Transcripts For BBCNEWS Tuesday In Parliament 20170329

Hello and welcome to tuesday in parliament, the main news from westminster. There is a sombre mood in the commons as mps debate the prospect for a workable deal in Northern Ireland. The solution to the current impasse is crucial to the economic and social, as well as political, welfare, of the children of Northern Ireland. The Scottish Parliament voted in favour of a second referendum on independence. The first minister says brexit has changed everything. Much that we have come to take for granted over, certainly, most of my lifetime, the freedom just is one example to travel easily across europe is now up for negotiation, with outcomes that are at this point deeply uncertain. And Tobias Ellwood, who tried to save pc Keith Palmers life, responds to the many tributes hes received. Can i make it clear that i was one of many that stepped forward on that dark day and our thoughts and prayers remain with those families and friends of the victims, including our own pc keith palmer. But first, elections to the Northern Ireland assembly were held at the start of the month. The idea was for the Democratic Unionist Party and sinn fein to form a governing coalition. But the talks failed to produce a deal by mondays deadline. The Northern Ireland secretary, james brokenshire, said it was a source of deep disappointment and regret. Following the passing of yesterdays legal deadline, in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland has no devolved administration. This also means that other elements of the belfast agreement, including the north south bodies cannot operate properly. The consequences of all of this are potentially extremely serious. And the most immediate is that were rapidly approaching the point at which Northern Ireland will not have an agreed budget. From tomorrow, a civil servant, the Department Of Finance permanent secretary, will exercise powers that allocate cash to Northern Ireland departments. But let me be very clear, the situation is not sustainable, and beyond a short period of time, will have an impact on public services. What were talking about here is the health service, schools, voluntary groups, services for the most vulnerable in society. This isnt what people voted for on the 2nd of march. He said he was hopeful of a positive outcome from the talks. If these talks are successful, it would be my intention, quickly, to bring forward legislation after the easter recess, to allow an executive to be formed, avoiding a Second Assembly election, for which i detect little public appetite. Brexit negotiations in Northern Ireland are the most sensitive in all parts of the united kingdom. Michel barnier, the european commissions lead negotiator, has identified the implications for the Peace Process as one of the three priorities for him in entering these negotiations. And we dont even have properly elected spokespeople attending the talks under the gmc. And in the background to all this is the worry that any vacuum could be filled by those for whom the bullet is preferred to the ballot box. The parties on the ground need to take a long hard look at themselves and stop saying, this is what we want, no matter how legitimate they believe those demands to be, and start saying, what can we give, to move forward. Its not easy but its the only chance we have to resolve this. There appears to be a presumption against having another election but that would seem to be where this is headed. What preparations is he making for that election . Considering too that the election is going to come in the middle of brexits early negotiations, can you tell us what measures he is discussing that will allow Northern Irelands politicians to play a proper part in those negotiations . And has he discussed with the Prime Minister the possibility of delaying the article 50 trigger . Although, given the way that scotland has been treated on article 50, id advise against anyone holding their breath on that. Yesterday, the Democratic Unionist Party was at stormont, ready, willing, along with other parties, to form a government and set up the executive. Neither during the election, nor previously, nor now, have we set preconditions or set down red lines. We worked in the executive previously, up until november, and are determined to continue to try to make Devolution Work in Northern Ireland. Because we need a budget and we need functioning devolution. When sinn fein walked away and collapsed the executive injanuary, they left us without that budget and without a Functioning Executive at a very challenging time. They did the same yesterday. Because of its bloody recent history, i think Northern Ireland has earned the absolute right to have a decent future. Would my right honourable friend agree with me that a solution to the current impasse is crucial to the economic and social, as well as political welfare, of the children of Northern Ireland . Most, if not all of whom, have never known the dark days of the third half of the 20th century. Yes, i do, in terms of that positive outcome, that i think we should be looking for for young people growing up in Northern Ireland. Thats what government should be delivering on, fulfilling