Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with them profoundly and passionately, and that is exactly what I am going to do.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister said that on 13 November 2020, he attended the “Abba party” briefly. His defence was a job interview. Can he confirm that he was only in his flat, and that he met Henry Newman to discuss a job, and can he tell us what the other special advisers were doing? Were they part of the job interview as well?

[The Prime Minister]

That evening was extensively investigated, to the best of my knowledge, and I do not believe I can improve on what Sue Gray has had to say.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I want to say again how sorry I am for the loss of the hon. Member’s constituent, and I apologise to him personally and to his family—all those who lost loved ones—and it is a measure of the seriousness with which I take this today. Of course, we think the law applies to us: of course it does.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

At high altitude, one’s nose starts to bleed. With the rise in national insurance and more tax than for 70 years, our constituents are crying out for help—whether with their energy bills, whether with the rents that have gone up by at least 20% in some parts of my constituency—yet we will be facing this sort of debate day after day until the Prime Minister faces up to his responsibility and resigns, or the Conservative Members here take him out. That is the choice before we can actually start to focus on the things that matter.

[The Prime Minister]

May I respectfully say to the hon. Member that I think the real choice that this Government —this House of Commons—should follow is getting on with the job of serving the people we were elected to serve and helping them with the costs of living? That is what we are doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend. I know how passionately he has campaigned on this issue. I also thank the judges in Hong Kong’s court for everything that they have been doing. Evidently, they have concluded that the constraints of the national security law make it impossible for them to continue to serve in the way they would want. I appreciate and understand their decision. It is vital that we all continue to make our points to the Chinese, as I did in my conversation with President Xi the other day, about freedom in Hong Kong and the treatment of the Uyghurs. We will continue to do that.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Q9. Gas and electric prices and bills are through the roof. The “just about managing” are no longer managing; they are coming to surgeries and queuing at food banks. Last week, the Government had a golden opportunity to tackle this. Why the devil did they not take that opportunity to do something to relieve the pressure on our constituents?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand the pressure that people are under, but the best thing we can do, rather than endlessly taxing more and borrowing more, is make sure that we support people through this tough time, which we are doing, and ensure that we have a strong and growing economy in which we get people into work. We are cutting the cost of energy, but we are also taking the long-term decisions that the Labour party failed to take to invest in our energy for the future.

Living with Covid-19

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I had better be careful what I say about more hospitals; we want to build as many hospitals as we possibly can, but we will have to look at my hon. Friend’s plan. I do want to thank the Medway volunteers; I want to thank everybody still involved in the vaccination campaign. There are still millions of people who have not yet had their booster, and I urge them to get it.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

It is lovely to have the Prime Minister with us today, and that he is not filling in his questionnaires or busy having his meetings with the police. Can he confirm or deny the reports of a sell-off plan for the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, which was founded on the values and mission of people like Dr Sarah Gilbert, who invented the AstraZeneca vaccine? There are rumours going about that this public-private enterprise will be sold off to the private sector. Will the Prime Minister confirm or deny that that is the Government’s intention? The essence of the reason why we were ahead with the vaccine was the excellence and values of those wonderful British scientists who worked their socks off for this. Don’t just sell it off.

[The Prime Minister]

I might add that one of the most important factors in the success of the vaccine roll-out was the private sector. It was private sector investment that led to the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine. We will work with the private sector to continue to develop the country’s native, indigenous ability to manufacture mRNA and other types of vaccines.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What we will do is wait until the police have concluded their inquiries, and then see what more we can publish. That is what we are going to do.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

As the Prime Minister will recall, during Prime Minister’s Question Time on 8 December, I asked

“whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November”.—[Official Report, 8 December 2021; Vol. 705, c. 379.]

Now the report says, as one of the bullet points on the first page, that there was

“a gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat”

and

“a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser”.

Did the Prime Minister inadvertently mislead this House? Will he put us all out of our agony, and stop dragging democracy through the mud?

[The Prime Minister]

I stick by what I said to the hon. Lady, and if she cares about democracy and due process, she should wait until the inquiry has been concluded.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 8th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Among the heroes of the vaccine roll-out are pharmacists up and down the country, as my hon. Friend rightly says. We have 1,500 community pharmacies vaccinating people near where they live. I know that the NHS is considering the need to support more pop-up clinics where there is a need. I am happy to arrange a meeting with him and the vaccines Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup), to discuss this further.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Q6. Will the Prime Minister tell the House whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November?

