Page 15 - Despatch Box News Today

There will of course be a public inquiry into what has happened, but i would just remind the right honourable gentleman when he goes back over the decision—making processes that we had in those very, very difficult and dark times that these are incredibly tough balancing decisions that you have to take. again, you have to balance the catastrophe of the disease against the suffering that is caused by lockdowns, the impacts on mental health, the loss of life chances for young people, mr speaker....

With a psychopathic regime does not work. _ weve had industrial scale human rights abuses, - industrial scale buying - of influence in our boardrooms, universities and schools, - and now industrial scale cyber hacking of our - computer systems. the minister, quite rightly, i has said there is widespread and credible evidence that this is a state—backed actor- and state— backed sabotage. so, wheres the beef? where are the practical- consequences for the chinese communist government? what offi...

Attacks that occur. im glad to hear our minister say that china can expect to be held to account for this really breathtaking attack. it facilitated other actors to make a widescale range of attacks on private and public organisations. but i would applaud the fact there will be sanctions, there will be measures, but i really would like to hear what they are. because the somewhat homoeopathic approach to date really doesnt seem to have had much of an impact. he asks what specific actions we will ...

I THINK it would be fair to say it has been an interesting week, with a new Health Secretary in the shape of my former boss Sajid Javid. I was pleased to hear him talk so positively from the Despatch Box about the ending of restrictions, a message reinforced on Wednesday when I asked Gavin Williamson about the end of self-isolation for school children. It is one of the biggest issues in my postbag at the moment. Distressingly in the Lower Test at Nursling there has been a terrible pollution...

In the lords about care home residents, lord bethell, wasnt there to reply. of lady penn, whos a whip that is, one of the conservative business managers was at the despatch box instead. a labour peer wondered why. the noble lady, the minister is doing a very excellentjob answering the questions and it does raise the question as to why the minister responsible, lord bethell, is in hiding. is it because unlike the noble lady, he is one of the guilty people responsible for the care home scandal? or...

Work on a private e—mail account? the opposition is pushing to know. i have right here the minutes of a departmental meeting . in which senior civil servantsj report government contracts being approved from the ministers private e—mail address. _ can the minister now say from this despatch box categorically - and on the record that no minister or prime minister has used - or does use private e—mail for government business? j today, the governments been emphasising its optimism about being ...

Hes also giving heavy hints that ministers are on course to lift the remaining restrictions in england in three weeks. congratulations and nice to meet you. we see no reason to go beyond the 19th ofjuly because... ..in truth, no date we choose comes with zero risk for covid. for me, the 19th ofjuly is not only the end of the line, but the start of an exciting newjourney. but a new face doesnt mean everything about mr hancocks departure is ancient history. how was his aide, gina coladangelo, appo...

Helped to set and promote. but he did have the prime ministers backing so this was matt hancocks decision to go and i think it is fair to say that he was certainly helped to come to the conclusion by other conservative mps and there were private chats happening with the minister and senior conservatives on friday with mr hancock and cindy conservatives on friday saying his position was not sustainable and tenable and theres the thought that if you think how many times listed at the podium in dow...

With the british people that, collectively, we will have to pay for it. does she agree with me, then, that we would be right to say to the british people that they should pay an extra penny on income tax for social care so that people will find themselves in a situation where they do not have to lose their home and their dignity if they lose their health? i would not want to upset the chancellor by talking about tax policy here at the despatch box. but, as ive said to colleagues and, in fact, th...

Rishi sunak. northern irelands biggest party, the dup, has a new leader. again. sirjeffrey donaldson was the only candidate to replace edwin poots, who was ousted last week afterjust three weeks in thejob. sirjeffrey�*s expected to leave westminster to become first minister. back at westminster, the northern ireland secretary had his hands full with the special brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland known as the northern ireland protocol. edwin poots had said the government had "prom...