Business of the House

Andrew Pakes Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I will now bring in the Member of Parliament for Peterborough.

[Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab/Co-op)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

As the Member of Parliament representing the constituency where the temple is based, may I put it on record that I am deeply disappointed not to have had a conversation with the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who has used parliamentary privilege to state some untruths about something that is subject to legal action?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members cannot use the word “untruths”. There may have been a misunderstanding, but we certainly must not have “untruths”.

[Andrew Pakes]

I am sorry, Mr Speaker, and I apologise to the House. The hon. Member for Harrow East has stated things that are not factual in relation to this.

One of the great blessings I have as a Member of Parliament is joining communities to celebrate festivals such Diwali, Hanukkah and Vaisakhi. In the coming hours, I will be joining many members of my community to celebrate Eid. Does the Leader of the House recognise the divisive, exclusionary, hateful language that some people have used to describe a community iftar in recent days? That has shown that it is not about British values; seeking to divide and to drive hatred is the antithesis of that. Will he join me in wishing well all those who will be taking part in Eid in the Park in Peterborough in the coming hours, showing off the best of my city? Will he also provide parliamentary time for a debate on the language that we use about social cohesion and bringing our faiths together rather than dividing them?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his clarification on this matter, and I am more than happy to speak to him afterwards about it.

On the statements that my hon. Friend condemns, the Prime Minister was absolutely clear yesterday that those statements from the Opposition spokesperson were utterly appalling and will only spread poison and division. Freedom of religion and the right of peaceful expression are fundamental British values, not the opposite. These rights should be respected for everyone, and that applies equally to peaceful prayer, protesting or assembly wherever it happens to be. I join my hon. Friend in wishing well everyone celebrating Eid, wherever they are celebrating it, but with a warning to all parties in this place that if they get into the gutter on these matters, the public will not forgive them.