Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Lady Hermon (North Down) (Ind)]

In recent discussions with the political parties in Northern Ireland, was the issue of the European arrest warrant raised? Will the Secretary of State come to the House and make a statement on the serious implications for the Police Service of Northern Ireland if the availability of the European arrest warrant were closed down to the Chief Constable?

[Mr Speaker]

In relation to the border.

[Lady Hermon]

indicated assent.

[Mr Speaker]

Indeed. I am grateful for that nod from a sedentary position, which is very reassuring.

[Mr Vara]

I can assure the hon. Lady that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State spoke to the Chief Constable this morning about the European arrest warrant. We very much hope to have, as the Prime Minister has suggested, a UK-EU security treaty that will be all-embracing and bespoke. As the GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said this morning, it is important to recognise that four European countries have benefited directly from our intelligence in the past year.

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[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I am glad that the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) has overcome his natural shyness and self-effacement. It is not beyond the wit of the Chair to call two DUP Members on the same question, and I hope he is heartened by that declaration.

[Sammy Wilson]

The Chief Constable in Northern Ireland has expressed some concerns about cross-border security in today’s Belfast Telegraph. Will the Secretary of State give us some assurances about what discussions she has had with the Irish Government to allay the concerns that the Chief Constable has raised?

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[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Ind)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I do not see any Member standing on the Government Benches—[Interruption.] Yes, there is. Mr Duncan Smith, calm yourself. I call Charlie Elphicke.

[Charlie Elphicke]

Does the Minister agree that threats from the European Union about having a hard border in Northern Ireland are simply unhelpful, and that what we need is co-operation in the use of technology so that things can continue to flow just as they do today?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

The hon. Gentleman is right: agriculture and farming is a massive industry in Northern Ireland. Some 49,000 people are employed in the sector and there are 25,000 farms. What I will say to him is that if we can get that overall economic framework with the EU through negotiations, the tariffs he refers to will not apply.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Mark Francois.

[Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)]

At the second time of asking, Question 7, Sir.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

As I said—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman’s question was heard with courtesy, and the reply must be heard with courtesy.

[The Prime Minister]

First, I have just said in response to questions about the pictures and the behaviour that we have seen in the United States and about the way children are being treated, that is clearly, wholly and unequivocally wrong. On the wider issue of the President of the United States coming here to the United Kingdom, there are many issues that Members of this House—including the hon. Gentleman’s right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition—consistently encourage me to raise with the President of the United States. We do that: when we disagree with the United States, we tell them so. We also have key shared interests with the United States, in the security and defence field and in other areas, and it is right that we are able to sit down and discuss those issues with the President. He is the President of a country with which we have had, and will continue to have, a long-standing special relationship.