23/03/2016

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:00:12. > :00:14.Hello, and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament,

:00:15. > :00:18.our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.

:00:19. > :00:25.More reaction to the terrorist outrage in Brussels.

:00:26. > :00:33.The terrorists aim to instil fear and divide us, and destroy our

:00:34. > :00:36.freedoms and civil liberties, and we must not give in to that narrative.

:00:37. > :00:39.David Cameron keeps the Commons entertained with an internal party

:00:40. > :00:40.document, placing Labour MPs in different categories.

:00:41. > :00:47.The hostile, you shout, the neutral but not hostile, you have to be

:00:48. > :00:54.quiet, I think. Hold on! And a committee room plays host

:00:55. > :00:57.in the ongoing battle between "Remain In"

:00:58. > :01:07.or "Get Out" of the EU. It's very kind of you, Boris... I

:01:08. > :01:12.just thought I would bring it up! Never say never! Time for common

:01:13. > :01:13.sense on the euro. The message of the Home Secretary,

:01:14. > :01:19.Theresa May, in the wake of Tuesday's suicide bombings

:01:20. > :01:21.in Brussels, which claimed more So-called Islamic State, or Daesh,

:01:22. > :01:30.has said it was behind the acts of terrorism at the city's

:01:31. > :01:32.international airport At least four Britons

:01:33. > :01:36.were caught up in the bombings. Belgium is observing three days

:01:37. > :01:38.of national mourning. A minute's silence was held

:01:39. > :01:41.across the country at 12 noon, which was also observed

:01:42. > :01:43.in Westminster. In the Commons, David Cameron

:01:44. > :01:56.was asked about the attacks. Bombers as everywhere and every

:01:57. > :02:01.time, aim for publicity, public reaction and is unity. Can we

:02:02. > :02:10.disappoint them by uniting to Hope not hate? My honourable friend is

:02:11. > :02:15.absolutely right to say that. These people packed their explosives with

:02:16. > :02:18.nails in order to kill as many innocent people, women and children,

:02:19. > :02:22.as they possibly could, and we should unite in condemnation, stand

:02:23. > :02:27.with the people and government of Belgium and all countries afflicted

:02:28. > :02:28.by this appalling terrorist menace, and say they shall never win.

:02:29. > :02:33.Later, the Home Secretary spoke about the casualties.

:02:34. > :02:39.These were ordinary people simply going about their daily lives.

:02:40. > :02:45.Families going on holiday, tourists visiting the city, workers making

:02:46. > :02:49.their way to their offices. They have been attacked in the most

:02:50. > :02:58.brutal and cowardly way, and I'm sure the Whole House will want to

:02:59. > :03:00.join me in sending sorts and prayers to the victims and families of those

:03:01. > :03:02.affected by the events. She said it was the 14th attack

:03:03. > :03:08.in Europe since the start Since 2010, the Government has

:03:09. > :03:20.undertaken significant work to bolster our efforts to contract the

:03:21. > :03:24.threat. We extended our ability to refuse airlines the authority to

:03:25. > :03:27.carry people to the UK who pose a risk, and we introduced a new power

:03:28. > :03:33.to temporarily seize the passports of those suspected of travelling to

:03:34. > :03:37.engage in terrorism. This power has now been used on more than 20

:03:38. > :03:41.occasions. The terrorists sought to strike at the heart of Europe, they

:03:42. > :03:46.seek to attack our values and want to destroy our way of life, but they

:03:47. > :03:50.will not succeed. These attacks occurred away from the shores of the

:03:51. > :03:54.UK, but we should not forget that our own threat level remains at

:03:55. > :04:00.Sevilla, which means that an attack is highly likely. We will remain

:04:01. > :04:04.vigilant. The police and security services will remain dedicated to

:04:05. > :04:09.keeping people safe, and the public should remain alert. Together we

:04:10. > :04:15.will defeat the terrorists. This is the challenge of our generation, and

:04:16. > :04:21.is the challenge we will win. I commend this statement to the House.

