Oral Answers to Questions

Paula Sherriff Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I very much enjoyed visiting the engineering firm Garrandale in my hon. Friend’s constituency a couple of weeks ago. It is an outstanding example of a successful medium-sized business growing in the east midlands and exporting around the world, and we want to see more of that in our country. That is why we have a policy that delivers economic security for our nation in uncertain times, more jobs, more infrastructure, and more support for small businesses—all so that we can back the working people of this country.

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman referred to Talha Asmal from my constituency, who is alleged to have become the UK’s youngest-ever suicide bomber. Will he agree to convene a meeting between myself and Home Office Ministers to discuss a review of counter-terror policy, particularly with reference to tackling radicalisation?

[Mr Osborne]

Home Office Ministers will be very happy to meet the hon. Lady and her constituents. Of course, we want to work together to try to prevent other tragic cases like this one; and of course, let us not forget the victims of the suicide bomb as well as the suicide bomber. That is going to be a great generational task for us. It is clear that Islamic extremism and the radicalisation of our young people is not going to be something that we solve in space of a week or a month, or even, potentially, in this Parliament. We need to work across party divides. We also need to work with all the different public services to make sure that we prevent these young people from thinking that somehow their life, or their death, is better on the other side of the world.