Business of the House Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Andrew Turner Excerpts
Thursday 11th December 2014

(9 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Hague of Richmond Portrait Mr Hague
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I think the Ministers responsible might get a little anxious if I made off-the-cuff announcements about changing Government policy on the spur of the moment, so I will resist the hon. Gentleman’s kind invitation to do so. It is open to him—as I have said to other hon. Members, particularly in relation to a Select Committee report—to pursue the case for a debate with the Backbench Business Committee. That is partly what Backbench Business and Westminster Hall debates are for, so I encourage him to pursue the matter in that way.

Andrew Turner Portrait Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)
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Next year, we will have almost reached the 100th anniversary of the murder of 1.5 million Armenians. May we have a debate on that issue?

Lord Hague of Richmond Portrait Mr Hague
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There is always a good case for a proper understanding of history—I am a great proponent of that—and that requires its discussion. We will be commemorating many events a century on over the next few years through the centennial anniversaries of the first world war, but I cannot offer a debate specifically on the subject that my hon. Friend raises, although I know it evokes strong feelings in this country and many other countries, so he might need to pursue the matter in other ways.