:04:22. > :04:24.People will have seen reports suggesting that the suspects were

:04:25. > :04:29.linked to the attacks in Paris and known to Belgian police. This does

:04:30. > :04:32.raise the question of whether the Belgian authorities have sufficient

:04:33. > :04:38.capability to deal with the extent of this problem. Is there more that

:04:39. > :04:41.can be done to support them all along the term basis, more broadly,

:04:42. > :04:46.can I say that given the global nature of this threat, the Home

:04:47. > :04:50.Secretary was entirely writers talk about deepening our collaboration

:04:51. > :04:53.with all European partners. Watches of the upmost importance when faced

:04:54. > :04:56.with such serious criminal and terrorist attacks is to ensure that

:04:57. > :05:02.our response is proportionate, targeted and effective. The

:05:03. > :05:06.terrorists aim to instil fear and to divide us and destroy our freedoms

:05:07. > :05:15.and civil liberties, we must not give that narrative. Regrettably I

:05:16. > :05:19.stand again to condemn these attacks and say that these people are not of

:05:20. > :05:23.my faith and nor should they can be considered by anybody to be linked

:05:24. > :05:28.to that faith. At least two of the Paris attackers had gone to Syria to

:05:29. > :05:33.fight and returned to Europe. 800 British citizens have now gone

:05:34. > :05:36.abroad, 400 have returned. I accept her assurances about the borders

:05:37. > :05:42.between our countries and that you countries, but my concern is the

:05:43. > :05:45.external border of the EU. The anecdotal evidence suggests they

:05:46. > :05:48.come from Turkey into Greece. Wilshere assure the House that the

:05:49. > :05:54.Greek government is given all the support it needs in order to be able

:05:55. > :05:59.to track people when they return to Europe in the first place. Wilshere

:06:00. > :06:04.Institute of vehicle checks, checks on all vehicles entering the United

:06:05. > :06:09.Kingdom from Continental ports? Will all passports of people entering our

:06:10. > :06:11.airports all ports be checked against intelligence sources,

:06:12. > :06:18.whether or not they have European passports? I say to my are more

:06:19. > :06:21.friends but as I indicated in my statement, Border Force has

:06:22. > :06:25.increased the checks it is making at certain ports, but I think there is

:06:26. > :06:30.a misunderstanding in the question that he asks me, because we do have

:06:31. > :06:35.checks at our borders, we are able to check passports of people at the

:06:36. > :06:40.Borders when they come through. Theresa May. And reaction to the

:06:41. > :06:46.latest act of terrorism then followed over in the House of Lords.

:06:47. > :06:50.We are not cut off from all of this. This is part of our world, and I

:06:51. > :06:54.find it despicable that the Brexit campaign should try to suggest that

:06:55. > :07:01.we could cut ourselves off from the world. That what happens 100 miles

:07:02. > :07:05.from London in Belgium, in Brussels, is no concern of ours. This was

:07:06. > :07:10.after all an attack by Belgian citizens in Belgium. How much longer

:07:11. > :07:17.is the British Government going to resist the introduction of national

:07:18. > :07:26.identity cards, full biometric hater national identity cards, on the same

:07:27. > :07:28.basis that other, in indeed nearly all European countries have

:07:29. > :07:35.introduced, I understand even the Japanese are doing the same. All

:07:36. > :07:40.justifying it on the basis that it improves their national security

:07:41. > :07:44.arrangements. Why don't we just do it? Surely it is now urgent that the

:07:45. > :07:48.Border Force officials should be able to scan a British passport and

:07:49. > :07:54.no what are the passports that person may hold? Otherwise they may

:07:55. > :08:01.be able to skip out of the country. Although nobody should attempt to

:08:02. > :08:05.bring these desperately serious issues into the European referendum

:08:06. > :08:14.debate, should we not recognise that if there is a change on the 23rd of

:08:15. > :08:17.June, although it is crucially important that cooperation should

:08:18. > :08:21.continue, we have to recognise that the context of cooperation would be

:08:22. > :08:23.altered. Reaction to the Brussels attacks.

