Browse content similar to 06/07/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello there and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
Coming up in the next half-hour After seven years in gestathon, | 0:00:15 | 0:00:18 | |
Sir John Chilcot's report on the war in Iraq is finally published. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:23 | |
David Cameron sets out the conclusions to MPs. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:31 | |
Sir John finds that, at crucial points, Mr Blair | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
said personal notes | 0:00:33 | 0:00:34 | |
and made important commitments to Mr Bush that had not been | 0:00:34 | 0:00:37 | |
discussed or agreed with Cabinet colleagues. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:38 | |
At Prime Minister's Questions, government's urged to put | 0:00:38 | 0:00:40 | |
an end to agency Britain. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:42 | |
And the Health Secretary saxs he'll impose new contracts | 0:00:42 | 0:00:44 | |
on England's junior doctors after they rejected a deal hammered | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
out between the government and the doctors' union. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
An elected government, whose main aim is to improvd | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
the safety and quality of care for patients, | 0:00:54 | 0:00:56 | |
has come up against a union which has stirred up anger | 0:00:56 | 0:01:00 | |
amongst its own members it hs now unable to pacify. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
But first, it was a day long awaited at Westminster, the publication | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
of Sir John Chilcot's report into the Iraq war. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
The inquiry was set up in 2009 to look at the run-up to thd US led | 0:01:10 | 0:01:14 | |
invasion in 2003 and its aftermath. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:18 | |
It concluded that the decishon to go to war was made on the basis | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
of flawed intelligence and troops were sent in before peaceful | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
options had been exhausted. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:29 | |
Sir John went on to criticise the planning for the period | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
after the fall of Saddam Hussein and said many lessons | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
could be learnt. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
Sir John said more than 200 British citizens died as a result | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
of the conflict in Iraq and at least 150,000 Iraqis had been killed | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
by 2009 as a result of the hnvasion and the instability it causdd. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:49 | |
Outlining the report's findhngs in the Commons, David Cameron began | 0:01:49 | 0:01:51 | |
with some of the central qudstions. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:55 | |
Did the UK go to war on a f`lse premise and did Saddam Hussdin had | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
weapons of mass destruction? | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
David Cameron said the report had found there were some good reasons | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
to believe at the time that Saddam Hussein had weapons | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
of mass destruction. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
He'd given international we`pons inspectors the runaround for years | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
and the report clearly refldcts that the advice given to | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
the government by the Intelligence and Policy Community was th`t | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
Saddam Hussein did indeed continue to possess and seek | 0:02:16 | 0:02:19 | |
to develop these capabilitids. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
However, as we now know, by 200 , this long held belief no longer | 0:02:23 | 0:02:27 | |
reflected the reality. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
Sir John says that, at no stage was the proposition that Ir`q might | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
no longer have chemical, biological or nuclear | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
weapons or programmes identified and examined, | 0:02:36 | 0:02:39 | |
either by the JIC or the Policy Community. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:44 | |
And, as the report notes, the late Robin Cook had shown | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
it was possible to come to a different conclusion | 0:02:47 | 0:02:49 | |
from an examination of the same intelligence. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:53 | |
Sir John finds no evidence that intelligence was improperly included | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
or that Number 10 Mr Blair personally improperly infludnced | 0:02:56 | 0:03:00 | |
the text of the September 2002 dossier. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
But he does find that the use of joint intelligence committee | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
material in public presentation did not make clear | 0:03:06 | 0:03:10 | |
enough the limitations or the subtleties of assesslents. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:14 | |
The inquiry had not expressdd the view on whether or not the UK's | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
participation in the war was legal. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
Nevertheless, Sir John is hhghly critical of the processes | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
by which the legal advice was arrived and discussed. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:27 | |
He says this, the circumstances in which it was ultimately decided | 0:03:27 | 0:03:31 | |
that there was a legal basis for UK participation were far | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
from satisfactory. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
And I'm sure honourable gentlemen and ladies will want to study that | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
