Operation Midland Independent Report

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster

Monday 7th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

I agree completely with my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis): the shining jewel of our criminal justice system is that somebody is innocent until proven guilty. That is their protection against the might of Government and, of course, the might of the media when they reach a speedy judgment. It has always been a concern that the processes we are discussing have casually turned that aside and that, as far as the public have been concerned, people have been guilty until proven innocent. I hope my hon. Friend will address that. Sir Richard makes that very clear.

The other vital point, which no one has raised yet, relates to interventions by public figures trying to get the police to pursue matters further. I refer in this particular case to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Tom Watson)—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I presume that the right hon. Gentleman has informed the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Tom Watson) that he intends to raise this matter in the House.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I am not making any further reference to him other than that he was raised in the report—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I advise the right hon. Gentleman that it is important that a Member is given notice if they are going to be referred to, so I am sure he will bear that in mind in his closing comments.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I will. I was simply referencing Sir Richard’s report. My point is a general one. Will the Minister address the reality of the police finding themselves unnecessarily influenced by public figures as to the direction of their investigations? There needs to be some method by which they can resist that.

St David’s Day

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster

Thursday 28th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I hope not quite—that would be slightly alarming.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the House has considered Welsh Affairs.

[Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I rise to seek your advice because I saw today in the news that two British fishing boats registered in Northern Ireland, and their crews, have been seized by the Irish Government, escorted to an Irish port, and arrested without a huge amount of justification. I would have assumed that the Government would want to come to the House to make a statement, and I wished to ask whether you are aware that the Government have called for such a statement. If that is not the case, if there is the demand or desire for an urgent question, what is the earliest that one can be requested from the Speaker?

Point of Order

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster

Tuesday 15th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I served with Robert Nairac and it is worth reminding everybody in the House that this brave man’s body has never yet been found and no one has ever owned up to where the body was left. His family have never had the ability to grieve or to bring an end to their grieving for a man who served his country so bravely.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I thank the right hon. Gentlemen for their points of order. They have succeeded in bringing the House’s attention to the concerns that they have raised about the death of their comrade.

The ten-minute rule motion is not moved.

Data Protection Bill [Lords] (Programme) (No. 3)

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)),

That the following provisions shall apply to the Data Protection Bill [Lords] for the purpose of supplementing the Orders of 5 March 2018 (Data Protection Bill [Lords] (Programme)) and 9 May 2018 (Data Protection Bill [Lords] (Programme) (No. 2)):

Consideration of Lords Message

(1) Any Message from the Lords may be considered forthwith without any Question being put.

(2) Proceedings on that Message shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement.

Subsequent stages

(3) Any further Message from the Lords may be considered forthwith without any Question being put.

(4) The proceedings on any further Message from the Lords shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement.—(David Rutley).

Question agreed to.

Exiting the European Union and Global Trade

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

No, I am not.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I am sure that Mr Gardiner will take the intervention when he wants to.

[Barry Gardiner]

As I was saying before I was persistently—and, I must say, quite rudely—interrupted, we have set out very clearly that we will try to secure exactly the same benefits that the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union claimed would be procured in the negotiations, but we are not fixated on the structures; we are fixated on the outcomes. But we will be leaving the European Union. The right hon. Gentleman can be assured that we are committed to honouring that manifesto commitment.