:08:24. > :08:25.Senior Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie has told Boris Johnson

:08:26. > :08:37.that he has a "very partial and busking" approach

:08:38. > :08:40.Boris Johnson insisted that the British economy would be

:08:41. > :08:45.But Andrew Tyrie repeatedly challenged him on the evidence

:08:46. > :09:00.Your Telegraph article the 22nd of February where you say that there

:09:01. > :09:05.are these ludicrous rules emanating from the EU, and this is a reason of

:09:06. > :09:12.your decision to leave, and one of the rules that you cite, one of the

:09:13. > :09:14.ludicrous rules, and I quote, and EU rule says that you can't recycle a

:09:15. > :09:23.tea bag, and that children under eight can't blow balloons. Can you

:09:24. > :09:29.tell me which EU regulation of directive says that children under

:09:30. > :09:32.eight can't blow up balloons? Yes, the European Commission's own

:09:33. > :09:36.website, I would be happy to give you the number of the press release

:09:37. > :09:42.in a moment. Adult supervision is required in the case of the use of

:09:43. > :09:50.an inflated balloons by children under eight. I have to say, in my

:09:51. > :09:54.household more or less only children under eight are allowed to blow up

:09:55. > :09:59.balloons. I do think that it is ludicrous to have this kind of

:10:00. > :10:08.prescription at a European level it is bonkers, and I think you do, to.

:10:09. > :10:12.I have the toy safety directive requirements in front of me.

:10:13. > :10:16.Warning: Children under eight can choke or suffocate. It is asking

:10:17. > :10:22.that this warning be placed on the packaging. It is not requiring or

:10:23. > :10:26.forbidding... It is requiring it to be placed on the packaging. It is

:10:27. > :10:30.requiring a warning to be placed on the packaging, it is not prohibiting

:10:31. > :10:38.children under eight from blowing up balloons. I think even the European

:10:39. > :10:39.Union would be hard pushed to prohibit people under eight from

:10:40. > :10:43.blowing up balloons. Jacob Rees-Mogg said

:10:44. > :10:53.he was on the same side Rules inevitably come with a court

:10:54. > :10:56.of some kind, we have the European court of justice, and it is said

:10:57. > :10:59.that is essential to the proper working of the single market,

:11:00. > :11:05.otherwise people could do what they liked and ignore the rule book. Do

:11:06. > :11:10.you think that it is possible to have a free trade area without the

:11:11. > :11:14.European court of justice? Yes, I do, and I'm very grateful that you

:11:15. > :11:21.raise that point, because I think people don't understand that 70% of

:11:22. > :11:26.our trade is with countries outside the EU with whom we don't have any

:11:27. > :11:34.free trade agreement at all, but of the free trade that there are around

:11:35. > :11:42.the world, not a single one tries to imitate this anachronistic,

:11:43. > :11:43.old-fashioned system, devised by idealistic French bureaucrats after

:11:44. > :11:44.the war... Boris Johnson said there was a lot

:11:45. > :11:46.of scaremongering about Brexit, and he recalled that when Britain

:11:47. > :12:01.did not join the euro, Back in 1981, there was an

:12:02. > :12:03.interesting pamphlet -- 1991 suggesting that the single market

:12:04. > :12:09.couldn't be complete without a single currency. I didn't say that

:12:10. > :12:17.either! You have also misrepresented it quite badly. If you go further on

:12:18. > :12:22.in the document, you will find some very interesting passages explaining

:12:23. > :12:30.why the project of the euro is being formed at a single rather dangerous

:12:31. > :12:37.moment. It was not a very interesting document, never say

:12:38. > :12:47.never. Has anybody ever found that. Order. Common sense on the euro.

:12:48. > :12:55.Order. It is very kind of you, Boris, to read all of my materials.