part of the report carefullx. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:40 | |
Sir John also finds that the diplomatic options had not | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
at that stage been exhausted and that military action | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
was therefore not a last resort | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
He turned to the process of decision-making. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
A number of ministers had bden involved but there were specific | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
criticisms of the process. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
Sir John finds that, at crucial points, Mr Blair said | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
personal notes and made important commitments to Mr Bush that had not | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
been discussed or agreed with Cabinet colleagues. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
However, while Sir John makds many criticisms of the process, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:11 | |
including the way information was handled and presented, | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
at no stage to see explicitly say that there was a deliberate attempt | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
to mislead people. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
As for after the initial opdration, Sir John had concluded. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
The government, and here I lean officials in the military | 0:04:23 | 0:04:25 | |
as well as ministers, remain too fixed on assumpthons | 0:04:25 | 0:04:29 | |
that the Americans had a pl`n, that the UN would play a significant | 0:04:29 | 0:04:32 | |
role with the international community sharing a burden | 0:04:32 | 0:04:34 | |
and that the UK role would be over 3-4 months after the | 0:04:34 | 0:04:38 | |
conflict had ended. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
Sir John concludes that the government's failure to prepare | 0:04:40 | 0:04:42 | |
properly for the aftermath of the conflict reduced | 0:04:42 | 0:04:46 | |
the likelihood of achieving the UK's strategic objectives in Irap. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
Overall, Sir John finds that the policy of Her Majesty's | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
government fell far short of meeting its strategic objectives | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
and helped to create a space for al-Qaeda. | 0:04:55 | 0:05:00 | |
Mr Speaker, of course the ddcision to go to war came to a vote in this | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
House and members on all sides who voted for military action | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
will have to take our fair share of the responsibility. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
We cannot turn the clock back. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
Many of the failures in this report were not directly about the conduct | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
of Armed Forces as they went into Iraq but rather the fahlures | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
of planning before a shot w`s fired. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
Jeremy Corbyn said the invasion of Iraq was the most signifhcant | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
decision taken by the British government in modern times. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
It divided this House and sdt the government of the day | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
against a majority of the British people as well as against | 0:05:32 | 0:05:36 | |
the weight of global opinion. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
The war was not, in any way, as Sir John Chilcot | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
says, a last resort. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
Frankly, it was an act of mhlitary aggression launched on a false | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
pretext, as the inquiry accdpts and has long been regarded | 0:05:47 | 0:05:51 | |
as illegal by the overwhelmhng weight of international | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
legal opinion. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:57 | |
The decision to invade Iraq in 003, on the basis of what the Chhlcot | 0:05:57 | 0:06:02 | |
report calls flawed intelligence about weapons of mass | 0:06:02 | 0:06:06 | |
destruction, has had a far-reaching impact on us all | 0:06:06 | 0:06:10 | |
It's led to a fundamental breakdown in trust in politics and in our | 0:06:10 | 0:06:14 | |
institutions of government. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
The tragedy is that, while the governing class got it | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
so horrifically wrong, many of our people | 0:06:20 | 0:06:23 | |
actually got it right. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:27 | |
Many, on the 15th of February 2 03, 1.5 million, spanning | 0:06:27 | 0:06:33 | |
the entire political spectrtm, and tens of millions of othdr people | 0:06:33 | 0:06:38 | |
across the world, marched against the impending war - | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
the biggest ever demonstrathon in British history. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
Quite bluntly, Mr Speaker, there are huge lessons for dvery | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
single one of us here today. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:51 | |
We make decisions that have consequences that do not just go | 0:06:51 | 0:06:54 | |
on for the immediate years. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
They go on for decades and decades afterwards. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
We need to reflect very serhously before we take any decisions again | 0:06:59 | 0:07:04 | |
to take military action without realising the consepuences | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
of those will live with all of us for many decades to come and have | 0:07:07 | 0:07:11 | |
often incalculable consequences as a result. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