their hopes, dreams and aspirations. We have seen increases in employment, increases in prosperity in Northern Ireland, and i think that is at the heart of what everyone would want to see continue. To the Scottish Parliament now, when the debate on a second independence referendum was concluded. A vote had been scheduled for last wednesday afternoon. But proceedings in the Scottish Parliament were suspended in the wake of the westminster Terror Attack. Resuming the debate, the Scottish First minister, nicola sturgeon, harked back to the events of last week. Last week this debate came to a halt in the worst of circumstances. Almost one week on, our thoughts remain with those affected by the london atrocity. It is worth reflecting today on how we all felt last week. In our shock and sadness, we were reminded of our common humanity and the core values that unite us. And we came together to proclaim our commitment to that most cherished principle of all democracy. Todays debate at its heart is about democracy. It is about the right of people in scotland to choose our own future. And she said the debate didnt need to be divisive. Let us recognise and accept that we are all sincere in the opinions we hold. Let us always remind ourselves that the person on the other side of the debate is not an enemy simply someone with a different and valid point of view. None of us come to this debate with anything other than the best of intentions and motivations. We all want the best for scotland. She said that when article 50 was triggered, change for scotland was inevitable. The change will be significant and profound. It is change that will impact on our economy notjust in the here and now but for the long term. Indeed it was the uk treasury ahead of the referendum last year that said brexit would make the uk permanently poorer. There will be an impact on trade, investment and living standards, and on the very nature of the society we live in. Much that we have taken for granted over, certainly most of my lifetime the freedom to travel easily across europe, for example, is now up for negotiation, with outcomes that are at this point deeply uncertain. If this debate has so far served one purpose, it has been to show why most people in scotland dont want the government and this parliament to be sidetracked by the division and rancour of yet another referendum campaign. Despite some honourable speeches from all sides of the chamber, this Parliament Last week added precisely nothing to the sum of Human Knowledge on scottish independence. Laughter. The first minister says she wants the uk could to get a good brexit deal but no matter how good it is, she still wants to push for independence anyway. Whereas our view and the uk governments view remains this, at a time of enormous uncertainty, where it is only three years since the last vote, when we were told it would be once in a generation, that the decision of the scottish people would be respected by both sides. There would be no rerun without there being overwhelming change in public opinion, and that the people in scotland have the right to see the Brexit Process play out, they need to see it operating, to see it working in practice and that, at this moment, we should be pulling together, not hanging apart. I welcomed the first ministers remarks about the opportunity we had to have this debate and discuss it with civility and decency. And can i urge Ruth Davidson to reconsider her approach when we have a chance to reset this debate . Applause. Because last week, we came together to remember those who lost their lives or were injured in the westminster Terror Attack, we united in our condemnation of a barbaric act and reaffirmed our commitment to the values of tolerance and integration, freedom and solidarity. She said the Conservative Party had caused a lot of division. That set scotland against england in the general election and whose Reckless Brexit gamble brought us to this point, where leaving the eu just provide the snp with the latest excuse it was looking for to push for another referendum. So, some humility from the tories and a genuine desire to properly engage with this place wouldnt go amiss. After a few hours of debate, members of the Scottish Parliament voted by 69 to 59 in favour of the snp motion. The motion authorises the Scottish Government to seek permission for a referendum from the uk government. Theresa may has previously said, however, that now is not the time. Back to westminster now, where labour has secured an Emergency Debate on Government Plans to introduce restrictions on who can claim the disability benefit personal independence payments. The House Of Lords has agreed a motion, calling on ministers to reconsider the changes. The shadow pensions secretary, debbie abrahams, complained there had been no debate in the commons. I seek leave to propose the house should debate a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely changes to personal independence payment regulations. As you are aware, mr speaker, on the 23rd of february, the government introduced new regulations to change the way disabled people or people with a chronic Mental Health condition, would be assessed for eligibility to personal