Horsemeat

Debate between David Heath and Kris Hopkins

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

We should all be outraged that people have been given meat that is not as described on the packet. The Government stand four-square with the consumer who goes into the shop and buys the product, and say, “This will not do.” It is unacceptable and those who have allowed it to happen, whether through insufficient checking or criminal activity, must be brought to book.

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

People across west Yorkshire will be outraged that horsemeat has entered the food chain labelled as beef. Will the Minister reassure consumers that the individuals who are carrying out this criminal activity will be prosecuted?

[Mr Heath]

Ministers cannot give assurances on what the police and investigatory authorities will do. It is certainly my wish that wherever there is evidence of criminal activity, it is put before the courts and the people responsible are prosecuted and face the full force of the law.

Horsemeat (Supermarket Products)

Debate between David Heath and Kris Hopkins

Thursday 17th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

I do not honestly believe that there is any legal impediment at the moment to retailers doing a proper job of establishing the provenance of the food they serve on their shelves.

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

We already have strict rules, with penalties, relating to food tracing and labelling. Should we not review those penalties to provide a greater deterrence to companies?

[Mr Heath]

We continue to keep our policies on labelling under review. In this case, however, it appears that it is not simply a labelling error. We are almost certainly talking about real criminality, and there are very clear laws in place to deal with such criminality.

Business of the House

Debate between David Heath and Kris Hopkins

Thursday 1st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

I do not think that a debate would be worth while, because the OBR is independent of Government.

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the use of postal votes in our electoral system? It has been proved to be open to corrupt practices, and it is compromising our democratic process.

[Mr Heath]

Concerns about the integrity of the postal vote process have been expressed for a long time. Postal votes form a useful part of our electoral arrangements, but nevertheless we must make sure that our electoral system has the highest possible integrity. The Government are committed to introducing the individual registration of voters, and that will go a long way towards dealing with some of the potential abuses of the current system. I hope that legislation will be introduced in due course that will enable the hon. Gentleman to make his points very forcefully.