Historical Forced Adoption

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for sharing that personal story; we can see just how difficult that must have been, and she has shown huge courage in saying that in the Chamber today. The way she described her mother taking the secret to her grave is very powerful. It is an example of the way in which some people simply feel that they cannot talk about this, and did not talk about this. Those who have passed will never now be able to talk about this. She shows great courage in speaking on her mother’s behalf as well. I am glad that there has been that reuniting, but it should not be the painful journey that she has just described. We have to do better than that, and we will.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his sincere and moving apology, and I stand with him on it, as I am sure everyone does, across this Chamber. There is possibly no dry eye in the Chamber. That demonstrates the effect this will have had on all of us, as a society.

The Prime Minister will know that when I was the children and families Minister, I met campaigners on this subject, and victims of the abhorrent abuse that is historical forced adoption. It feels to me, as I hope it feels to them and to everyone from across the Chamber, as though the tide is beginning to turn. I am overjoyed about this apology, but we have already heard that it has been a long time coming. That needs to be recognised. I hope that what comes out of this situation is more caring and more compassion coming through in our society. We lack those, and we will need them more and more as days go by.

The Prime Minister mentioned therapy and new support for clinicians. That therapy and support will need to be there for adoptive families, extended families and, of course, the adopted adults. Will he say more about what the new support for clinicians will be? If he cannot say that now, will he agree for written statements to be made to the House? Adopted children need specialist therapy, in particular dyadic developmental psychotherapy. I press him again to look at that.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and for the work that she did as children and families Minister; she did a lot on this, and I pay tribute to her for it. She is right about the support that is needed, particularly specialist therapy; I am in no doubt about that. It is important that we are raising funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund to £55 million. Across this House, we need to keep talking to those affected to make sure that we get this right.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I will do both those things, and I thank the hon. Lady for raising her own experience here to highlight the issue. The thoughts of the whole House will be with the family and friends of the young person who died. I thank all the public health specialists working in Reading to ensure that those affected are receiving appropriate treatment. The hon. Lady’s question reminds us that vaccines do save lives, and we must do everything we can in relation to that.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Q12.  Littering and fly-tipping are a blight on our communities. This is not just an issue for Lewisham, but an issue for towns and cities across our country and, indeed, in rural areas. No one wants to see a dirty mattress, or cans or bottles, left beside roads or against gates. It is awful. I welcome the Government’s strategy and the plans to give councils more powers to manage fly-tipping, but I strongly believe that more needs to be done. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time for a national conversation about how we manage and deal with littering?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, because the Government are cracking down on disgraceful waste criminals through, for instance, tougher penalties for fly-tippers—including service in clean-up squads, and the potential loss of their driving licences—more powers and funding for the Environment Agency, and stronger checks across the industry to tackle fly-tipping at its source.

Security Vetting

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I say again that Sir Olly Robbins has had a distinguished career, and I have worked with him over a number of years. None the less, he could and should have shared this crucially relevant information with me before Peter Mandelson took up his post, and he should have done at various points after that. It was because of that that I lost confidence in him. That does not mean he has not got a distinguished career; he does have a distinguished career.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. I know he is aware that public confidence in politicians needs to drastically improve to retain the public’s trust. With that in mind, Reform has been accepting donations from millionaires in cryptocurrency, making it difficult to trace who actually funds it. Does the Prime Minister agree that Reform relying on millionaires’ dodgy cryptocurrency is a security risk?

China and Japan

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Monday 2nd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That issue was raised in both China and Japan, because it is obviously a cause of concern. Regional instability matters not just in the region but globally, so I discussed it in both China and Japan.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement, but will he tell the House what steps the Government are taking to protect parliamentarians and others in public life against foreign influence?

[The Prime Minister]

We have taken a number of measures, including the further powers and tools we have given to our security and intelligence services.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Here is the difference: I changed my party, and that is why we stand here with a majority Labour Government. The Leader of the Opposition sits there with her party that lost two thirds of its MPs at the last election, and she is losing more every week. They are queuing up to join the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) and his laundry service for disgraced Tory politicians. Meanwhile, inflation is down, wages are up and waiting lists are down. Labour is turning the corner and changing this country for the better.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Q4. Mr Speaker, I am sure that you, and I hope others across the Chamber, will agree that we need to recognise and celebrate achievements. I say that because across the country knife crime offences are going down. Of course, more needs to be done, and more should be done, but this week’s figures have shown that London has had its safest year ever under the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. In fact, the homicide rate in London is at its lowest since records began. Reform and the Conservatives repeatedly talk down our capital city. Will the Prime Minister join me in saying that they are wrong? Will he applaud those achievements?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend draws attention to the important work of the Mayor of London. Nobody should be talking our country down or talking London down. She is right to say that since we came into office the number of knife crime offences is down, but there is more to do. We are introducing new powers to seize knives and increasing the penalty for selling knives to under-18s. [Interruption.] What did the Conservatives—they are chuntering—do? They voted against those provisions. What is obvious about London and Reform is that it has got a candidate for mayor who does not like London, a new ex-Tory recruit who struggled to pay his taxes in this country and a leader who spends more time in France than in his constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Janet Daby and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Our small business plan was widely welcomed by small businesses across the country, not least because of their input into it. The hon. Lady complains about the measures we had to take at the last Budget, including national insurance—[Interruption.] The Conservative Front Benchers are saying that we chose to take them, but they still cannot say whether they would reverse them. They know nothing about the damage they did to our economy.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

I am wearing all black today to demonstrate my sorrow over a fatal stabbing that took place in my constituency yesterday. We all know that one death is one death too many, but I have had two deaths in my constituency in the last few weeks. My community needs reassurance. Knife crime must end. Will the Prime Minister say what more his Government are doing to tackle knife crime?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising these tragic cases, which have a huge impact on families, friends and communities. I know that she is a passionate and dedicated campaigner on this issue. Every single life lost to knife crime devastates communities. That is why we banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are strengthening controls on online knife sales. We are also giving stronger powers to the police in our Crime and Policing Bill, which both the Conservatives and Reform voted against.