Public Inquiries

Debate between Lord Robathan and Baroness Twycross

Monday 14th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

We are determined that the duty of candour will address some of the concerns that people have had about public inquiries in the past. The length of some public inquiries causes additional trauma for some of the people involved in what are often huge injustices and sometimes major state failures. We are clear that we need to make sure that people get the truth. There have been some issues in the past: for example, some people lied to the Kerslake review into the Manchester Arena attack, but, obviously, the statutory inquiry that followed got answers. We need to make sure that people get the answers, and that is what we think the duty of candour will deliver.

[Lord Robathan (Con)]

My Lords, when looking at public inquiries, could the Minister also look at the issue of the veterans Bill that will come forward? This is the same sort of thing, as it is exposing veterans of conflict in Northern Ireland to inquiries 30 and 40 years later. There is something very odd about this. Could she please look at that as well, because most of us feel that it is unwarranted and disreputable?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I will speak to my noble friend Lady Anderson and my noble friend Lord Coaker regarding the point that the noble Lord raised.

Covid-19 Pandemic: Commemoration

Debate between Lord Robathan and Baroness Twycross

Thursday 13th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I will write to the noble Lord on his important point.

[Lord Robathan (Con)]

My Lords, this appalling pandemic killed thousands of people. I am sure everybody in the Chamber knows people who were killed and these were often nasty and unpleasant deaths. Since then, the Prime Minister at the time, Boris Johnson, has said—this is my understanding; I am willing to be corrected—that lockdowns did not achieve very much. Can the Minister tell us whether the Government are looking at what the lockdowns achieved? After all, thousands of people died during lockdowns; what did they achieve and what are the Government looking at for the future?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

It is important to recognise that a whole inquiry and its machinery are looking at the effectiveness of particular measures. The next module publication will be within a couple of weeks. The work we are announcing our response to today is around commemoration. From a personal perspective, however, I remind noble Lords that the NHS was in a very perilous state at the point that we went into lockdown. For somebody working on the response, the question was not whether we should do that but when.

BBC: Impartiality

Debate between Lord Robathan and Baroness Twycross

Thursday 28th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Government are still considering the mid-term review recommendations that require updates to the BBC framework agreement and decisions will be made in due course. I am happy to write to the noble Viscount on the specific points he raised.

[Lord Robathan (Con)]

My Lords, at George Alagiah’s memorial service, in his excellent address Tim Davie said that George was the best of the best because he gave the facts of the news rather than his opinions about it. That was a fairly barbed comment. When will people like me who do not want to subsidise the opinions of commentators be allowed to stop paying the licence fee?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current charter period, until 2027. Ahead of the charter review, the Government will keep an open mind about the future of the licence fee and engage with the BBC, the public and other stakeholders before making decisions, but I am afraid that the noble Lord is not currently exempt from it.