Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I apologise once again, profusely, to John Robinson, to all of those who lost loved ones, and particularly to those who suffered during the pandemic. In my statement, I have tried to explain why I spoke to the House as I did. The right hon. and learned Gentleman has chosen to respond with a series of personal attacks on me, and I understand why he does that. I understand that, but I think it would have been a good thing if, in the course of his remarks, he had addressed some of the issues that I mentioned, not least the crisis in Ukraine, with the impact that that is having on the livelihoods of everybody in this country. In order to address that, the Government will get on with our job, which is to focus on the needs of the British people.

The right hon. and learned Gentleman talks about nodding dogs. I remind the House that there was a certain nodding dog, who sat nodding in the previous Labour shadow Cabinet, who would happily have installed the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), and made a disastrous mistake for the security of our country at a very difficult time. This Government will get on with the difficult job of taking us through the aftershocks of the covid pandemic, and of leading not just this country but the world in our response to the violence that we are seeing in Ukraine. I renew my apologies. I renew my apologies to John Robinson and to families up and down the land, but I think the best thing that we can do now for this country, as politicians, is not to indulge in personal abuse of the kind we have heard, but to get on with our jobs.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

I have heard the remarks of both my right hon. Friend and the Leader of the Opposition, and I am sure that my right hon. Friend appreciates that it is crystal clear that a fixed penalty notice, such as was applied in his case, is a civil penalty fine, which, if paid within 28 days, eliminates the possibility of future prosecution in the criminal courts and, furthermore, can be paid without any admission of guilt. The judgment in a recent Court of Appeal criminal case said that if the payment is made within 28 days, a fixed penalty notice is held not to be a conviction, as the defendant is

“not admitting any offence, not admitting any criminality, and would not have any stain imputed to his character.”

That is the perspective on this case.

[The Prime Minister]

I make it absolutely clear that in no way do I minimise the importance of this fine. I am heartily sorry for my mistake, and I accept completely the decision of the police.

Ukraine

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The Government, as I said, are way out in front of our European friends and partners in what we are doing to implement sanctions on Russian entities. That is the right thing and I think that is where the House is today. We will continue to do that. Yes, it is absolutely vital that nobody should contribute to a political party in this country unless they are a UK national. That is what this Government insist upon. But may I just respectfully say—I have been listening to some of the contributions this morning—that we should not allow our indignation and rage at what is happening in Ukraine to spill over into casual Russophobia? I do not want to see us discriminating against Russians as people or simply on the basis of their nationality.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend for his prescience and resolve on Ukraine, and also that of the Defence Secretary. Can he confirm that escalating economic sanctions against Russia and fully effective defensive support for Ukraine can never be allowed to fail, given that Russia and President Putin’s aggression affects all its European neighbours and has an ever-increasing global reach, including even in places such as Africa?

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to publish everything that we currently have, but the fact is that there are legal impediments and we have to wait until the police inquiry has concluded.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

I accept entirely what the Prime Minister has just said. It is absolutely essential that we wait until we hear the next stage in these proceedings in relation to any future investigations. I would also like to draw attention to the historic achievements of this Prime Minister in relation not only to delivering Brexit but to the vaccine roll-out and to his dealings with Mr Putin. I believe that everybody should take that most firmly into account.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend very much, and I think he is completely right. He might have added that we have the fastest economic growth in the G7, thanks to the steps that this Government have been taking.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Member makes a very good point on behalf of Doncaster. We are certainly looking at the plan that he mentions.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

The Prime Minister knows how bitterly disappointed my constituents in Staffordshire will be about the decision. May I simply ask him, when he is considering the question of review, to include phase 2a from Birmingham to Crewe—and the rest of that part of the constituency, which is going to be so badly affected? We need a proper link with Handsacre to ensure that Stoke and Stafford are properly serviced. Does he understand that, and will he do everything to ensure that we are kept in the review?

[The Prime Minister]

Absolutely; on Handsacre, my hon. Friend has my full support.

Prime Minister’s Statement

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Saturday 19th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman, for whom I have a high regard, is, I think, one of those who believes that we should delay further in the EU. I do not believe that. I think we should come out as one UK, and I think there is a very important difference between Northern Ireland and the other constituent parts of the UK. That is evident in the Good Friday agreement and it is evident in the need to treat that particular land border with a great deal of sensitivity and respect. That is something that is agreed in all parts of the House and is I think appreciated by the right hon. Gentleman himself.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend personally guarantee that in the withdrawal Bill there will be a guarantee to protect in practice our parliamentary sovereignty and furthermore that, in relation to the withdrawal agreement, there will be provision to protect the United Kingdom from any harmful matters relating to our vital national interests under a parliamentary system that will guarantee that this House will decide if there are any situations where we need to prevent EU laws from being harmful to those vital national interests during the course of the future arrangements that have been put in place?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has campaigned on this matter for many, many years. Indeed, there is a sense in which this occasion today is a colossal vindication of his parliamentary career, in that he has long campaigned for us to come out of the EU. He raises an important point about our ability to protect this country from injurious or vexatious legislation coming from the EU during the IP. I can certainly give him the assurance that we will have such protection.

