Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Tuesday 20th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

With regard to links across the channel with France and many other European partners, yesterday the Exiting the European Union Committee heard evidence from Michel Barnier, Guy Verhofstadt and many others, and it is absolutely clear that the deep partnership we are seeking with the European Union will be a unique and specific agreement that will benefit those on both sides of the channel enormously. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that that should be the outcome of the talks that will be starting again soon?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. On the subject of crowbarring, or indeed shoehorning, I remind the Foreign Secretary—I am sure that he requires no reminding—that the question is not about Brexit; it is about a fixed link across the channel. That is the pertinent matter upon which he will focus.

[Boris Johnson]

If I may say so, I think that my hon. Friend has hit upon the notion of a metaphorical fixed link: a great, swollen, throbbing umbilicus of trade—I will not say which way it is going—with each side mutually nourishing the other. I very much approve of the note of optimism that he strikes.

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[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Was the excellent continental free trade area agreement of the African Union, which would bring great prosperity, discussed? If it was not discussed then, could it be discussed at the next meeting? I would be very happy to pay for it.

[Mr Speaker]

I don’t think it was a meeting, I think it was a booze-up.

[Boris Johnson]

I hesitate for an age before correcting you, Mr Speaker, but it was a serious discussion of the advancement of free trade. The subject of free trade in the African Union, which my hon. Friend raises, is a very good one. The only advice I would give to the African Union is not to acquire a parliament, a court or a single currency.

[Mr Speaker]

I readily defer to the Foreign Secretary’s knowledge of this important event.

[Chris Bryant]

He was there for a long time.

[Mr Speaker]

I do not know how long he was there, and I cannot say that I greatly care. We have had the answers.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

10. What steps his Department is taking to support global ocean conservation.

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[Boris Johnson]

The universal spanner—a device that will solve almost any problem. I truly believe that female education is at the heart of solving so many other global problems, which is why we are putting it at the very centre of the Commonwealth summit in April and the upcoming G7 summit. Across our network, female education is at the heart of everything that we do.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is a lot of chortling going on in the Chamber, but we have had an update on the spanner situation, for which we are indebted to the Foreign Secretary.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

What steps is the Department taking to provide training on freedom of religion or belief for its officials?