
:17:05. > :17:08.will have a transformation affects on people's lives.
:17:09. > :17:12.Some charities we that are working with agree
:17:13. > :17:15.that work can be right for some people after a diagnosis.
:17:16. > :17:19.And that improved employment support is crucial to helping people
:17:20. > :17:21.with health conditions and disability
:17:22. > :17:25.move into work, to get closer to the labour market.
:17:26. > :17:30.People in ESA group have gone through the capability assessment
:17:31. > :17:36.This includes 5000 people with progressive conditions,
:17:37. > :17:46.A survey conducted by the charity MacMillan Cancer Support
:17:47. > :17:50.found that one in ten cancer patients would struggle
:17:51. > :17:54.to pay their rent or mortgage if ESA was cut.
:17:55. > :17:58.The key issue is that they are not fit for work.
:17:59. > :18:01.So suggesting that removing financial incentives
:18:02. > :18:05.will somehow make them fit for work is quite frankly ridiculous.
:18:06. > :18:09.We must remember at this stage that the Prime Minister commited
:18:10. > :18:13.before the election last year not to cut benefits to disabled people.
:18:14. > :18:17.Politics Home website quotes an interview with the Prime Minister
:18:18. > :18:20.that he gave to BBC Breakfast where he said that his Government
:18:21. > :18:24.would protect disabled people from welfare cuts.
:18:25. > :18:27.This cut to ESA, affecting nearly 500,000 disabled recipients,
:18:28. > :18:31.makes an absolute mockery of that pre-election pledge.
:18:32. > :18:33.But there was a warning shot for the Government
:18:34. > :18:39.From 2017, in the region of 270 disabled
:18:40. > :18:44.people in my constituency alone in South Cambridgeshire will stand
:18:45. > :18:48.to lose ?30, or 29% of their weekly income, if we accept this Bill
:18:49. > :18:53.in its original form and ignore the Lords.
:18:54. > :18:58.For these people, I need to see more detail of the contents of the White
:18:59. > :19:02.Paper, and hear about the financial support too that will be made
:19:03. > :19:06.available before I can fully support the Government.
:19:07. > :19:13.Let's be a Government of sweeping strategic change,
:19:14. > :19:15.but also lets be one with the compassion
:19:16. > :19:20.and the dexterity to look after the little man too.
:19:21. > :19:23.An extra ?1 billion to plug gaps in mental health services in England
:19:24. > :19:27.has been confirmed in the Commons by the Health Minister.
:19:28. > :19:30.Last week, an independent review by a Ttskforce concluded that
:19:31. > :19:33."under-funded and inadequate care" had led to thousands
:19:34. > :19:39.It found that three quarters of people with mental health
:19:40. > :19:42.problems had received no help at all.
:19:43. > :19:45.We'll spend an extra ?1 billion on mental health by 2021
:19:46. > :19:50.to improve access to services, so that people receive the right
:19:51. > :19:54.care in the right place when they need it most.
:19:55. > :19:56.This will mean increasing the number of people completing talking
:19:57. > :20:01.therapies by nearly three quarters, from 468,000 to 800,000.
:20:02. > :20:03.More than doubling the number of pregnant
:20:04. > :20:06.women or new mothers receiving mental health support,
:20:07. > :20:12.Training around 1700 new therapists, and helping 29,000 more people
:20:13. > :20:16.to find or stay in work through individual placement support
:20:17. > :20:20.Given that mental health receives just
:20:21. > :20:24.under 10% of the total NHS budget, surely mental health services
:20:25. > :20:27.would have been expecting to receive much of this additional money
:20:28. > :20:30.as part of the NHS settlement anyway?
:20:31. > :20:35.Therefore, can the Minister explain how this money can be expected
:20:36. > :20:37.to deliver the transformation in our mental health
:20:38. > :20:41.services that the task force says is urgently required?
:20:42. > :20:44.What was said by the Prime Minister in relation to the task force
:20:45. > :20:47.report represents new money that will be available for the NHS
:20:48. > :20:53.I think we also need to also focus on children.
:20:54. > :20:57.One in ten of our children are suffering from mental health
:20:58. > :21:00.problems between the age of five and 16.
:21:01. > :21:03.And they're waiting a very long time to get help.
:21:04. > :21:06.We have the same challenge in Scotland, we measure that,
:21:07. > :21:09.we know how difficult that is, and we've managed to improve it
:21:10. > :21:15.With depression being one of the most terrible
:21:16. > :21:19.diseases someone can suffer, not only because of the disease,
:21:20. > :21:21.but also because of the stigma attached.
:21:22. > :21:23.Can I also congratulate the writers of Coronation Street
:21:24. > :21:27.for their storyline which was dealt with sensitively and which addressed
:21:28. > :21:29.some of the stigmas and stereotypes that come with that.
