Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Marion Fellows

Tuesday 10th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the matter. I pay tribute to her and to the family, who are very much in my thoughts. She will know that we have an extra power, which we introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022; it is quite a confined power, but I will undertake to look at it in this case. Of course, I would make the broader point that when we introduced these measures to protect victims and the public, again, the Labour party voted against them.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

T5. Has the Secretary of State considered the effect of his Bill of Rights proposals on disabled people and organisations, who consistently use the Human Rights Act in their fight to ensure that disabled people are treated humanely and equitably, for example by ensuring that they receive the same health treatments that are routinely given to the rest of the population?

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Lady raises a critically important point. Of course there is nothing in our Bill of Rights that would impact on the healthcare that disabled individuals or communities would receive.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Marion Fellows

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

Yes.

[Marion Fellows]

Will the Secretary of State listen to calls from the campaign group Liberty, and commit himself to ending what it has described as a cynical use of violence against women and girls as justification for the planned HRA reforms, bearing in mind that the legislation has been instrumental in securing women’s rights?

[Dominic Raab]

As a trainee lawyer I worked at Liberty, and I have huge respect for the work that it does. In fact, back then I took a test case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg relating to gender discrimination. However, it is also right that we listen to the wider voices, and we have conducted the independent Human Rights Act review to consider all the issues from all the different angles. We are grateful to Sir Peter Gross for chairing that review and we will carefully consider its recommendations in the round.

Belarus: Interception of Aircraft

Debate between Dominic Raab and Marion Fellows

Monday 24th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. We raised precisely this kind of systematic attack at the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, and we will continue to do so.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) [V]]

While we have a long-standing position of challenging the results of Lukashenko’s fraudulent election win last year, we have to be honest and say that this case is a departure from these entrenched disagreements and represents a direct attack on the citizens of our EU allies and on international law. Given that plain reality, it is right that sanctions up to and including the freezing of Belarusian state funds are effected, but what new measures will the Government consider for granting asylum to those supressed by the Lukashenko regime?

[Dominic Raab]

Asylum has been raised already. The criteria in the asylum regime are reflective of international law and are fit for purpose. The evidence of this regime’s despicable actions means that those who want to apply for asylum in this country are able to do so and will get the fair hearing and due process that our system allows.