[The Prime Minister]

No, but I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.

Health and Social Care

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will certainly be laying that out. What everybody in the country understands is that there is no intergenerational issue here, because in the end all families are affected by this. Everybody has older relatives whom we love, and the cost of whose care makes us anxious. Everybody understands that families across the country are liable for this and we must take steps to fix it, and that is what we are doing.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Confidence in job creation is crucial right now in our economy. What assessment has the Prime Minister made of the number of jobs where employers will look at the extra national insurance contributions and say, “No, I do not think I will take on those extra staff”?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady should remember that 40% of companies will not be affected at all by this. I am sure she also knows that the labour market is so buoyant that not only are there huge numbers of vacancies, but wages are rising, and that is a good thing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 13th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course I am familiar with the superb workforce in Shropshire to which my hon. Friend refers. There is a competition currently going on, and negotiations are going on with the modernisation that he speaks of. As he knows, we have made the biggest investment in our defences since the cold war with the recent spending review, but it would not be right for me to comment on those negotiations at this stage.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab) [V]]

Widening inequalities are tearing communities apart, and covid has made things much worse. In Hornsey and Wood Green we have a 182% increase in joblessness. Today, will the Prime Minister pledge to reverse the planned £1,000 per annum cut to universal credit, to provide a certain future for the increasing numbers of people who use universal credit as a lifeline?

[The Prime Minister]

Not only have we uprated universal credit by £1,000, but, as I have said, we have increased the local housing allowance, the living wage and many, many other benefits. We will keep all this under constant review. I know that the hon. Lady speaks for the Labour Front Bench. Current Labour policy, as far as I understand it, is to abolish UC. Many people in receipt of UC, knowing how important it is, will find that stunning, in view of what she has just said.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 21 October.

[The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)]

I know the thoughts of the whole House will be with the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi). I am sure Members from across the House will want to join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.

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.

[Catherine West]

I associate myself with those kind remarks on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi).

My constituents are reeling from the 9% contraction of the economy since March this year. Unemployment has sky-rocketed and joblessness in Haringey is the highest in the capital. Unfortunately, we are at the same time facing the idea that there could be a congestion tax forced on an extra 4 million Londoners by this Government. These Londoners are already facing the double whammy of covid and financial ruin. Will the Prime Minister please immediately stop the imposition of this dreadful plan? I look forward to his answer.

[The Prime Minister]

I must respectfully inform the hon. Lady that the current Mayor of London had effectively bankrupted TfL before coronavirus had even hit and left a massive black hole in its finances. Any need to make up that deficit is entirely down to him. It is entirely his responsibility. Any expansion of the congestion charge or any other measure taken to improve the finances of TfL are entirely the responsibility of the bankrupt current Labour Mayor of London.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Some 230,000 renters are going to be at risk of homelessness or eviction as we emerge from lockdown. Will the Prime Minister urgently, today, lay legislation so that, on a cross-party basis, we can support those people at risk of homelessness before we break up for the summer recess?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. She is right to draw attention to one of the most remarkable features of the covid crisis, which was the way that the country and the Government were able to help thousands and thousands of homeless people to find accommodation. In other countries, where they were less fortunate, we saw serious epidemics among the homeless. Thankfully, we have so far avoided that, and we are taking forward plans with Dame Louise Casey and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to ensure that the 15,000 do not just come back on to the streets. We will do everything we can to stamp out homelessness in this country.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed, and we will be doing a huge amount for coastal communities that have been left behind, as my hon. Friend knows. But one thing I think we can all do now is ensure that we send out a very positive and welcoming message from coastal communities around the UK. Now is the time, folks, to have a staycation in the UK—Hunstanton or elsewhere.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

The fastest-growing languages in Hornsey and Wood Green are Mandarin Chinese and Latin American Spanish. The diversity within Hornsey and Wood Green is a real strength; they even chose an Australian-speaking MP—but my question is serious. What personal steps will the Prime Minister take to stop black and minority ethnic communities getting covid, so that we can save more lives in the next few months? It has been a really tragic few months for my constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes indeed, and that is why—thanks partly to my hon. Friend’s urgings and his campaign—we have given the combined mayoral authority in Bolton £300 million under the transforming cities deal, plus a share of the £4.2 billion local transport fund. We have given it the tools—let us hope that it follows his urgings and builds the Metrolink that he wants.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Q6. Last Friday I visited a school in my constituency, and in 2020 the state of the school buildings was Dickensian, with leaking roofs, rusty shower rooms and mouldy changing areas. When will the Government understand that the cost of education is high, but that it is a worthy investment in the future of our schools? Whether a child is a whizz kid or is needy, every child deserves to be at school in an excellent and inspiring school building.

