Violence Reduction, Policing and Criminal Justice

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Sir Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

In a law and order context, there is a rich and sad irony in today’s amendments on a ceasefire: the UK Parliament is soon to vote on a ceasefire in a conflict over which the UK has no control, and a ceasefire that neither side in the conflict wants. Hamas openly say that they will fight on to kill as many Jews as possible—not Israelis, but Jews—and that they would do what they did on 7 October all over again if they could. They openly say that. Israel will destroy Hamas, and will be doing the world and, indeed, the Palestinian people a great service by doing so. A ceasefire would play into the hands of terrorists and terrorism. The Scottish nationalists, among others, have engineered an amendment to this debate to incommode and undermine the Labour leadership, but what they actually undermine is community cohesion and the Jewish community in this country.

If I may, I want to address the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. There is a great deal of fear in the Jewish community, who feel decidedly unsafe and abandoned, vulnerable and isolated, and who have effectively been banned from central London for several weekends now by the risible failure of police actions and the one-sided prejudicial reporting of the BBC and others. Those factors have an adverse effect on law and order as well as on diplomatic moves internationally. We hear of deep hatred for Israel from multiple quarters.

Why do we not see mass demonstrations and similar responses when hundreds of thousands of Muslims and others are killed in conflicts elsewhere? Some 600,000 civilians, including children, have been killed in the past year in Sudan and 300,000 in Yemen. There are countless dead in Ethiopia-Tigray and in Azerbaijan-Armenia. Then there are China’s hard-oppressed Uyghur Muslims, and the wonderful Kurds being attacked by Turkey, East Timor and so on. It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that the screaming about Israel is based on the ancient hatred of antisemitism. Why else ignore larger losses of life? We see hate. We see dissent and we see division.

I wish to appeal today, in the limited time available, to a different emotion, which is hope. I say to the Jewish community in the UK and to those of any faith or of none who yearn for peace and reconciliation to be of good hope. There is much to be hopeful about. Why? One of the prime reasons for the timing of the ISIS-style pogrom of 7 October was the blooming flower of a relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia. It was apparently a few months away from fruition, and what a wonderful development that would have been. The Saudi position, as the keeper of the holy places, is such that perhaps a dozen Muslim majority countries would have soon followed suit and opened relations with Israel. However, all is not lost. The good news is that that will still happen, and the signs are that the Saudis will still pursue the project. For Jews and many others yearning for peace, it is something to look forward to. It would build on the historic Abraham accords of 2020, when Bahrain and the UAE bonded with Israel, and that arrangement has born rich fruit.

There are reasons to be hopeful even with Iran. Why there? The theocrats in Tehran are irredeemable; they support and fund terrorism in many areas and oppress and torture their own people, but, in due course, the evil designs of that clerical cabal will fail, just as the evil designs of so many others motivated by hatred have failed. The Iranian people are a wise and cultured people, and there is much to hope for there. Recently, the people of Iran have been encouraged by their regime to chant slogans against Israel, to trample on large Israeli flags, placed deliberately for that purpose at the exit of football stadiums, and to carry out other stunts, but the Persian football masses pointedly declined to do so. What bravery and what nobility—a good sign of hope for the future.

What hope can we look to here in the United Kingdom? I think a lot. We have seen gangs of proto-fascists, frankly, crowd around Marks & Spencer branches, for example, including one in Glasgow. I wonder why the SNP does not wish to mention that in debates.

[Alison Thewliss]

rose—

[Sir Michael Ellis]

The reality of the matter is that Marks & Spencer, which was once a Jewish-owned company but since 1926 has been owned by thousands of shareholders, is now subject to antisemitic attacks, 130 years after its foundation. Mr Marks first came to the UK escaping, ironically, another pogrom, this one in the 1880s, but there is hope even there because I can tell the House that Marks & Spencer thrives like never before: its shares are up 66% this year.

There is even more hope elsewhere. We have a Prime Minister who has supported Israel; a Leader of the Opposition who has withstood the brickbats and those who wish to divide, and is defending the Jewish people from insult and prejudice; and a sovereign, a King, who is a global leader and who will be a source for peace. There is no better hope than that.