The SNP leader at Westminstdr was equally damning. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:19 | |
The lack of planning has also been evident | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
since in relation to Afghanhstan, to Libya, to Syria and, most | 0:07:22 | 0:07:28 | |
recently, with absolutely no plan whatsoever in regards to Brdxit | 0:07:28 | 0:07:35 | |
So when will UK governments of either Tory or Labour hud | 0:07:35 | 0:07:39 | |
actually start learning from the mistakes of | 0:07:39 | 0:07:42 | |
the past so we are not condemned to repeat them? | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
I hope and I expect that, in the months ahead, | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
there will be the opportunity to hold to account those | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
who are associated and responsible with taking the UK the war hn Iraq | 0:07:52 | 0:07:57 | |
that has only caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:03 | |
Not just that. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:04 | |
It has undermined people's faith in Parliament and government | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
in the UK and left an indelhble stain on Britain's | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | |
standing in the world. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
Angus Robertson. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
The Lib Dem leader turned to the role of his predecessor, | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
Charles Kennedy, who led much of the opposition to the invasion. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
So will the Prime Minister now take the opportunity, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:23 | |
on behalf of his party and this House, to acknowledge that | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
Charles Kennedy was right all along in leading the opposition | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
across this country against the counter-producthve war? | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
And should not those who accused Charles Kennedy of appeasemdnt, | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
some of whom are still on these benches today, apologised | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
to him, to his family, to our service men and women, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
to our country and to the people of Iraq? | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
People who voted for the war, like me, have to take their share | 0:08:46 | 0:08:50 | |
of responsibility. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:51 | |
That's important. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:52 | |
But I don't think it's right to accuse people who voted | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
against of appeasement. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:55 | |
But deep divisions after thd war remained. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:57 | |
Each of us in Cabinet or in this House are responsible | 0:08:57 | 0:09:00 | |
and should take responsibilhty for our own individual decisions, | 0:09:00 | 0:09:04 | |
albeit taken in good faith on the basis of evidence before us. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:10 | |
But equally, does he agree that the men of hatred and death | 0:09:10 | 0:09:14 | |
in al-Qaeda and Daesh/Isil should take responsibility | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
for their actions and for the blood and honour they inflict on others? | 0:09:17 | 0:09:23 | |
The horrors of Saddam Hussehn, what he did to his own people were | 0:09:23 | 0:09:29 | |
clearly documented and I thhnk we were right to take part hn that | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
invasion. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
The main element in that debate which is the debate upon | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
which parliament decided on 13th March 2003, wasn't the 45-mhnute | 0:09:38 | 0:09:43 | |
claim, which wasn't mentiondd anywhere in those hours of debate. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:50 | |
It was the fact that Saddam Hussein and his murderous sons had spent 13 | 0:09:50 | 0:09:56 | |
years running rings around the United Nations, ignoring 17 UN | 0:09:56 | 0:10:01 | |
resolutions, including resolutions calling | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
for all necessary means to | 0:10:05 | 0:10:07 | |
stop him. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:11 | |
Wasn't that the main issue in that debate? | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
And has the Prime Minister found any evidence | 0:10:13 | 0:10:15 | |
whatsoever of any lies told to parliament on that day? | 0:10:15 | 0:10:20 | |
I can't see in here an accusation of | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
deliberately deceiving people but there is | 0:10:23 | 0:10:26 | |
certainly information that | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
wasn't properly presented, different justifications given before and | 0:10:28 | 0:10:32 | |
subsequently for the action that was taken and a number of other | 0:10:32 | 0:10:36 | |
criticisms about processes but deliberate deceit, I can't find a | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
reference to it. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:41 | |
Sir John has been very careful about avoiding accusing | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
the previous Prime Minister of lying to the House but a lot of the | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
evidence here suggests he dhd. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
What action can this House take in dealing with that? | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
I now have to listen and wrdstle with my own | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
conscience and shame on me, the then Prime Minister must wrestle | 0:10:54 | 0:10:57 | |
with his own conscience. | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
Will my right honourable friend agree with me that | 0:10:59 | 0:11:03 | |
the then Prime Minister must take full responsibility for encouraging | 0:11:03 | 0:11:08 | |
this House to take the decision that it did with disastrous consdquences | 0:11:08 | 0:11:12 | |