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I must confess that I am disappointed by the tone and some of the remarks that the right hon. Gentleman has made, because I think that this is a very good basis for a deal. To take his points in turn, and to take his questions seriously, he asks what the advantage is of this deal over the previous withdrawal agreement. Simply, it is that the objections on all sides of the House to the previous withdrawal agreement were based on the backstop, which would, as he knows, keep the UK locked in the customs union and single market with no say on those arrangements. I listened carefully to hon. Members on both sides of the House during those debates and that was the burden of the House’s objections to the backstop.

The right hon. Gentleman asked a reasonable question about standards and environmental and social protections. I think that it would be the will of the House under any circumstances to keep our standards the highest in the world. The advantage that we have in coming out of the EU, as I am sure he would accept if he reflected on it, is that we can go further. There are some things that we can now do that have been long called for by the British people—for instance, on animal welfare—that would be very advantageous. For instance, we can now ban the cruel export of live animals. I am sure that he will see that advantages will flow from that approach.

The right hon. Gentleman asked about physical infrastructure at the border, and I have been clear many times—and the Government have been clear many times, as were the previous Administration under my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May)—that under no circumstances would the UK institute physical infrastructure at or near the border.

The right hon. Gentleman raised the concerns of businesses in Northern Ireland. Of course they must be at the forefront of our minds, and we will ensure that their needs are properly looked after. That is indeed why we have made the compromises that we have for the immediate future to protect their immediate interests. He asked about unfettered access to the GB market, and they will of course have unfettered access to the GB market with no checks whatever. That goes without saying. One thing that is certain about those businesses is that they want a deal. I have talked to them, as I am sure the right hon. Gentleman has. I believe that this is their chance, and our chance, to get a deal.

I listened to what the right hon. Gentleman said about delay and keeping this country in the EU beyond 31 October. That option does not commend itself to me: it would incur another £1 billion a month to no advantage whatever. The people of this country have had enough unnecessary dither and delay. They want to get Brexit done; they want to get on and do a deal. This is a very good basis for a deal, I commend it to the House and I hope that right hon. and hon. Members across the House will support it.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

In welcoming indications of progress in the negotiations, does my right hon. Friend agree that the overriding democratic issue is that the referendum result, and the withdrawal Act with 31 October as the end date, confirms the sovereign and inalienable right of the British people to govern themselves and that we need a general election in this country now and to get Brexit done?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The Opposition have many times—at least several times—rejected the invitation to have a general election, for reasons that I think will be apparent to most people in this House and most people in this country. We must leave the Opposition to consider their own decision, but what I can certainly tell my hon. Friend is that under this deal, this country will certainly be taking back control not only of its borders and its money, but also of course its laws.

Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman. On his substantive point, we do respect the Supreme Court. The reason that I want a Queen’s Speech, and wanted a Queen’s Speech, is quite frankly, of course, because we have to do what we can as a United Kingdom to remedy the waste and incompetence of the high-taxing, fish-abandoning Government of the SNP in Scotland. That is why we are investing in 20,000 more police officers, 20 new hospital upgrades, levelling up education spending, and funding gigabit broadband across the country. I hope—and I bet the people of Scotland hope—that in spite of all the uselessness of the Government of Scotland those benefits will be passed on to the people, because that is the only obstacle in our way.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

The Supreme Court mentioned that the Prorogation had—[Interruption.]

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir William Cash]

The Supreme Court mentioned that the Prorogation had an extreme effect on the fundamentals of our democracy. Does my right hon. Friend accept that it is more than an extreme and undemocratic effect for Parliament itself to tear up its own Standing Order No. 14, because the priority that that Standing Order gives to Government business, as compared with private Members’ business such as the surrender Act, derives exclusively from the fundamental democracy of the voters of this country in general elections, and to remedy this, they must be given an early general election to decide who governs this country?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. He is, of course, quite right in the sense that the people of this country can see all kinds of forces in this country going to quite extraordinary lengths—whether judicial or parliamentarian—to prevent Brexit from being delivered on 31 October, but I have to tell him—and I am sure that he will agree with me—that we are not going to be deterred by such ruses, and that we are going to get this done.

US Immigration Policy

Debate between Boris Johnson and William Cash

Monday 30th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

The United States Congress and courts, as well as the President and diplomacy, will play a part in arriving at a solution to this question. Does my right hon. Friend accept that there is a universal threat from jihadists? For example, Europol has estimated that up to 5,000 jihadists have come over from several of the relevant countries. Furthermore, we should remember the victims of 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London, and in Paris, Brussels and Berlin, not to mention Lee Rigby.

[Boris Johnson]

We understand the threat from jihadists both at home and abroad, so it is ever more vital that we work with our American friends to combat that threat.