:12:56. > :13:00.Never say never. Tyree makes sense on the euro! URL straight exactly

:13:01. > :13:09.what I began the session with again, which is very partial, and busking,

:13:10. > :13:14.few -- humorous approach to a serious question for the UK, and

:13:15. > :13:21.what we really need is a much more balanced... I am not going to deny

:13:22. > :13:24.that we need a balanced approach. In which people make an effort to

:13:25. > :13:25.represent the point that they make and each other's views with some

:13:26. > :13:26.accuracy. At the end of the session,

:13:27. > :13:29.the chairman said some "very foolish claims" were being made by

:13:30. > :13:34.the Remain camp and the Leave camp. You're watching our round-up

:13:35. > :13:37.of the day in the Commons A Lib Dem MP calls for

:13:38. > :13:45.the legalisation of cannabis. The famous phrase has certainly

:13:46. > :13:49.been an appropriate one The Budget of last Wednesday

:13:50. > :13:53.containing cuts to disability benefits led to Friday's

:13:54. > :13:57.resignation of Iain Duncan Smith, a U-turn on the benefit changes,

:13:58. > :14:00.speculation of internal conflict in the Cabinet, and the

:14:01. > :14:04.subsequent appointment of a new A group of disability rights

:14:05. > :14:10.campaigners had gathered in Westminster's Central Lobby

:14:11. > :14:13.as the minutes ticked by to the weekly session

:14:14. > :14:16.of Prime Ministers Questions. So, would the Labour leader make

:14:17. > :14:21.the most of this turbulent week? Jeremy Corbyn said the situation

:14:22. > :14:35.in the Cabinet had been Canada's Prime Minister now

:14:36. > :14:40.absolutely categorically rule out any further cuts to offer spending

:14:41. > :14:46.in the lifetime of this Parliament? Simply yes or no.

:14:47. > :14:49.This is a government committed to supporting the disabled, but it is

:14:50. > :14:57.worth making the point that in the last two years there are extra 293

:14:58. > :15:01.extra -- 200 93,000 extra disabled people who've got into work. We want

:15:02. > :15:05.to continue to close that disability gap. As for the question about

:15:06. > :15:09.further welfare reduction, let me repeat the statement that the new

:15:10. > :15:14.welfare secretary made on Monday and the Chancellor made on Tuesday. I

:15:15. > :15:21.dealt with these issues on Monday. If he doesn't ask the questions, he

:15:22. > :15:26.can't say I turned up and gave the answers even though he hadn't given

:15:27. > :15:28.the questions. We are clear, we're not planning additional welfare

:15:29. > :15:32.savings other than the ones set out in our manifesto.

:15:33. > :15:36.If it is also fine and dandy, the question has to be asked why did the

:15:37. > :15:41.member for Chingford feel it necessary to resign as Work and

:15:42. > :15:48.Pensions Secretary, complaining that the cuts being announced were to fit

:15:49. > :15:51.arbitrary fiscal targets? You said they were distinctly political,

:15:52. > :15:58.rather than in the national economic interests. If the initial -- in the

:15:59. > :16:01.initial announcement, he proposed cuts and then changed his mind,

:16:02. > :16:05.isn't the honourable member for Chingford right when he says this

:16:06. > :16:07.was a political decision, rather than one made in the interests

:16:08. > :16:14.people in this country? What is dressed up from compassion

:16:15. > :16:18.just means putting off our decisions are making the children to pay the

:16:19. > :16:22.debt -- making our children repay the debts they went prepared to pay

:16:23. > :16:28.ourselves stop hiding why the shadow leader of the house shouting at me.

:16:29. > :16:30.We have a very interesting documents, the spreadsheet of which

:16:31. > :16:38.Labour MP is on which died. The honourable lady shouting, but it

:16:39. > :16:44.says here... No, no. She is neutral, but not hostile. Right. The Chief

:16:45. > :17:00.Whip, on the other hand, is being a bit quiet. Look, Mr Speaker... Mr

:17:01. > :17:08.Speaker, there are five categories. We've got caught support... I've got

:17:09. > :17:19.all day, Mr Speaker. We've got core supports. I think you can include

:17:20. > :17:23.Iain in that. We have core plus. The Chief Whip is being quiet because

:17:24. > :17:32.she is in hostile. Mr Speaker, I thought I had problems.