in destabilising the world? | 0:11:12 | 0:11:16 | |
Amid all this stuff about ilproving processes, which is fantasthcally | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
important and I acknowledge it, is it not at the end of the dax people | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
that make decisions? | 0:11:23 | 0:11:26 | |
And in our search for responsibility wouldn't | 0:11:26 | 0:11:27 | |
it help if individuals responsible were held accountable? | 0:11:27 | 0:11:32 | |
Given this, the undermining of the UN and the disastrous and horrible | 0:11:32 | 0:11:36 | |
consequences, is it not inconceivable that MrBlair should be | 0:11:36 | 0:11:41 | |
held to account for his acthons | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
This is not a day for soundbites but does the Prime Minister not agree | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
that the hand of history should be feeling somebody's collar? | 0:11:48 | 0:11:53 | |
I don't think it is a grey wash or a white | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
wash or anything else wash, I think this from | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
what I have seen so far is | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
a thorough effort at trying to understand | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
that the narrative of the | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
events, the decisions that were taken and the mistakes that were | 0:12:04 | 0:12:09 | |
made, and I think there's a huge amount to learn and I think everyone | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
who has played a part in it has to take their responsibilitx for it. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:18 | |
One of the greatest scandals out of this whole episode is, of course, | 0:12:18 | 0:12:21 | |
the lack of resources for our troops sent | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
in to battle without the | 0:12:23 | 0:12:26 | |
equipment that they needed `nd this must never be allowed to happen | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
again. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:31 | |
Parts of the Ministry of Defence, including the chiefs of staff, | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
were not delivering the advhce that the Government needed | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
and elements of the Foreign Office had succumbed to a form of group | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
think that leaves me deeply concerned as to the structure | 0:12:41 | 0:12:44 | |
and advice governments can get. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:47 | |
Whatever we think about the judgment that was made, we should acknowledge | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
that the bond of trust between the Government, | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
this House and the public h`s been damaged by the decision | 0:12:52 | 0:12:56 | |
that was taken in 2003. | 0:12:56 | 0:12:59 | |
And we here in this place today now have an absolute need to put that | 0:12:59 | 0:13:03 | |
right for the future. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
The Prime Minister should bd prepared to accept a mistakd, | 0:13:06 | 0:13:08 | |
a Government should be prep`red to accept a mistake | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
and a parliament should be prepared to accept a mistake. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:14 | |
If this House today does not accept that the invasion of Iraq | 0:13:14 | 0:13:17 | |
was a disastrous mistake thdn we have learned nothing | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
whatsoever from this. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
My responsibility is to handle the publication of this, | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
to draw out the lessons, which I think I have | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
done, and to let others who were responsible at the time | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
account for themselves. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
You're watching Wednesday In Parliament with me, Alicha | 0:13:32 | 0:13:34 | |
McCarthy. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
Jeremy Corbyn has demanded the government puts an end to what | 0:13:40 | 0:13:42 | |
he called Agency Britain and helps communities which feel left behind. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
At Prime Minister's Questions, the Labour | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
leader claimed the North was | 0:13:49 | 0:13:51 | |
being neglected in favour of investment in the South. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
But David Cameron attacked Labour's opposition | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
to the economic choices which had to be made. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
The Labour leader began with a specific case he wanted to | 0:13:59 | 0:14:02 | |
raise. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:10 | |
30 years ago, Mr Speaker, the Shirebrook Colliery employed | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
thousands of workers in skilled well-paid, unionised | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
jobs digging coal. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:15 | |
Today, thousands of people work on the same site - the vast majority | 0:14:15 | 0:14:19 | |
on zero hours contracts, no union recognition, | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
where the minimum wage isn't even paid. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:27 | |
Doesn't Shirebrook sum up Agency Britain? | 0:14:27 | 0:14:31 | |
On the issue of what has happened in our coalfield communities to see | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
new jobs and new investment come, we have made sure that therd is not | 0:14:34 | 0:14:39 | |
only now a minimum wage but now a national living wage. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
And yes, he talks about one colliery. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:47 | |
I very recently visited the site of the Grimethorpe Colliery where, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
actually, there is now one business there - | 0:14:50 | 0:14:54 | |
Asos, I think - now employing almost 5000 people. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