[The Prime Minister]

That is exactly why this Government are investing a record £14 billion more in education, raising funding for primary schools to £4,000 per head and £5,000 per head for every secondary school in the country. We can only do that because we are running a strong and dynamic market economy, and that is what we are going to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his support. I thought he was going to ask about the hospital in Watford, which I am delighted to say is going to be rebuilt, along with many others across the country. I congratulate him on being the Conservative Member of Parliament for Watford. I am delighted with all the work he has done for his constituency.

On the Bill, I am delighted that the House voted in favour of it. Unfortunately, as I say, it willed the end but not the means. The House of Commons has, alas, voted to delay Brexit again. We must now see what the EU says about that request for a delay, and I will be studying its answer very closely to see how we proceed.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Q11. Last Saturday, Haringey Borough football club players experienced racist slurs, were spat upon, and experienced the most disgusting behaviour during a grassroots football match. Will the Prime Minister congratulate the manager, Tom Loizou, on taking the players off, which was a very courageous decision, and can he explain to the House why bigotry has been emboldened under the current Government?

[The Prime Minister]

I was with the hon. Lady until her last point. I certainly think that racism in football is utterly disgusting and should be stamped out at every possible opportunity. She will have seen what happened in Bulgaria. I am delighted to say that the head of the Bulgarian football association was dismissed from his position as a result of what happened in that match. We will certainly be making sure that we do everything we can to stamp out racism of any kind, wherever it takes place in this society and whatever form it takes.

Debate on the Address

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Monday 14th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is completely right. What we have is a choice between a semi-Marxist, if not Marxist, Opposition that would set this country back decades and a one nation Government who understand the vital importance of wealth creation.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

I am very grateful that the Prime Minister has given way to a woman MP. In the Queen’s Speech there was very little information about the climate change emergency; will he give a little more detail on what the Government will do in relation to this pressing issue that is affecting so many young people and their mental health?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She raises a very good point. At the heart of the Queen’s Speech is provision for a new independent environmental regulator that will invigilate this Government and any Government in the future as we achieve our climate change targets. That is how this country can hope to be carbon neutral—to be net zero—by 2050, and that is what we are going to achieve. That is our programme.

Priorities for Government

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for all the good work that he has done to promote investment in such start-ups. I look forward to further conversations with him about ways that we may encourage that investment.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister says that he believes in the London living wage, yet so many cleaners in Whitehall are still not paid it. Will he commit today from the Dispatch Box that every single entry-level worker and cleaner in Whitehall will be paid the living wage, regardless of whether they work for the Ministry of Justice, the Department for International Development or any others?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for that important point. I have to say that—[Interruption.] The answer is yes. I was very proud when I was running London that we massively expanded the living wage. We made sure that it was paid not just by Greater London Authority bodies but by their contractors as well, and that is what we should be doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 15th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

My hon. Friend is, of course, entirely right: we have a huge opportunity to build new associations and new trade deals with some of the fastest growing economies in the world comprising, as she knows, 2.4 billion people, but without in any way prejudicing our ability to do unimpeded free trade deals with other countries and to maintain the advantages of free trade with our European friends and partners.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Will the Foreign Office review its current position on the plight of the Chagos islanders, who should be granted immediately the right to repatriation in their home in the Indian ocean territories?

Iran Nuclear Deal

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 9th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

As I have said several times, to the best of my knowledge Iran is in compliance with the JCPOA. It would be rash of me to seek to pronounce on behalf of the Israeli Government at this stage.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

What assessment has the Foreign Office made of Mr Trump’s announcement in February 2018 that the US will develop a batch of new smaller nuclear weapons? Mr Trump reportedly asked his foreign policy advisers why the US does not use nuclear weapons. Will the Foreign Secretary please make it clear to the House that it is never in any country’s interest to use nuclear weapons?