independence payments. The governments own analysis estimates the change will affect more than 160,000 people, the majority of whom have Mental Health conditions, who will not be able to access the full support, they would have been entitled to under the tribunals ruling. An effective cut of £3] billion. These regulations were laid down without any consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and despite repeated efforts, without any debate in this chamber. I am satisfied that the matters raised by the honourable member is proper to be discussed, understanding order number24. Has the honourable member leave of the house . All aye the honourable member has obtained the leave of the house. I am most grateful to honourable members for their voluntary stand up. However, it was in fact superfluous. Laughter. Required only in the event of indications of opposition. Nevertheless, the position is extremely clear, the debate will be held tomorrow, wednesday 29th of march, as the first item of public business. Voters in Manchester Gorton will elect a new mp on thursday the 4th of may, following the death of sir gerald kaufman. Sir gerald was the longest Serving Member of the commons or father of the house. The labour chief whip, nick brown, moved the writ for the by election at the start of the days business. I beg to move that mr speaker do issue his warrant for the clerk of the crown to make out a new writ for the electing of a member to serve in this present parliament for the Borough Constituency of Manchester Gorton, in the room of the right honourable sir Gerald Bernard kaufmann, deceased. Nick brown starting the process for a by election in Manchester Gorton. Youre watching tuesday in parliament with me christina cooper. The Foreign Office minister, Tobias Ellwood, has received widespread tributes for coming to the aid of pc keith palmer, who was killed in the Terror Attack at Westminster Last week. He was among several people who rushed to attend to pc palmer after the attack. He said he was heartbroken that pc palmer died. This session of Foreign Office Question Time was the first occasion since the attack on which Tobias Ellwood has appeared on the frontbench. Labours shadow Foreign Secretary, emily thornbury, took the opportunity to praise his actions. May i start by paying tribute to the minister, the honourable member for bournemouth east, for his extraordinary courage last week. As pc palmers family said this weekend to the minister labours shadow Foreign Secretary, emily thornbury, took the opportunity to praise his actions. May i start by paying tribute to the minister, the honourable member for bournemouth east, for his extraordinary courage last week. As pc palmers family said this weekend to the minister and to others who rushed to help, there was nothing more you could have done. You did your best and we are just grateful that he was not alone. Im very grateful for her kind remarks. I make it clear that i was one of many that stepped forward on that dark day, and our thoughts and prayers remain with those families and friends of the victims, including our own pc keith palmer. I want to pay my own tribute, if i can, to my right honourable friend and ministerial colleague, the member for bournemouth east, and of course, also to all those innocents who lost their lives or were injured last week. Over the centuries, many people has tried to attack this parliament and none has shaken our faith in our values of freedom and democracy which inform our policies. And talking of policies, the Foreign Secretary was questioned over claims that the British Intelligence gathering centre, gchq ,carried out surveillance on donald trump during the us president ial election campaign. Borisjohnson called the allegations absurd and ridiculous and insisted they would not undermine the relationship between the uk and Us Intelligence agencies. What damage, mr speaker, is done by fantastical and ridiculous outbursts like those of President Trump levelled at gchq . And can the Foreign Secretary assure this house that the invaluable intelligence relationship between us and the United States is not compromised by the current incumbent of the white house . The damage done by such remarks can be likened to that of a gnat against a rhinoceros or an elephant. It is not something that will make any difference to a fundamental relationship that, as i say, is of Great International importance. As for the assertion that there was some sort of collusion by gchq to bug the president ial candidate, i think that has been accurately described as absurd and ridiculous. The speaker keith simpson. Can ijust bring the Foreign Secretary down to earth. The core element of the Anglo American relationship is based upon five eyes and intelligence. President trumps allegation, repeated from fox news, was not a gnat at a rhinoceros. It was deeply damaging and i would be grateful if the Foreign Secretary would tell the house exactly what comments he made to refute that with the president or senior members of the white house . I must respectfully disagree with my honourable friends characterisation of the episode. I believe it has certainly done no lasting damage to our relationship, certainly not