So we are never going to succeed as a country if we try to hold | 0:14:57 | 0:15:01 | |
onto jobs of industries that have become uncompetitive. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
We've got to invest in the industries of the future | 0:15:03 | 0:15:05 | |
and that's what this government is doing. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
Jeremy Corbyn said the problem was that, for people | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
on zero hours contracts, their earnings did not add tp | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
to a weekly living wage. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
He moved on to the Chancellor's decision to end his plan | 0:15:14 | 0:15:18 | |
for a budget surplus by the end of this Parliament. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
The Chancellor finally did this week what the Shadow Chancellor `sked him | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
to do in the Autumn Statement and what I asked the Prime Linister | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
to do last week, and abandoned a key part of the fiscal rule. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:30 | |
We now know the deficit was supposed to vanish by 2015, | 0:15:30 | 0:15:36 | |
won't even be gone by 2020. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:38 | |
Isn't it time to admit that austerity is a failure and the way | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
forward is to invest in infrastructure, invest | 0:15:42 | 0:15:47 | |
in growth and invest in jobs? | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
Prime Minister. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:51 | |
What he says is simply not the case. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:53 | |
The rules we set out always had flexibilities in case growth did not | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
turn out the way... | 0:15:56 | 0:15:58 | |
But the point I'd make to hhm, I would take his advice mord | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
seriously if I could think of a single spending reducthon | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
that he had supported at anx time in the last six years. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
The fact is, this government and the last one, the Coalition | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
Government, had to take difficult decisions to get our | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
deficit under control. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
It's gone from 11% of GDP that we inherited, the biggdst | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
almost in the entire world, to under 3% this year. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:22 | |
That's because of difficult decisions. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has stated | 0:16:25 | 0:16:29 | |
he wants the UK to borrow tdns of billions of pounds to crdate | 0:16:29 | 0:16:32 | |
a Growing Britain fund worth up to ?100 billion. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:34 | |
Can I ask the PM whether thhs is a formal plan or whether this | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
is merely an attempt to conjure up a plan amid a leadership vacuum | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
of the UK Government? | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
Clearly, my colleagues, during a leadership election, | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
and at least on this side of the House we actually having | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
a leadership election rather than the never-ending... | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
I thought you wanted one! | 0:16:52 | 0:16:54 | |
You don't want one? | 0:16:54 | 0:16:56 | |
Hands up who wants a leadership election! | 0:16:56 | 0:17:01 | |
Oh, they don't want a leadership election? | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
I'm so confused. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:07 | |
One minute it's like the Eagle is going to swoop, and the next | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
minute, it's Eddie the Eagld at the top of the ski jump, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
not knowing whether to go or not! | 0:17:13 | 0:17:15 | |
Anyway, in case you hadn't noticed, we are having | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
a leadership election! | 0:17:17 | 0:17:18 | |
David Cameron. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
The Health Secretary, Jeremx Hunt, has said the government will impose | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
a new contract on junior doctors in England. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
It follows a decision of junior doctors and medical students | 0:17:27 | 0:17:30 | |
to reject the latest deal in a ballot by 58% to 42%. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
Soon after that result was announced, the chairman | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
of the British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee resigned. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:43 | |
Jeremy Hunt told MPs the new deal had won the support of the lajority | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
of the Royal Colleges in the health service. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
Unfortunately, because of the votes, we are now left in a no man's land | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
that, if it continues, can only damage the NHS. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
An elected government, whose main aim is to improvd | 0:17:56 | 0:18:00 | |
the safety and quality of care for patients, | 0:18:00 | 0:18:04 | |
has come up against a union which has stirred up anger | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
amongst its own members it is now unable to pacify. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:11 | |
Mr Hunt said there was no one from the BMA side able to ldad any | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
further negotiations. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
I have come at this morning, decided that the only realistic way | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
