Business of the House

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Thursday 13th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am contemplating having a set question every week to which the answer is, “The Mayor of London is failing,” because this is a continued theme of questions I get about what he is not managing to do. My hon. Friend raises a very important question about mismanagement. Bear in mind that £4 billion of emergency funding has come from the taxpayer to Transport for London, and that when London transport was run by the Prime Minister when he was Mayor of London, in that halcyon age of 2008 to 2016, services were much better. Disabled access is of fundamental importance and this failure of the Mayor is further evidence of his mismanagement.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

The judge in the High Court ruling that deemed unlawful the Government’s red carpet-to-riches VIP lane for personal protective equipment suppliers, stated:

“There is evidence that opportunities were treated as high priority even where there were no objectively justifiable grounds for expediting the offer.”

Some 32 billion items of PPE, valued at £14 billion, were bought through directly awarded and negotiated contracts. Rather than giving us history lessons in his reply, as he so often does during business questions, what action is the Leader of the House going to take to ensure that VIP lane procurement is investigated, and will he set time in Parliament for debates accordingly?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I suggest the hon. Lady reads the judgment, because it was absolutely clear that the contracts would have been awarded to the same people, and that they were done by civil servants, not by Ministers. I reiterate what I said to the shadow Leader of the House—that it was a matter of emergency, of urgency, and of need. There is dither and delay with the socialists. They never want to get on with anything. They always put process ahead of achieving things. They would still have us in lockdown and not able to move about. They love regulation, because that is what they believe in. What Her Majesty’s Government did was get the PPE that was needed and the vaccine that was needed. To do that, yes, of course, they had to short-circuit some elements of procurement, which normally takes three to six months.

Business of the House

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. Fly-tipping is an absolute blight on society. It is illegal and there are penalties for it. Obviously, the primary responsibility lies with local councils. What my hon. Friend has done by highlighting the issue on the Floor of the House of Commons is to put pressure on her local council to get its act together. I hope her local newspapers will join her in campaigning to get the local council to do its job properly.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the four people who demanded racial justice with the removal of a slave owner’s statue in Bristol on being vindicated of charges of public dissent? We know that the Home Office has confirmed that records exist of contact between the Home Secretary, the Crown Prosecution Service, and Avon and Somerset police on this case. What we do not know is what is in those records. Given that it stands contrary to constitutional convention for politicians to be involved in legal matters while they are going through the courts, will the Leader of the House ensure that those records are shared with the House and allow time for Parliament to scrutinise this matter further, because our constituents want answers?

Business of the House

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am certainly not a revolutionary—or a gyrator, either, for that matter.

I am sure that this will be welcome news for residents in Hertford and Stortford. It is fantastic to see businesses—leading forces of capitalism such as British Petroleum and McDonald’s, international titans that they are—contributing to their local communities, ensuring smooth and fast journeys for their customers and all the people in Hertfordshire. It is in their interests, is it not? If the roundabout runs smoothly, people can go and fill up with petrol and then go for a drive-through McDonald’s. The businesses are quite right to contribute, because it will benefit them in the long run.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab) [V]]

This week we saw a historic result for the campaign for the Shrewsbury 24, who had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal. That verdict is significant for the rights of working people in the UK. Sadly, many of those involved, who saw their lives ruined by the politicisation of charges, did not live long enough to see justice done. Given that, and the fact that this verdict was achieved after half a century of injustice, does the Leader of the House believe that time should be allocated to debate the merits of the Government’s holding a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the dispute and the trial?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Appeal Court has ruled, and that shows that British justice works and that we have a country where, when mistakes are made, we have the systems to ensure that those mistakes are admitted to, even if after a long time. We do not just say, “Well that happened a long time ago; we are therefore ignoring it.” We should be proud of our justice system and the fact that it spends time looking at historical cases and setting the record straight. For those who have not lived long enough to see it, at least their families know that there was no stain on their family member’s character, and I think that is important and reassuring to those who mourn.

