G20 Summit

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have a different opinion from the hon. Gentleman. We have a clear structure within the political declaration in relation to that. I simply say to him that the December joint report on withdrawal was 16 pages. Within less than a year, we have negotiated 585—nearly 590—pages of legal text. The political declaration is, I think, 26 pages. It is perfectly possible to negotiate on all aspects of that within the two years available.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Next week, in Marrakesh, a UN conference on migration takes place, yet there are considerable concerns among some G20 and EU member countries—Italy for example—about its provisions. Was that discussed at the G20 summit and what is the position of Her Majesty’s Government on this?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—[Interruption.]