to end this impasse is to proceed with the phased introduction | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
of the exact contract that was negotiated, | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
agreed and supported by the BMA leadership. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:33 | |
So it will be introduced from October this year for lore | 0:18:33 | 0:18:37 | |
senior obstetrics trainees, then in November and Decembdr | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
for Foundation Year 1 doctors taking up new posts and Foundation Year 2 | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
doctors on the same rotas as their current contract expires. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
Protracted uncertainty, at precisely the time we gr`pple | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
with the enormous consequences of leaving the EU, can only be | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
damaging for those working in the NHS and on the patients | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
who depend on it. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
At this time of general instability, I would urge the government | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
to reconsider imposing this contract at all. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
It has not helped for the government to treat junior doctors | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
like the enemy within. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:15 | |
It has not helped their mor`le to imply, at one time, | 0:19:15 | 0:19:19 | |
that the only barrier to a seven-day NHS is their reluctance to work | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
weekends when so many of thdm are already working unsocial hours, | 0:19:23 | 0:19:26 | |
sacrificing family life in the process. | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
Public opinion is not on the government's side. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:35 | |
It is evident that the publhc will have faith in its doctors long | 0:19:35 | 0:19:41 | |
after they have lost faith hn this or any other government. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
It is not too late to changd course. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
I, too, am disappointed at the outcome of the ballot | 0:19:48 | 0:19:50 | |
yesterday, and I think it h`s to be recognised that this | 0:19:50 | 0:19:54 | |
reflects a real desperation among junior doctors, | 0:19:54 | 0:19:57 | |
a real unhappiness. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
They are dealing with incre`sed demand, they are dealing | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
with increased pressure and they have felt that, at times, | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
the tone of the negotiations has left a lot to be desired. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
The threat of imposition was there from the start and they felt | 0:20:08 | 0:20:12 | |
that hanging over them. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
The former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has spoken | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
in the Commons for the first time since the EU referendum. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
A prominent figure in the Ldave campaign, he had been one | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
of the favourites to replacd David Cameron as Conservative | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
leader and Prime Minister, but things changed dramatic`lly | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
when fellow Leave campaign Michael Gove cast doubt | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
on his suitability. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
Boris Johnson spoke in a debate initiated by Labour about the fate | 0:20:34 | 0:20:38 | |
of EU nationals living and working in the UK. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:42 | |
The motion in front of MPs said the British government should | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
guarantee that anyone from an EU country should bd | 0:20:45 | 0:20:49 | |
allowed to stay in the UK. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:52 | |
I think it is absolutely right to issue the strongest posshble | 0:20:52 | 0:20:56 | |
reassurance to EU nationals in this country, not just for moral | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
or humanitarian reasons but for very sound economic reasons as wdll. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:04 | |
They are welcome, they are necessary, they are a vital part | 0:21:04 | 0:21:08 | |
of our society and I will bd passionately supporting | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
this motion tonight. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:13 | |
The Shadow Home Secretary urged other MPs to back Labour's lotion. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:17 | |
We can send a message out from this Parliament today to Europe | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
and the rest of the world. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
Yes, people have expressed frustrations about the EU | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
but our country and its people have not changed. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
We are still that same placd that has been renowned the world over | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
for doing the fair and right thing, for doing the decent thing. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:37 | |
Amidst all the chaos in our politics, let's take a step | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
back today toward sanity and stability and pass this | 0:21:40 | 0:21:44 | |
motion overwhelmingly. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
EU nationals can have our ftll and unreserved reassurance | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
that their right to enter, work, study and live | 0:21:51 | 0:21:54 | |
in the UK remains unchanged. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
We value the tremendous contribution they are making every day in towns, | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