Contaminated Blood Scandal: Interim Payments for Victims

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 19th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

It is not a matter of prejudice. The Government have a responsibility to work these systems effectively and correctly, and they have to make decisions based on the complexity and interconnectedness of all these issues. The situation. The matter is not as the hon. Gentleman says; it is a question of getting these things right as speedily as possible.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

I have constituents who were infected, and constituents who were affected by, and bereaved as a result of, the contaminated blood scandal. I pay tribute to all the campaigners, the all-party group on haemophilia and contaminated blood, the Factor 8 campaign, and everybody who has done so much work on this issue over the years. Their stories are seared on my memory, as is the evidence that I have seen tweeted from the inquiry. It is absolutely chilling. People are reported to be dying at a rate of one every four days. This community cannot wait. They have already waited, suffered, and been let down for far, far too long. What conversations have been had with Treasury officials about the urgency of releasing funds for interim payments right now?

[Michael Ellis]

It is well understood that the matter is urgent and important. It is also understood that it is complex and interconnected. I assure the hon. Lady that questions such as this in the House, and the points that she and others have raised, help to reiterate, if that were needed, that the matter should be dealt with as expeditiously as possible.

Functioning of Government

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Thursday 7th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement, but the business of Government will continue functioning as normal.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

It is good to see the Paymaster General here—one of the last remaining living crew on the ghost ship HMG. In an effort to assist the burden of the skeleton crew who remain, we would like to arrange for the signing of a section 30 order to begin the process of moving some of the functions of government to a fully functioning set of Ministers in Holyrood.

[Michael Ellis]

No matter who forms the Government of this country, the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is of paramount importance, as the people of Scotland themselves decided in the referendum in 2014.

Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests Resignation

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Thursday 16th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

The letter will be published and given to the Library of the House in due course—very soon.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Today, the Minister for defending the indefensible has been sent out to account for the resignation of Lord Geidt, who was no longer willing to do the same. My constituents see Westminster Ministers breaking the rules with no consequences, no sanctions and no ethics. Is it any wonder that they now have no faith in this broken Westminster system?

[Michael Ellis]

I disagree with the hon. Lady.

Downing Street Parties: Police Investigation

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 25th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

One of my constituents, Billie-Jean, got in touch. Billie-Jean was in university accommodation during the pandemic and was fined £100 for having a gathering of 11 people during that time. Billie-Jean says that, while they were being fined and disciplined by the university, the Prime Minister

“was living a lush life of champagne and party nibbles”.

Would the Minister like to apologise to my constituents and everybody else for having done one thing in Downing Street while people in the world outside did quite another?

[Michael Ellis]

Her constituent, in order to have been fined, would either have had to admit wrongdoing or have been found guilty in a court of law on the evidence before that court. The situation is completely different. No such state of affairs exists as far as No. 10 or the Prime Minister is concerned.

Downing Street Garden Event

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

It is not a matter for me. The Prime Minister’s engagements, I believe, are a matter of public record. Those that are routinely released, are a matter of public record; those that are not, are not routinely released. That is the general practice that occurs and has occurred with Prime Ministers from the different parties of the House. I know that the hon. Lady will want to wait for the result of the investigation for a proper answer.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

My constituent Frances called my office this morning, angry and upset that while she was unable to visit her brother with learning disabilities during lockdown, the Prime Minister and his staff were partying it up in the Downing Street garden. Her brother was unable to understand why his family could not visit and he believed that they had died and was in great distress as a result. What has the Paymaster General got to say to Frances and her brother?

[Michael Ellis]

What I say to Frances and her brother, and to the constituents of all hon. Members on both sides of the House who have suffered loss, is that my heart and sympathies go out to them. I deeply regret the personal loss, tragedy, bereavement and distress that has befallen tens of thousands of people in the country. That is what I offer; I hope that it is accepted. All I can do is say that we are all working extremely hard to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and we will continue to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alison Thewliss and Michael Ellis

Thursday 22nd March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

My hon. Friend is the prima ballerina assoluta of the House. I very much agree with her that ballet companies from throughout the United Kingdom are a tremendous asset to our nation, for tourism and other reasons. They continue to be a significant draw for tourists from around the globe.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

I am very lucky to have Scottish Ballet based in my constituency. What can the Minister do to reassure Scottish Ballet, the ensemble of which includes several European artists, that post-Brexit it will continue to attract talent and will be able to tour as it currently does?

[Michael Ellis]

I have no doubt that the wonderful Scottish Ballet will continue to draw tourists and specialists in dance from around the world, and that there will be ever-increasing interest in Scottish ballet.