to the special relationship, and not to intelligence sharing, which will carry on between our countries and as i say, a relationship that is of huge value to the security of the west. As for the allegations themselves, let me repeat, they are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored. Now as the government was poised to trigger talks on the uks exit from the eu, several brexit backing mps were reported to have politely walked out of a private meeting of the Commons Brexit committee. Those mps are said to have refused to back a proposed report, because it was too gloomy. Following the walkout this morning by members of the brexit select committee, does he agree with me that farfrom being gloomy, we should agree with Marcelle Lamme and Wolfgang Shauble that it would be more damaging to europe than to the uk if there wasnt a success made out of brexit . May i congratulate my right honourable friend on the spirit he has taken, which is very much the spirit the Prime Minister is going to adopt in the negotiations. I believe shell be absolutely vindicated, because i think our friends and partners on the other side of the channel understand exactly that. Im worried about the Foreign Secretary as to whether hes now excluded from cabinet decision making, as to when he told Robert Peston, a week past sunday, that no deal from brexit would be totally 0k, while his cabinet colleague was simultaneously telling another station it would be really bad for britain in europe. What estimates, what forecasts, official, has he seen or any, which led him to believe and to say to Robert Peston that no deal from brexit would be perfectly 0k . I think that the right honourable gentleman will recognise the Prime Minister is going into these negotiations in a spirit of optimism and positivity that i think he could learn a little bit from. Ive absolutely no doubt that there will be a great deal for this country, because a great deal for this country is what is finally in the interests of the rest of our friends and partners on the other side of the channel, who have a huge amount to gain. Now the head of a Recruitment Agency has accused the tax authorities of failing to crack down on scams using his industry to exploit staff and avoid tax, even when theyre told about them. Adrian gregory of the extraman agency in west london was giving evidence to the business committee, which is investigating employment practices. The chair, ian wright, read out a statement mr gregory had submitted. Suggest that my particular part of recruitment industry, that dealing with unskilled industrial staff currently operates with little regard for the law, and none whatever for any ethical considerations. A pernicious cocktail of inadequate, impractical and muddled legislation, combined with a complete disregard for the rights and welfare of the very people, the temporary staff, who earn agencies their money, has led to Mass Exploitation coupled with huge tax avoidance. Thats an astonishing statement. Adrian gregory explained that rival agencies had developed scams to avoid paying staff. You have to be available for work at all times. So the agency had a system whereby you could get a text at 2am saying we have work available. You would be expected to get up and say yes, im available and in theory, go to work. Obviously, it was evident there was no work actually available. They had to keep giving the invitations to workjust so that they could say to the temporary worker, we didnt pay you between assignments because you didnt respond to our text at 2am on saturday morning offering you work, therefore youre in breach of contract. They even had a belt and braces clause whereby if you did reply to every single text, you got during the course of the week, they would offer you six hours cleaning in blackpool, which was 50 miles away and take two buses and two trains to get to and therefore youd spend more money than you would earn. He said her majestys revenue customs was a Standing Joke among Employment Agencies because it kept allowing the biggest culprits off the hook. I was going to say, it shouldnt be underestimated the fact that hmrc has a very, very culpable role in allowing the agency world to develop as it has. It does absolutely nothing, or nothing visible, to curtail the use of the most outlandish schemes that man has ever devised. Also giving evidence was Jennifer Hardy from the Recruitment Agency transline. There was investigations by buzzfeed and by bbc about annualised contracts, about flexing, about workers possibly being disciplined if they couldnt commit to short term announcements on work. Has that changed . The a505 warehouse, i believe, is a very is a good example of a warehouse, in my opinion. Its not somewhere that i frequent that often, so i would need to see i would need to gain evidence from someone who actually is frontline. However, yes, i do think that if those instances did happen, then i do believe that process is better than having engaged with the union as i said. So they are making very positive steps in that direction. So things have changed . Im not saying that there was anything, from what i know of, yes, i would say if there was something there found in the first