:21:30. > :21:33.So can I urge my Right Honourable friend to make sure that as much
:21:34. > :21:35.effort is also put into tackling the stigma of mental health,
:21:36. > :21:39.as well as the practical investment in services that can
:21:40. > :21:45.What did you do last time you had to get rid of an outdated mobile
:21:46. > :21:49.In the Lords, there were calls for the Government to do more
:21:50. > :21:53.to stop electronic goods ending up in landfill sites.
:21:54. > :21:55.Couldn't the Government be doing more to set
:21:56. > :21:59.minimum standards and incentives to business so that product
:22:00. > :22:04.longevity and reuse cecome the norm rather than the exception
:22:05. > :22:06.which is what is the case at the moment?
:22:07. > :22:16.The Government supports the Electrical and Electronic
:22:17. > :22:17.Equipment Sustainablity Action Plan, esap.
:22:18. > :22:19.This agreement has 74 signatories, including
:22:20. > :22:21.global manufacturers who represent 66% of UK TV sales,
:22:22. > :22:26.55% of washing machines and 49% of fridge freezers.
:22:27. > :22:30.We believe that esap will have a significant impact
:22:31. > :22:36.Is the Minister aware that there are people who recycle
:22:37. > :22:44.Some years ago I went to see a man who had set up a business at that
:22:45. > :22:49.time, very successfully, and the equipment, when recycled
:22:50. > :22:51.was sent to Africa and countries who were
:22:52. > :22:55.Why is there not more encouragement for
:22:56. > :22:58.providing these bits of equipment that are still valuable to other
:22:59. > :23:03.My Lords, I think my noble friend is right.
:23:04. > :23:06.That not only are they valued around the world, but also
:23:07. > :23:11.The whole point of esap is to ensure that the products last longer
:23:12. > :23:17.This is the whole thrust of what we want to do.
:23:18. > :23:20.I think these are early beginnings, but there is a great potential,
:23:21. > :23:23.not only for the environment, but for the economy too.
:23:24. > :23:27.Nothing exemplifies our society's throwaway attitude
:23:28. > :23:31.more than modern smartphones which are almost impossible to get
:23:32. > :23:34.repaired at a reasonable cost, with batteries that are fixed
:23:35. > :23:37.in them and processers which are designed to not
:23:38. > :23:45.In contrast, there now are some social
:23:46. > :23:49.enterprises which are producing phones, such as Fairphone,
:23:50. > :23:57.Where they are using ethically sourced materials,
:23:58. > :24:00.where every part can be replaced or upgraded when necessary.
:24:01. > :24:02.I wonder if the noble lord and Minister would
:24:03. > :24:05.agree with me that this sort of initiative needs to be held up
:24:06. > :24:09.to the technology industry as a good example of a way forward to find
:24:10. > :24:14.My Lords, I endorse all that the right reverend
:24:15. > :24:19.The whole thrust of what we want to achieve is better
:24:20. > :24:21.design for waste prevention, reuse and recycling.
:24:22. > :24:25.I think Fairphone is in good example, and if the Dutch can
:24:26. > :24:31.Finally, a new railway line to run under London is to be named
:24:32. > :24:36.Crossrail will be known as the Elizabeth Line once it opens
:24:37. > :24:41.The announcement was made as the Queen visited
:24:42. > :24:44.the under-construction Bond Street station.
:24:45. > :24:48.She unveiled the purple Elizabeth line logo which will feature
:24:49. > :24:53.The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said that as well as radically
:24:54. > :24:56.improving travel right across the city,
:24:57. > :24:59.the Elizabeth line will provide a lasting tribute to our
:25:00. > :25:06.The new name was officially announced to MPs in the Commons.
:25:07. > :25:12.Our Queen opened the Victoria line service in 1969.
:25:13. > :25:15.The Fleet line which we named the Jubilee line in honour
:25:16. > :25:19.of her first 25 years on the throne in 1979.
:25:20. > :25:21.And she is the first reigning monarch,
:25:22. > :25:25.Mr Speaker, to travel on the London Underground.
:25:26. > :25:27.I am told that trains are her Majesty's favourite
:25:28. > :25:32.And she is a frequent user of both the royal train,
:25:33. > :25:42.And I hope that Her Majesty would consider an
:25:43. > :25:44.invitation to travel on the first passenger train that will pass
:25:45. > :25:46.through the Elizabeth line's tunnels in December 2018.
:25:47. > :25:48.And that invitation from Claire Perry brings us
:25:49. > :25:51.to the end of this edition of the programme, but do join me
:25:52. > :25:54.at the same time tomorrow, when among other things we'll
:25:55. > :25:58.have the highlights from Prime Minister's Questions.