Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, that is why we have set up an Office for Veterans’ Affairs and have ensured that veterans get preferential treatment on public transport, which was one of the first things I did when I became Prime Minister. It is why we ensure that veterans receive particular support and encouragement in employment, and we encourage employers to take on veterans as well.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

Q8.   In the panicked Downing Street staffing reshuffle at the weekend, the Prime Minister appointed to a senior role a man who recently lobbied the Government on behalf of Huawei Technologies, a hostile state vendor that this House legislated to exclude entirely from this country’s 5G networks. Given that the No. 10 director of communications has by definition access to some of the most sensitive Government information, will the Prime Minister tell the House whether Mr Harri’s present role requires enhanced developed vetting and STRAP clearance and whether he went through the necessary checks to provide that level of clearance before he took up his post?

[The Prime Minister]

That is a curious question to come from a Member on the Benches that contain someone who took, I think, £586,000 from the Chinese Government to support his office. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that this Government took the brave and necessary step of making sure that we excluded Huawei from our critical national infrastructure, and that was the right thing to do, whatever he says.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 24th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I want to reassure my hon. Friend, and indeed the House and the country, that cases such as the very sad one that he raises are extremely rare. We are putting in more money to gather evidence for claims such as one that he describes, but I want to repeat what is perhaps the most important message that I can get across today, which is how vital the vaccination programme is, how safe it is and how important it is that everybody who is eligible gets their booster when they are called.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

Q7.   The Government’s integrated review has concluded that the Chinese state poses a systemic challenge to our national security, and the Prime Minister has made it clear that when it comes to China, we must remain vigilant about our critical national infrastructure. Can he therefore confirm unequivocally today that plans for China General Nuclear to own and operate its own plant at Bradwell in Essex have been abandoned, and explain to the House precisely how and when his Government intend to remove CGN’s interest from the Sizewell C nuclear project?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue. Clearly, one of the consequences of our approach on critical national infrastructure in the National Security and Investment Bill is that we do not want to see undue influence by potentially adversarial countries in our critical national infrastructure. That is why we have taken the decisions that we have. On Bradwell, there will be more information forthcoming—[Interruption.] What I do not want to do is pitchfork away wantonly all Chinese investment in this country, or minimise the importance to this country of having a trading relationship with China.

AUKUS

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Thursday 16th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Absolutely. Of course, Hastings and Rye was the last place in which this island suffered a reversal at the hands of the French, but our relations with the French remain very good. My hon. Friend is certainly right about the benefits that this will bring throughout the UK, including, I hope, Hastings and Rye.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

I welcome this development in the light of the strategic challenge posed by an increasingly assertive China, but the Prime Minister will be aware of the sensitivities in relation to the timing of the announcement, given the launch of the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy today. What further reassurance can he provide that the new partnership will not come at the expense of defence co-operation with our European NATO allies?

[The Prime Minister]

This is not zero-sum. I have spoken to the House already about the depth of our co-operation with the French—which has a nuclear dimension as well—whether it is in Estonia or in Mali. One of the potential winners from this technological partnership is the French company Talis, which of course has many people working in this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this. Although the number of those who have been killed or seriously injured on the roads has been coming down over a long period, it is vital that we invest in this area. We have put another £100 million through the safer roads fund to invest in 50 of the most dangerous stretches on A roads. I also draw his attention to the THINK! campaign, which can play a huge role in reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

To their bitter disappointment, and despite the assurances given during the passage of the Fire Safety Act 2021 that it would do so, the Building Safety Bill, published on Monday, does little to help the hundreds of thousands of leaseholders who right now face financial ruin as a result of the building safety crisis. My question to the Prime Minister is a simple one: why are his Government seemingly intent on failing to honour the commitments given to those leaseholders, and to Members of this House, by refusing to legislate to fully protect all the blameless victims of this scandal?

[The Prime Minister]

That is not accurate. We are continuing to support all those who have to remediate their buildings. I remind Members that the £5 billion that we have provided is five times what Labour offered for support in their last manifesto. We will ensure that all the leaseholders—the people who have suffered from the consequences of the Grenfell conflagration—get the advice and support that they need.

G7 and NATO Summits

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My grandfather was indeed stationed at Chivenor. I thank the Royal Marines at Chivenor, who did such an outstanding job of looking after us all during the G7 summit. They will transform into the future commando force that will contribute to a more agile and active NATO alliance.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

At the G7, the Prime Minister and other leaders reasserted their intention to honour the 2009 promise of $100 billion in climate finance annually to support developing nations, but sufficient concrete financial commitments to make up the shortfall did not materialise. Does he agree that the commitment must be met by the UN General Assembly in September at the very latest, if we are not to risk failure at COP26 in November?

[The Prime Minister]

UNGA is, indeed, a very important way station, but this was a great start.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 4th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I learned what a wonderful staff we have in the NHS, and I am delighted to say that Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will receive £3.7 million seed funding for a full redevelopment, in addition to the £46 million that we are now putting in to its urgent care hub. This is the party of the NHS—delivering on the people’s priorities in Kettering and across the country.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

Q6. For the purpose of clarity, if the Cabinet Office inquiry into allegations that the Home Secretary breached the ministerial code establishes that her conduct fell below the standard expected of a Minister in any way and on any occasion, can the Prime Minister confirm that she will be expected to resign or be removed from office?

[The Prime Minister]

I return to the point I made earlier on, which is that the Home Secretary is doing an outstanding job—delivering change, putting police out on the streets, cutting crime and delivering a new immigration system—and I am sticking by her.

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

If I may, I am going to seize on that because the hon. Lady has it in her hands to help us all to get this thing over the line. This proposal is the basis of a deal; it is not a deal. We have to get it agreed with our EU friends and it will not be easy, but if I am able to return to the House of Commons with a deal like this, I hope—from what she has said today—that she will vote to get this thing done.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

As with the Malthouse compromise and the Brady amendment, it is difficult to look at these proposals and not conclude that those on the Government Benches are almost exclusively talking to themselves. But taking the proposals at face value, does the Prime Minister accept that even if they do form the basis—however unlikely—for a deal, there is no way that the arrangements set out in this new protocol can be put in place within 14 months, so the logic of what he is proposing is an extension to the transition period beyond December 2020, with all the financial implications that that entails?

[The Prime Minister]

That is an excellent question and a relevant point. I am happy to talk the hon. Gentleman through how we could satisfy all our objectives for the implementation period by the end of 2020 and get to the state we want to be in with our EU friends. He speaks about the need to converse across parties, and I am more than happy to do that with him.

Syria: De-escalation Zones

Debate between Matthew Pennycook and Boris Johnson

Monday 26th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I spoke to my Iranian counterpart on Friday, I believe it was, about what Iran could do, both in the Syrian theatre and in the region more widely, to promote the cause of peace. I hope that the Iranians will use their considerable influence to do that.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

The pro-Assad media organisation al-Watan yesterday reported, unequivocally, that Russian jets were involved in striking targets in Ghouta. Is it the Foreign Secretary’s understanding that in recent days Russian jets have struck targets and broken the ceasefire that the Security Council called for just on Saturday, in its resolution?

[Boris Johnson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that information. I have to say it would be shocking if the Russians were to be convicted in the eyes of world opinion of breaking the ceasefire that they signed up to in New York. I will study the evidence that he has cited and we will certainly be putting it to the Russians.