place, yes, its changed. Im not in a position to answer that question really. But thats a bit curious. Youre the representative of transline here who provide agency workers. I would expect you to have a flavour ever was going on there. That would be a question, i do believe my team on the ground work very closely with the a505 team on a day to day basis and high level within asos our customer isnt actually asos. You have been before us before, jennifer. You sort of know what were like. Didnt you do any checks with your representatives at asos to say whats happened since the summer . Of course. Can you tell us what they are. Thats not something i would necessarily be party to on a day to day basis. We have an infrastructure, a Operational Team that deals with that. I dont think its particularly im happy to come back and answer that question. 0k. I do find it astonishing that you didnt do the prep, the homework beforehand in respect of that. We end in the House Of Lords, where a labour peer was taken aback at the governments reaction to her proposals to change the law on money held by Letting Agents. Lady hater conducted a review into how best to protect peoples money. I beg leave to ask the Question Standing in my name in the order paper. My lords i thank the Noble Baroness and noble lord, lord palmer, for their time and commitment to the client money protection review. Im pleased to announce that the government intends to make Client Money Protection Mandatory in line with the recommendation of the review chaired by the Noble Baroness and noble lord palmer. This will ensure that every agent is offering the same level of protection giving tenants and landlords the financial protection that they deserve. The government, my lords, will protect on how manneder to client money protection should be implemented and enforced. Thats taken the wind out of my sail laughter will the noble lord, the minister, accept my thanks. The house will recall that we put into the housing bill the Reserve Power to do this, but at that point the government werent quite convinced. We did the report along with the noble lord, lord palmer, we made the recommendation, only published yesterday. So todays news is really good for tenants and for landlords, because it means that if any Letting Agent goes bust or makes off, their money is safe. So i hope he will accept my thanks. My lords, i certainly will. If i may say, so that was a typically gracious response from the noble lady. It was a very well reasoned report and called on many, many people to give evidence. It was very strongly evidence based. As i say, we will be consulting on implementation and enforcement and im sure that we can talk about it in the meantime. The spirit of cooperation on display there in the House Of Lords. An uplifting note on which to end tuesday in parliament. Ill be back at the same time tomorrow. Until then, from me, christina cooper, goodbye. It is going to stay warm and springlike really into the weekend, but some outbreaks of rain over the weekend. Temperatures down to about 11 weekend. Temperatures down to About Ii Celsius to begin wednesday morning. Some low cloud, mist and murk across the east and south east. It should remain largely dry across the day. A damp afternoon for much of scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England as well. Some heavy burst of rain over the higher ground, but my despite the cloud and breeze, i2 14 celsius. Cloudy and wait for wales. Cornwall and devon seeing most of the rain. Further east, it should stay dry. Given the brightness, it could be 16 i7. Thursday, tapping into some warm air of the near continent. Especially of the south east and east anglia. We could see up to 22 celsius. A very mild a further north and west. Quite a different Weather Patterns from east to west. Across the south east, it should stay dry. Some sunshine to the north and west, quite breezy as well. On friday, a band of more persistent rain putting in. Quite a wet day for many on friday. Still quite warm in the south east, fairly mild for the north and west. That Weather Front clears during friday night, then entering showers on saturday. Things turning quieter into sunday. A ridge of High Pressure logging in. A fairly cool night with some sunshine on saturday. Scattered april showers, could be heavy with some thunder. Temperatures down to ii, but could get up to 15 celsius. A cool start to sunday, but mainly fine because of that High Pressure. We should see some sunshine. But more cloud out to the west. So, april showers on saturday, generally fine on sunday and chilly nights, thanks to that High Pressure. Welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in North America and around the globe. Im reged ahmad. Our top stories brexit begins. Britains Prime Minister signs the letter kick starting the uks departure from the european union. President trump scraps us plans to combat climate change. Critics say it threatens the Paris Agreement and puts the planet at risk. Deepening concerns for civilians in western mosul. We report on the thousands of people caught in the conflict. And more tensions between turkey and europe following claims the Turkish Secret Service spied on turks living in germany