Business of the House

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend is a model of brevity in her questions. I will not be quite so brief in the answer, because this is a key subject. The Sponsor Body is due to publish its strategic review on the restoration and renewal programme soon. That will enable the parties involved to consider options in the light of the economic effect of the coronavirus. As Leader of the House, I want to ensure that the Palace of Westminster remains the home of our democracy for future generations. In the first instance, that means getting on with the works that are immediately possible; restoration and renewal should not be used as a cause for delaying works that everyone knows need to take place—I am thinking of things such as the restoration of the Victoria Tower, which the Commons, at any rate, is keen to proceed with, and, in particular, works relating to fire safety. A great deal has been done on that, but concerns have recently been raised with me about the hammer-beam roof in Westminster Hall, and I would make that an absolute priority in terms of fire safety. It has lasted since the reign of Richard II and I hope it can last another 700-odd years. I hope I will still be here then and you too, Mr Speaker—[Interruption.] Well, 700, I am not that ambitious! I am glad that progress has been made on reducing the fire risk already, but more is required, which is why it is good news that the Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority, which were established in legislation during my time as Leader of the House, are on schedule to prepare options for Parliament to consider in a timely fashion. When we come to consider those options, we need to be anxious to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent on vital works, not on a gold-plated scheme. We have to explain to our constituents when we spend money on ourselves, so the vital works test will be a key one. As we save the Palace, there must be no blank cheque.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab) [V]]

Last week, the Prime Minister disagreed with me when referring to the conclusions of experts, doctors and others on the role of structural racism in the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Surely any vaccine hesitancy strategy must include addressing that if it is to maximise its success. Although the Government have not heeded calls to prioritise these communities for vaccine roll-out, the Government have finally begun to see some sense and, as I understand it, will now at least record ethnicity data as part of the roll-out. Will the Leader of the House confirm whether the Government will consider allocating time to debate the evidence on the success of the vaccine roll-out, particularly in relation to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on BAME communities? Does he agree that it would be helpful for the vaccine ethnicity data to be publicly released regularly, not least to inform this House’s debates accordingly?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend the Minister for Equalities has been looking into the effects of the coronavirus on minority communities, and has reported and spoken to the House about it before. Obviously, this is an issue of concern and I am sure it will be brought up in the House in future. As regards the vaccine, I think the hon. Lady is extremely helpful in raising this issue, because she can help get across the message, better than I can, that this vaccine is safe for all communities and all communities should be encouraged to come forward for it. That is certainly what the Government are trying to ensure happens, but her help in doing this, with her constituents and more widely, is extremely welcome, and I am grateful to her.

Business of the House

Apsana Begum Excerpts

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend once again highlights the amazing work done by the people who serve us in this House and their fantastic commitment to democracy to make sure that the wheels of democracy turn properly. I am in correspondence with the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), the Chairman of the relevant Select Committee. Of course, my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) chairs the European Scrutiny Committee, which looks at similar matters. The two of them may wish to confer.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab) [V]]

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office website states:

“We are responsible for:…supporting British nationals around the world through modern and efficient consular services”.

It has been widely reported that British citizens arrested overseas through no fault of their own no longer have the right to Government assistance or protection from the Foreign Office, even if they are tortured or held as diplomatic leverage against their country. Can the Leader of the House explain what his Government believe to be the consular functions of the FCDO? Can he confirm whether they have changed? What measures have been considered for support on a discretionary basis that the FCDO currently says it provides? If there have been any changes to the consular functions, will he ensure that they are brought to the House for full, open and transparent debate and scrutiny?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office supports 30,000 British nationals overseas each year—from victims of crime or personal accidents to complicated, long-running cases, such as of those who have been detained. I think the issue is that the FCDO is saying that it is harder to help dual nationals, but the Government are absolutely clear that one of the great responsibilities of any Government is to defend Her Majesty’s subjects. I will certainly pass on to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary the hon. Lady’s desire that this should be done, because the defence of the realm and of Her Majesty’s subjects is at the heart of government.