Business of the House
Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Grayling(8 years, 9 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
Fortunately, I am not a lawyer, so I am not going to give the right hon. Gentleman legal advice. I would say what I said earlier—that the view of the Attorney General on behalf of the Government is that it has legal force, but I am sure that this is going to be a matter of lively debate in the weeks ahead.
Byron Davies (Gower) (Con)
The Leader of the House will no doubt be aware that, over a short time span, two separate debates took place in Westminster Hall on serious allegations of collusion between banks and valuers in order deliberately to undervalue and then seize assets. Numerous other cases have now come to light, and more than 10 MPs of different parties have written to the Chairman of the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills to ask him to investigate. A particular situation, which involved Barclays bank and Lambert Smith Hampton, has led to my constituent Bryan Evans losing everything he has worked for over many years, including, recently, his house. Is it not time for a debate on the Floor of the House on these matters so that we can decide whether the Government need to act to ensure that the law is upheld?
Chris Grayling
My hon. Friend is working hard and effectively on behalf of his constituents. He will understand that I cannot comment on the detail of the allegations. I know that the Solicitor General addressed a Westminster Hall debate on this specific case and on the role of the Serious Fraud Office earlier this month. Of course, the SFO, in conjunction with others, has considered these allegations from the outset, and my hon. Friend is well aware of the conclusions that have been reached. If he takes the view that the SFO’s remit should be broader to take matters such as this one further, I would encourage him to bring the matter to the attention of Treasury Ministers when they are before the House next week and perhaps look to bringing back to the Floor of this House a debate on the broader remit of the SFO and the ability of that organisation and others to investigate such matters.
Business of the House
Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Grayling(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
I can see this battle running and running, Mr Speaker, but on this occasion when we are marking the retirement of a distinguished servant of the House, putting him in the invidious position of having to judge between Bury and Stornoway black puddings would be an unfair way of sending him on his way to what we believe will be a happy retirement.
Byron Davies (Gower) (Con)
This week the Welsh Assembly Public Accounts Committee issued a damning report on the extreme loss of revenue as a result of a land sale by the Welsh Labour Government on a property once owned by the Welsh Development Agency. This follows an equally damning report by the Wales Audit Office last year of the Welsh Labour Government. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the sale of public assets by public authorities in the UK?
Chris Grayling
This has been a shocking chain of events. I know just how strongly my hon. Friend and others feel about the criticism that has rightly been levelled at the Welsh Government. The First Minister has had to apologise for what has happened. This situation should never have arisen, and lessons need to be learned. My hon. Friend makes his point well and he might well consider bringing it to the Floor of the House through the different channels available so that he can make his well-made points to Ministers.
Business of the House
Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Grayling(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
No one could look back on the bombings at the end of the second world war without a sense that we must never allow that to happen again. The reality is that for 70 years the world has managed to keep a nuclear peace, and long may that continue. The Defence Secretary will be in the House again after the summer recess, will continue to be available for questions and will set out our plans in due course.
Byron Davies (Gower) (Con)
Yesterday the Auditor General for Wales published a damning report on the Labour Welsh Government’s handling of the regeneration investment fund for Wales and the underselling of a large amount of publicly owned property. May we have a statement on the issue from the Secretary of State for Wales as soon as practicable?
Chris Grayling
My hon. Friend gives me an example that I missed out when I talked about the chaos in the Labour party. It is chaotic in opposition, chaotic in government, letting down Wales and failing to deliver the services and environment that Wales needs. It would be great to see Wales have a Conservative Government, not the current Labour Administration who have let it down year after year.