[Boris Johnson]

I think that the President of the United States understands the logic of nuclear deterrence as well as anyone, and that logic is to avoid the use of nuclear weapons.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 20th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I am acutely aware of the problems caused by palm oil cultivation. We are in urgent dialogue with our partners to discourage them from deforestation and the consequent loss of species.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

China has come a long way in the ivory trade discussions, but what discussions is the team having with Vietnam and some of the other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations?

[Boris Johnson]

Only the other day, I had discussions with Thailand. We absolutely appreciate the importance of not simply diverting the flow of ivory from China to other countries in south-east Asia.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

I hope so, Mr Speaker. Will the issue of tax avoidance and tax evasion be raised in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting?

[Boris Johnson]

Almost certainly, yes.

Zimbabwe

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Wednesday 15th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that excellent point. The AU is an increasingly important and valuable interlocutor in Africa, and I have a good relationship with Mr Faki, president of the commission. I will be going to the AU summit in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire next week, and I have no doubt that Zimbabwe will be top of the AU agenda in Côte d’Ivoire.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Constituents have been in touch with me this morning regarding the worrying situation in Harare. What reassurances can the Foreign Secretary give that the Foreign Office will continue with its excellent start at communicating with residents in the UK who are terribly worried about what is happening in Zimbabwe?

[Boris Johnson]

I say to the 20,000 UK nationals in Zimbabwe and to the 200,000 Zimbabweans here in the UK that, as far as we know, no one is under any threat at the present time. The important advice that we continue to give to those in Zimbabwe is to stay in their homes wherever they are and not go out on to the street—do not get into any trouble. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of any suffering or any violence against UK nationals in Zimbabwe.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I am sure that my hon. Friend speaks for everybody in her constituency and the country, and I know that she speaks for Members on the other side of the House as well.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Over one year ago, the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention ruled that Nazanin’s detention was arbitrary and referred her case to the special rapporteur, and the UN called for her immediate release, yet it appears that our own Foreign and Commonwealth Office might not have done so. Will the Foreign Secretary please explain?

[Boris Johnson]

That is a very good question. The answer is that we do not normally call for the release of consular cases, because very often that exacerbates their position. In this case, as the House knows, a couple of weeks ago I did call for her release on humanitarian grounds.

Korean Peninsula

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I do not think we can simply assume Kim Jong-un is totally irrational. We have to hope that he is willing to take the interests of his people—the suffering people of North Korea—into account and that in the end he is willing to protect their interests. We have to ascribe some kind of rationality and humanity to him in the end.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

What lessons can be learned from the difficult negotiations with Iran, a country that was also described as being part of the axis of evil by President Bush some years ago?

[Boris Johnson]

That is a wonderful illustration of the vital importance of maintaining the joint comprehensive plan of action—the deal to restrict the development of Iran’s nuclear weapons that, as everybody knows, has been the subject of some controversy in Washington and that has been deprecated by some members of Congress. The value of coming to such arrangements with potential nuclear powers is evident.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 28th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

We had a counter-Daesh coalition meeting last week, and the House will know that huge progress is being made. Daesh’s territory in Iraq has been reduced by about 60%, and its territory in Syria has been reduced by about 30%. The UK is at the forefront of that effort, in concert with our American allies and a coalition of 68 other countries.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

According to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the ultimate aim is for the city to select a Chief Executive by universal suffrage, yet two days ago a new Chief Executive was chosen by a committee comprising 0.03% of Hong Kong’s registered voters. As we prepare to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover, how can the House be confident that the Chinese Government are committed to progress towards genuinely democratic elections in Hong Kong?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Tuesday 18th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I am aware of the case. It is very difficult, because we must, in law, confiscate passports that have been stolen, but we are doing what we can to assist the lady in question.[Official Report, 8 November 2016, Vol. 616, c. 4MC.]

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for that update. As he knows, the United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has described the presence of some 1,000 jihadi fighters in eastern Aleppo as an “easy alibi” for the Russian and Syrian forces to justify their bombardment. Will the Secretary of State today support de Mistura’s proposals to offer the jihadi fighters some sort of passage out of the city so that they can be dealt with in an international criminal court?

Trade Union Bill

Debate between Boris Johnson and Catherine West

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Con)]

rose—

[Catherine West]

rose—