:17:33. > :17:42.Mr Speaker, if I could invite the Prime Minister to leave the theatre

:17:43. > :17:46.and return to reality. The reality is that he has presided over a

:17:47. > :17:52.budget that unravelled in two days and now contains a ?4.4 billion

:17:53. > :17:55.black hole in it. He may wish to consult the Chancellor on yet

:17:56. > :18:01.another change of heart on this matter. Could he now consult the

:18:02. > :18:06.Chancellor and tell the country who is going to pay for this black hole?

:18:07. > :18:11.Is it going to be cuts or tax rises? Where will be cuts fall, where

:18:12. > :18:16.would-be tax rises take place? 4.4 billion house to be found from

:18:17. > :18:20.somewhere. -- hast to be found.

:18:21. > :18:27.Suddenly became a fiscal rectitude speaks. He may have noticed, the

:18:28. > :18:32.budget passed last night. It is a budget which cut the deficit in

:18:33. > :18:35.every year of this Parliament. It delivers a surplus by the end of

:18:36. > :18:41.this Parliament. None of that is going to change. He talks about this

:18:42. > :18:46.budget. I will tell him... Hold on. The hostile, you shout, hostile

:18:47. > :18:58.shout, that's right. The neutral but hostile, you have to be quiet, I

:18:59. > :19:05.think. Hold on. I want to know. Hands up, who is core support plus?

:19:06. > :19:09.Anyone else? I'll tell you what this budget did, it took 1 million people

:19:10. > :19:13.out of income tax. It's all more money for our schools. It helped the

:19:14. > :19:17.poorest people in our country to save, it cut taxes for small

:19:18. > :19:22.businesses, and the self-employed. It made our economy stronger and our

:19:23. > :19:31.country fairer. It's a budget that will help this country do better.

:19:32. > :19:36.Mr Speaker, the truth is it with a budget that followed part in two

:19:37. > :19:39.days. The truth is, many people with disabilities went through the most

:19:40. > :19:44.unbelievable levels of stress and trauma after the announcement was

:19:45. > :19:47.made. There are many people who are still going through stress and

:19:48. > :19:54.trauma in our society. There are many people who are still... I'm not

:19:55. > :19:58.sure that those members... I'm not sure, Mr Speaker, those members

:19:59. > :20:03.opposite about shouting so loudly at the moment have any idea what it is

:20:04. > :20:07.like to try and balance their budget at home when you don't have enough

:20:08. > :20:12.money coming in, the rent is going on, and the children need clothes.

:20:13. > :20:17.Order, order. There is too much shouting on both sides of the house.

:20:18. > :20:21.Stop it! The Chancellor has failed on debt

:20:22. > :20:24.targets, failed in deficit targets, as the official figures have shown.

:20:25. > :20:28.The fiscal rule is quite simply failing.

:20:29. > :20:32.This is a government spending more on the disabled than in any year

:20:33. > :20:35.under the last Labour government. We are spending more on the most

:20:36. > :20:40.disabled, including the most disabled children in our country.

:20:41. > :20:45.For more Work and Pensions Secretary described the cuts to personal

:20:46. > :20:47.independence payments for the disabled as divisive, and found

:20:48. > :20:51.against the national interest. The Chancellor's U-turn suggests he now

:20:52. > :20:56.agrees. Can the Prime Minister explain how on earth he allowed this

:20:57. > :21:00.to happen in the first base? It is good to have an intervention

:21:01. > :21:05.from somebody who is neutral, but not hostile. I'm sure if she keeps

:21:06. > :21:09.going, she could join core group plus, with the rest of this. She

:21:10. > :21:14.would be very welcome. I tell you what this government has done, it

:21:15. > :21:19.has increased spending on disability benefits. It has seen 293,000 more

:21:20. > :21:20.disabled people into work in the last three years.

:21:21. > :21:22.The SNP's Westminster leader, meanwhile, took the Prime Minister

:21:23. > :21:26.He raised the issue of the scrutiny of Britain's special forces,

:21:27. > :21:34.who are involved in high risk operations around the world.

:21:35. > :21:40.A defining characteristic of a democratic society is our trust in

:21:41. > :21:43.our institutions and democratic oversight by parliamentarians of

:21:44. > :21:49.those who work so hard to keep us safe. We have that oversight without

:21:50. > :21:53.police. And with our security services. We don't yet have that

:21:54. > :21:56.with UK special forces under the intelligence and Security committee,

:21:57. > :22:03.or the Defence Select Committee. Will the Prime Minister addresses?