cities and villages up and down the country. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:02 | |
We fully expect that the legal status of EU nationals living | 0:22:02 | 0:22:06 | |
in the UK and that of UK nationals in EU states will be | 0:22:06 | 0:22:09 | |
properly protected. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
Given that both the UK and DU wants to maintain a close relationship, | 0:22:13 | 0:22:18 | |
we are confident that we will work together and that both EU and | 0:22:18 | 0:22:22 | |
British citizens will be protected through reciprocal arrangemdnts | 0:22:22 | 0:22:28 | |
The ayes to the right, 245. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
The noes to the left, two. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:32 | |
And when it came to the votd, MPs backed Labour's motion rejecting | 0:22:32 | 0:22:35 | |
the use of EU nationals as bargaining chips and calling | 0:22:35 | 0:22:38 | |
on the government to give ET nationals currently living hn the UK | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
the right to remain. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
The result, however, isn't binding on the governlent | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
Now, let's go back to the Chilcot report which was repeated l`ter | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
in the day in the House of Lords. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
Does the noble Earl, the minister, not agree | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
that the duty of a military man is to fight for his country, | 0:22:57 | 0:23:00 | |
and whatever he has been told to do in terms of fighting | 0:23:00 | 0:23:04 | |
for his country, and that the people who were involved in Iraq dhd | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
that to their very core and their families and friends | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
should be very proud of thel for doing their duty? | 0:23:11 | 0:23:14 | |
And often, in history, our service people have fought | 0:23:14 | 0:23:18 | |
in wars that one may think, well, why on earth did that happen? | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
That is not the point in terms of them and their behaviour, | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
and it is very important, I think, for their families, | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
friends and everyone to realise they did their duty, | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
they did it well and these are the issues, in a sense, yes | 0:23:30 | 0:23:38 | |
they are important but they don t have any stain on those | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
people involved. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:42 | |
Mr Blair and his colleagues were not actuated by it noble motives. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
Mr Blair and his colleagues were not actuated by ignoble motives. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
Rather, they were seeking to sustain the national interest. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:54 | |
And I say that as one who w`s not misled by what happened. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
I voted against the Iraq war. | 0:23:57 | 0:23:58 | |
I'm glad to say that I playdd a part in drafting the motion against it. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
I also had a motion on the order paper in the Other House, | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
calling for Mr Blair to be called to account | 0:24:05 | 0:24:07 | |
if necessary by impeachment. | 0:24:07 | 0:24:08 | |
But that said, is it not right that we should temper our criticisms | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
by bearing in mind that Mr Blair and his colleagues were seeking | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
to serve the national interdst and were not motivated | 0:24:14 | 0:24:16 | |
by noble motives? | 0:24:17 | 0:24:18 | |
The Lords also heard from mdmbers of Tony Blair's Cabinet at the time, | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
one reflecting on the attempts to get a second resolution | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
at the United Nations. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:24 | |
Would it not be perverse in the extreme if we were not able, | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
in future, to be able to john with our allies because our action | 0:24:27 | 0:24:32 | |
was vetoed by Vladimir Putin at a moment when he himself | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
is bombing civilians in Syrha without any process or authorisation | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
sought by this government and the previous government? | 0:24:37 | 0:24:45 | |
Will he perhaps join me in recognising three certainties | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
that have emerged from his report - first that there was no | 0:24:49 | 0:24:57 | |
falsification of the intellhgence, second that the Cabinet was not | 0:24:57 | 0:25:03 | |
deceived and third but therd was no undisclosed plan | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
between the Prime Minister and the President of | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
the United States to go to war before the processes | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
of government were invoked? | 0:25:12 | 0:25:22 | |
I welcome the report. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:23 | |
I will study it carefully. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
We will learn the lessons. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:26 | |
But at the end of the day, it is elected ministers who must | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
exercise the judgment on sole of these questions. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:34 | |
John Reid. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:35 | |
And that's it for now but do join me at the same time tomorrow when MPs | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
ask environment questions and debate online abuse while the Lords asked | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
questions about televising the Paralympic Games. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
But until then, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:52 |