Historical Forced Adoption
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important issue. I am aware of the issues, and I will remake that commitment.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today and for the apology on behalf of the state. I acknowledge the visitors we have in the Gallery today and the extraordinary testimonies of Members across this House. So often this Chamber is divided along the lines of party politics, but on days like this, we are united as living, breathing and feeling human beings, and I think the Chamber is at its best in those moments.
My constituent Lynne was forcibly adopted shortly after the second world war. To understand her health concerns, she was eager to learn something of her family’s medical past. She was denied access to medical records for many decades. In fact, it was only a very helpful social worker who sought to try to reconstruct her family’s medical past for her and with her. Could the Prime Minister say more about whether the new national online resource will include details such as family medical history, so that constituents like Lynne might better understand their own health concerns? Bearing in mind the highly time-sensitive nature, given that often the children were born in the late 1940s and 1950s, can he say more about the timescales he expects to deliver this new resource?
The Prime Minister
The unity across the House and the courage of a number of Members in speaking out has been incredibly powerful. I think this aspect of how this House works is not well known enough, and we all have a duty to show this House when it is behaving well, not just when it is behaving not so well.
The business of being denied access to records goes really deep. Individuals are trying to access records about their lives and their identities, and yet barriers have been put in the way of them accessing their own material. That has to stop. We need to do everything we can to make sure that those medical histories are available, and the hon. Member is absolutely right: we need to move at speed, because we are talking about events, in some cases, of many years ago. We need to move at speed, and we need to remove the barriers. This is personal information—private information—about people and their background and their identity; they are entitled to it. Nobody should be putting barriers in the way of that, but I know that has been done.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)
Our thoughts, and I am sure the thoughts of the whole House, are with the people of Venezuela—the scenes of destruction are simply harrowing. We have committed humanitarian funding and deployed expert search and rescue teams, and I can announce today that we will match public donations up to £2 million on aid.
In an increasingly dangerous and volatile world, our defence investment plan commits more to investment in our armed forces. It delivers the modern kit and capabilities our personnel need to keep us safe, meaning we buy British to create jobs here at home and strengthen our international leadership.
Sunday marks the 78th birthday of the NHS, and I am pleased that under this Government, waiting lists are down, A&E waits are shorter, and we have the shortest cancer diagnosis times on record. I also welcome the agreement reached with the resident doctors to end the strikes, so that our full focus can be on delivering further improvements for patients.
This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Dr Pinkerton
I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s condolences and his birthday good wishes to the NHS.
Everyone in my constituency of Surrey Heath wants a new Frimley Park hospital, but the chosen site—the last remaining fragment of the ancient Frimley common—is wholly inappropriate. It is inaccessible, behind multiple schools, and environmentally devastating. Worse, over recent weeks, I have received deeply troubling evidence that the preferred relocation site was known and being openly discussed by local political figures in 2023, before the official site selection process had even begun. The entirely reasonable conclusion is that this project has been compromised from the outset and the site predetermined. I think the Prime Minister would agree that this is no way to begin a multibillion-pound public procurement process, so will he please step in, commission an urgent independent review—
Security Vetting
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(3 months, 1 week ago)
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The Prime Minister
A number of inquiries were made, questions were asked of the FCDO, and the answer they gave was the same. They did not disclose to me or anyone in No. 10 that UKSV had advised and recommended against clearance.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
When the Prime Minister asked his officials in January 2025, as he surely did—perhaps with an element of surprise in his voice—“So, Peter actually passed his security clearance, did he?”, what was the scenario that then unfolded? Did Sir Olly Robbins declare, “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you, Prime Minister, I’m not at liberty to say”? Did he actively seek to mislead the Prime Minister by simply saying “Yes, Prime Minister”, or, as seems more likely, did that scenario never take place because the Prime Minister never thought to ask?
The Prime Minister
What happened in January was that developed vetting clearance was given by the Foreign Office. That was the simple fact of the matter. It was only last week that I found out the further circumstances that I have now set out to the House.
Middle East
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
Let me assure my hon. Friend and the House that that is not the position. The use is for defensive action only. I am particularly concerned to make sure that we take every measure available to protect our nationals in the region, of whom there are very many. The use is for defensive action, and that is monitored. It has been monitored since the bases began being used.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
The Prime Minister is right to suggest that the tremors provoked by this conflict will reverberate long after the kinetic fighting has finished. There is perhaps no better example of that than Cyprus, where Government officials, all the way up to the level of the Prime Minister, have questioned Britain’s continuing sovereignty over our sovereign base areas there. May I ask the Prime Minister what he has done to reassure the Cypriots and the Cypriot Government that Britain is a trusted and reliable neighbour and partner, and that our continuing sovereignty is immutable?
Middle East
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(4 months, 4 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I reassure my hon. Friend that the actions we are taking are to protect British nationals, and we are working with others to de-escalate the situation.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
Since we came to the Chamber, a senior Iranian commander has said that they would seek to bomb Cyprus to force out US aircraft from our sovereign bases. As a guarantor of Cyprus’s security and as a sovereign presence on the island of Cyprus, what concrete military devices and measures do we have in place in Cyprus to ensure that no further successful drone attacks can happen on the airfield? What assurances can the Prime Minister offer to Cyprus that no attacks will take place in Cyprus as a whole as a result of our presence there?
The Prime Minister
I will be absolutely clear again, because it really matters, that the US is not using Cyprus; it is our base. I will not go into operational details, but as the hon. Member would expect we are taking all necessary measures to ensure that Cyprus and the base are safe. I spoke to the President yesterday, and I hope to speak to him again later this afternoon.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is an inspirational and powerful campaigner on this issue. By doing what he is doing, he will give great courage to other people to take the same steps. I am proud that we are increasing the number of NHS speech and language therapists. We are trialling new ways of identifying and supporting children with speech and language needs in their early years, because I agree that every child deserves the help they need to reach their potential.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
My Surrey Heath constituent Christopher was discharged from the RAF in 1966 solely for being gay, but—despite the Government committing to restoring the medals and the berets, and indeed acknowledging the injustice of those who were discharged from our armed forces prior to 1967 for that reason—his case has been dismissed out of hand, with only a letter that contained the tracked changes from the template that the Ministry of Defence issued. Can I ask the Prime Minister to take a personal interest in this case to ensure that it is resolved swiftly, and to allow Christopher to march on Remembrance Day, as he wishes to, with his medals and his beret, and his dignity restored?
The Prime Minister
I will do everything that I can to ensure that that happens, which is absolutely what should happen. This was an absolute scandal—the gays in the military ban—and it is absolutely right that it was overturned, but we must follow through on that. I will do everything I can to make sure that we deliver on what the hon. Gentleman has asked me to deliver on.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Keir Starmer(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
The previous Government shattered the dream of home ownership. We are reforming the outdated system so that leaseholders receive stronger rights, powers and protections. We will bring to an end the feudal leasehold system, reinvigorate commonhold and deliver the biggest boost to social affordable housing in a generation.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
Since May, my constituent Sue has received thousands of pounds-worth of fines after a criminal gang in London cloned her number plate and went on a rampage through the capital. In an age of increasingly sophisticated digital security, the number registration system seems like a remarkably analogue anachronism—it is ripe for abuse and it is failing drivers. Will the Prime Minister look at and pick up my Vehicle Registration Marks (Misuse and Offences) Bill, which I presented last week, to strengthen the legislation and ensure that police services have the tools they require to tackle that growing crime and protect law-abiding motorists?
The Prime Minister
I am sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s constituent. That is an awful situation for anyone to find themselves in. I will of course look at his Bill.