Arrest of Julian Assange

Debate between Lord Swire and Sajid Javid

1st reading: House of Commons
Thursday 11th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I am very happy to agree with what the hon. Gentleman said. This country has a long and proud tradition of human rights. When it comes to extradition requests, wherever they may come from, it is absolutely right that the courts and the Government consider an individual’s human rights.

[Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con)]

And so this story moves to its conclusion, having cost the British taxpayer millions of pounds, and having ruined relations between Ecuador and the United Kingdom during the period concerned. I very much hope that those relations can now be sustained and nurtured.

Let me make two points. We should not allow Mr Assange to get away with the idea that he was arbitrarily detained, which is ridiculous given that he could have walked out of that door at any time, or the idea that he had no charges to answer originally in Sweden, because the Swedish prosecutor would have needed to interview him personally, which he never allowed her to do. Those two facts need to be put right in the middle of this ridiculous story.

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend has made a number of important points. He referred to our relationship with Ecuador, which is very good, as I think today’s outcome shows. Let me repeat that it is thanks to the hard work of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe and the Americas that that relationship is so strong today.

My right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Sir Hugo Swire) was absolutely right to remind the House that this was a self-inflicted detention. This was a decision by Mr Assange to lock himself up for seven years.

Local Housing Need

Debate between Lord Swire and Sajid Javid

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

Gateshead had a fantastic opportunity last year to be part of the first wave of devolution deals. That would have led to a housing deal and more funds for investment in infrastructure, which would have unlocked housing, but the local council decided that it did not want to do that deal. The hon. Lady therefore should ask her local authority why it turned down an opportunity that would have helped to bring homes to her area. On what more can be done since that opportunity was passed up, the local government Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones), will be more than happy to meet her and the authority to discuss the matter further.

[Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con)]

Much of the objection to new development in East Devon and elsewhere in the country is based on the inappropriateness of design and the fact that new developments often pay no attention to the local vernacular. What can my right hon. Friend do, particularly with the large house builders, to make sure that designs take into account the local vernacular, to make sure we have good design and to unleash the potential of small house builders, which often build better and more cheaply?

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is not just about the quantity of homes; their quality and design are hugely important too, because if that is right, local communities can understandably be more accepting of development. He asks what I can do. We set out a number of things in the White Paper, including a requirement when local plans are developed to reserve land only for small builders, to make sure they have a fairer crack at getting land parcels for development. We have also announced a measure today, however, which I hope he will welcome. We will allow local authorities to increase their planning fees by 20% after regulations have been laid in the autumn, which will mean up to £75 million of extra resources for planning authorities. That is essential, too, because if local authorities have more resources, they can look at designs more seriously when they get planning applications.