:22:04. > :22:07.I'm afraid I just part company with the right honourable gentleman on

:22:08. > :22:12.this one. We have put in place some of the most extensive oversight

:22:13. > :22:16.arrangements for intelligence and security services, they do a

:22:17. > :22:19.remarkable job and, of course, the police are regularly called to

:22:20. > :22:24.account locally and nationally. I think the work our special forces do

:22:25. > :22:29.is absolutely vital for our country. They are subject to international

:22:30. > :22:32.law, as everyone else's in our country. I do not propose to change

:22:33. > :22:37.the arrangements under which leaving credibly brave men work. -- which of

:22:38. > :22:38.these incredibly brave men. Just before PMQs, Scottish Question

:22:39. > :22:41.Time also focused on issues arising A Treasury Minister was quizzed

:22:42. > :22:49.about changes to funding. I congratulate the Minister on

:22:50. > :22:56.finding the Chancellor to have those discussions. Earlier this week, we

:22:57. > :23:01.thought he'd gone walkabout. The budget had ?1 billion worth of cuts

:23:02. > :23:07.to the Scottish budget, and ?650 million worth of cuts to the English

:23:08. > :23:09.NHS. Given the vote for us on Social Security cuts, does he think you

:23:10. > :23:13.might persuade the Chancellor to reverse the Scotland's cuts and

:23:14. > :23:19.putting a good read for the English as well?

:23:20. > :23:23.Can I just remind the house that there were three asks coming from

:23:24. > :23:28.the SNP. Freezing whiskey duty, freezing fuel duty, and helping the

:23:29. > :23:29.oil and gas industry. That is exactly what the Chancellor

:23:30. > :23:30.delivered. But a question from the SNP

:23:31. > :23:38.reflected the falling oil price. Will the Minister and his front

:23:39. > :23:41.bench colleagues committed to taking action to ensure that companies in

:23:42. > :23:45.the oil and gas sector have got appropriate access to finance?

:23:46. > :23:50.We are able to take action in this area and support the oil and gas

:23:51. > :23:55.actor, because we are ready night in and had we been in the position

:23:56. > :24:02.where Scotland became independent, it would face a very substantial

:24:03. > :24:03.loss of revenue and have great difficulties in absorbing that.

:24:04. > :24:06.Another bid's been made to legalise cannabis in the UK.

:24:07. > :24:09.Lib Dem MP and former Health Minister Norman Lamb set out

:24:10. > :24:11.plans to establish a legal market for the production and sale

:24:12. > :24:16.He said there should be an end to the "war on drugs" which he said

:24:17. > :24:30.There is an urgent and compelling case for a more rational approach.

:24:31. > :24:36.Thankfully, around the world, sense is breaking out. In the United

:24:37. > :24:39.States, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and the District of

:24:40. > :24:43.Columbia have all legalised cannabis. They have done the same

:24:44. > :24:48.thing in Uruguay. In Portugal, they have decriminalised drug use, a move

:24:49. > :24:53.which now has cross-party support from right to left. Instead, they

:24:54. > :24:58.take a health -based approach. Drug-related deaths and sexually

:24:59. > :25:03.transmitted diseases due to drug use have dramatically decreased as a

:25:04. > :25:06.result of that change. How many members of this government have

:25:07. > :25:13.smoked cannabis? Whilst maintaining their support for the conviction of

:25:14. > :25:17.their fellow citizens. The Prime Minister was a reformer. It was also

:25:18. > :25:20.reported that he and others were caught smoking cannabis at Eton.

:25:21. > :25:21.He's gone on to do quite well. Mr Lamb's Bill gained the initial

:25:22. > :25:24.approval of the House. But without the backing

:25:25. > :25:26.of the Government, it's very Do join me next time for our final

:25:27. > :25:33.daily round-up programme before For now, from me,

:25:34. > :25:37.Keith Macdougall, goodbye.