Home Secretary: Resignation and Reappointment

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

I reiterate that my right hon. and learned Friend made a mistake, she acknowledged that and she stepped down. The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about the independent adviser, and I am glad that he has done so. He will be reassured that it is the absolutely the Prime Minister’s intention to appoint an independent adviser. That is the right thing to do, and I know that it is absolutely his intention.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Last week, the Home Secretary’s sharing of a draft parliamentary answer barely got a mention. They were all over it because this was a damaging policy row with the Prime Minister’s subordinate. She lost her Home Secretary. Why does my hon. Friend think that has changed?

[Jeremy Quin]

The former Prime Minister lost her Home Secretary because the Home Secretary recognised that she had made a mistake. She accepted that mistake, she offered to resign and that resignation was accepted. I do not think that means that a mistake should hang over someone for the rest of their career. There is an opportunity for redemption and the Prime Minister has decided that this would be an appropriate appointment. I know that he is working hard with the Home Secretary on the immense challenges we face.

Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department is taking to help restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

7. What steps his Department is taking to help restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to his new position.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

But there is no prospect of restoring devolved government until the protocol has been resolved. Is that not the case?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

The Executive do need to reform. That is very, very important. Whatever issues there are with the protocol, there are very important functions and services that the people of Northern Ireland need to work, so the Northern Ireland parties need to form an Executive as soon as possible. The protocol has put up barriers to trade and other things. We can fix them through negotiation, but if we cannot, we will fix them through legislation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I am sympathetic to the hon. Member’s point, and I know everyone will be. The consultation on the terms of reference that Baroness Hallett engaged upon is now complete. She received more than 20,000 responses from members of the public. She had already held meetings with bereaved families and sector representatives across the UK and she has now published her recommendations for the inquiry’s final remit. The Prime Minister will be consulting with the devolved Administrations. Every effort will be made to go as fast as is reasonably possible while also getting proper inquiry results. I know that Baroness Hallett will work to that, too.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

We already have the most important lesson, which is to avoid lockdowns, isn’t it?

[Michael Ellis]

I think that my right hon. Friend will agree that the Prime Minister and the Government made every effort to avoid having lockdowns where that was possible. Unfortunately, occasionally, it was necessary so to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Tom Pursglove]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this matter, not least given the hugely troubling and distressing cases that we have seen reported in the media of late. One thing we know, which was borne out in the care review published yesterday, is that there is a challenge with data and information sharing between agencies. I am sure that my counterparts in both the Department for Education and the Home Office will consider whether a register of child cruelty offenders would improve child safeguarding processes, alongside wider learning from the findings of forthcoming reviews, such as that into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to assure the public that non-custodial sentences are being enforced.

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

Community sentences are robust and increasingly command the public’s confidence, not least as they can see more and more offenders in high-vis, brush and shovel in hand, in their streets.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

It is reported that the penalties can be discharged by working from home. Please tell me that is not true.

[Mr Speaker]

A yes or a no will do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mrs Heather Wheeler)]

Our ambition remains to enable people to save more and to start saving earlier by taking forward the core recommendations of the Department for Work and Pensions 2017 review of automatic enrolment, which the Government committed to implement in the mid-2020s subject to engagement with stakeholders and finding ways to make the changes affordable.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Notwithstanding the earlier exchange, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will want to acknowledge my gratitude and satisfaction at the excellent job that he is making of his second job as a Minister of the Crown, will he not?

Covid-19 Update

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 19th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Let us come to the most excited man: Sir Desmond Swayne.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

May I welcome wholeheartedly the announcements that have been made today? I would ask the Prime Minister to review again the need to sack unvaccinated domiciliary workers and NHS workers, and to examine the evidence that suggests that they pose a risk to their patients. Our belief is that they will not do so any more than the vaccinated.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much, but I think the evidence is clear that healthcare professionals should get vaccinated.

Covid-19 Update

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Further to that point of order—

[Mr Speaker]

No, there is no “further” for a minute. Just let us hang on a moment. First of all, we are not going to continue the debate—

G20 and COP26 World Leaders Summit

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, on climate finance for the world, the right hon. Gentleman makes a valid point, because it is essential that the developed world supports the developing world on the path to decarbonisation. That is why the $100 billion per year is so important. Contributions such as the one we saw from the Japanese yesterday, what the French have done, what the Germans have done and what Joe Biden did the other day are important steps, but there is much more to be done. But be in no doubt: the right hon. Gentleman should be very proud of what the UK is committing—the £11.6 billion that we committed two years ago, plus another billion the day before yesterday. These are big sums now that the UK is giving, and we are way out in front.

The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise Afghanistan. We had sad but good discussions about Afghanistan, and we are determined to work together to concert our humanitarian relief to do what we can, notwithstanding the difficulties that there are obviously going to be with our relations with the Taliban.

On the global vaccine roll-out, the right hon. Gentleman will have heard the commitments made by countries around the world. I think the UK can be very proud of what we are doing on top of the 1.5 billion AstraZeneca doses, with another 100 million doses by June next year.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

To what extent does the success of the entire enterprise depend upon the promised finance to the developing world?

[The Prime Minister]

Very largely.

Afghanistan

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 18th August 2021 Commons Chamber

[Keir Starmer]

There is huge concern, as all hon. Members will know, about our line of sight beyond Kabul at the moment. Again, that calls into question where the 5,000 number comes from, because at the moment we are not even in a position to assess the position outside Kabul. We cannot betray our friends. We must lead.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Were the Government of this kingdom to be overthrown by a wicked and brutal regime, I venture that the right hon. and learned Gentleman would want a leading role in the resistance. He would not be queuing at the airport, would he?

[Keir Starmer]

When I was Director of Public Prosecutions, some of my prosecutors in Afghanistan were at huge risk, working on counter-terrorism with other brave souls there, so I will not take that from the right hon. Gentleman or from anybody else.

Once the immediate challenges are addressed, we face an uncertain and difficult future. The Taliban are back in control and we cannot be naive about the consequences. We have lost our primary source of leverage in political discussions, and everything that we have achieved in the past 20 years is now under threat.

Covid-19: Road Map

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Monday 22nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are making as much data available as we possibly can. Clearly, we cannot make people’s medical records available because that would breach patient confidentiality. The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the question of take-up among some groups and care home staff. That has been increasing, but we all need to work together to ensure that we encourage everybody to come forward and take the vaccine.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

The Prime Minister raised the possibility of new variants having an impact on the plan. Ordinarily, the laws of natural selection will favour more benign variants. However, lockdown reverses that, favouring the more potent. Therefore, in addition to an urgency on the basis of the economic and social costs of lockdown, there is indeed also a scientific urgency to lift it, isn’t there?

[The Prime Minister]

I defer to my right hon. Friend’s doubtless superior understanding of the biology of the variants, but I have a couple of reassuring points for him. First, we have no reason to think that our vaccines are ineffective in preventing death or serious illness against all the variants of which we are currently aware. Secondly, our scientists are getting ever better at evolving new vaccines to tackle the new variants.