Joanna Cherry
Main Page: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)Department Debates - View all Joanna Cherry's debates with the HM Treasury
Downing Street Garden Event
Joanna Cherry Excerpts(2 years, 11 months ago)
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Michael Ellis
I know my duty to this House, and the reality of the matter is that the hon. Gentleman wishes to prejudge the matter. He is wrong to do so. It is not a matter for me—I am not conducting the inquiry—but a matter for Sue Gray. Sue Gray and her team will be investigating the matter and will come to the due conclusion. He should wait patiently for that. I think the predecessor question was about when that answer will come. I do not know the answer to that, but we have asked that it be done swiftly, and as soon as that is possible, it will be given.
Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP)
I was pleased to hear the Paymaster General tell us earlier that the Prime Minister has recently visited a police station. I hope he will be visiting another one soon, this time with the benefit of his solicitor.
I want to return to the issue of fixed penalty notices that was raised by another hon. Member. Last April, the Joint Committee on Human Rights issued a report saying that the fixed penalty notices issued during the height of the crisis, which could be as much as £10,000, were “muddled, discriminatory and unfair”. The incident that is currently being investigated—I use the word advisedly—only goes to show that we were right in our concerns about unfair enforcement of the rules during the pandemic. The Paymaster General acknowledged earlier, as one would expect from a former Law Officer, that one of the most important principles to a democracy is that of equality before the law. So will the Government now commit to reviewing all the fixed penalty notices that were issued during the height of the crisis, as recommended in our report, and consider pardons for those who have been held to a higher standard than those who govern us?
Michael Ellis
Surely the hon. and learned Lady would know about the pillars of fair justice. She knows that it is necessary to wait for the result of the investigation. She would know that better than most. As for the enforcement of rules, they apply equally to everyone in this country, they have done for many generations, and they will continue to do so.