question. it's a legitimate question. >> well, we're looking right now at images of kemi badenoch asking questions from mps. so i all eyes on the chamber while we're talking, while we wait for, rishi sunak to come out and answer questions from , keir answer questions from, keir starmer. but but to you, alex burghart, what's it say to you that you've got your colleagues leaving and joining labour? i mean, i just heard you say about the internal party is a little bit with what matt just said. >> there wasn't nerves on the tory side. >> there was just anger because there's no way that natalie elphicke shares the views of starmer. we all know alex. we're about to go straight to the chamber now where we have the first questions to the prime minister. >> mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house. >> i shall have further such meetings later today . meetings later today. >> jonathan lord, residents across the eastern villages of woking in byfleet, west byfleet and pickford have seen a large number of proposed developments over recent years . over recent years. >> of particular concern is an area of beautiful fields near westhall, where over 1000 of my constituents have written back to me in recent weeks expressing their deep concerns about the

lack of provision of local infrastructure and the potential effects on the local environment. >> my residents and i will fight on, but does the prime minister agree with me that labour's proposals to concrete over vast swathes of the green belt in surrey and the south east would be a complete calamity ? be a complete calamity? >> well, mr speaker, my honourable friend is absolutely right. unlike actually both the liberal democrats and the labour party who believe in top down targets that would decimate the green belt. >> we believe in local people having a say over their local communities, which is why we are making sure that we make best use of brownfield land and ensuring that we conserve and enhance our precious countryside for generations to come. >> we now come to the leader of the opposition , keir starmer. the opposition, keir starmer. here >> thank you, mr speaker. on monday, the prime minister treated us to his seventh relaunch in 18 months. >> he vowed to take on the

dangers that threaten the country. >> so it was good to see the minister for common sense immediately take up that mantle by announcing a vital crackdown on the gravest of threats . on the gravest of threats. >> colourful lanyards . >> colourful lanyards. >> colourful lanyards. >> meanwhile, in the real world, after 14 years of tory government, the prison system is in chaos. does the prime minister think that his decision to let prisoners out 70 days early makes our country more secure? yes >> well, mr speaker, civil service impartiality is an important principle that we're right to support. >> but perhaps he could ask his chief of staff about that. but . chief of staff about that. but. oh, but actually , on monday, oh, but actually, on monday, what i did do is outline the serious security threats that our country faces from an axis of authoritarian state russia poisoning people on our streets,

china targeting our democracy, iranian proxies firing on british ships. and yet he won't back our plan to increase defence spending. now we all know why, especially with the deputy leader and indeed the shadow foreign secretary who voted to scrap our nuclear deterrent . it's clear that you deterrent. it's clear that you simply can't trust labour with our country's security . our country's security. >> well, i appreciate he's been busy on the front line of the war against lanyards, but he it must it must have missed this. i was the first to call for 2.5% on defence spending . the last on defence spending. the last time it happened was under the last labour government . but it last labour government. but it needs a credible plan, not his fantasy economics. but i am disappointed to see that version 7.0 of his time in office does not extend as far as answering questions or giving any information on those prisoners he is releasing early basic details like how many ?

details like how many? >> where are they? what crimes have they committed ? so will he have they committed? so will he at least guarantee that none of the criminals he is instructing prisoners to release early are considered high risk? here here. >> dear mr speaker, there are strict eligibility criteria in place with exclusions based on pubuc place with exclusions based on public safety, and no one will be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to public safety. but he talks about 2.5. mr speaker, so if he does think it is important, as i think he just actually stood up and acknowledged that it was the right thing to do. we have got a fully funded plan to actually deliver an increase in defence spending and it's him and his party who have refused to match that commitment . that commitment. >> just like this £46 billion fully funded . fully funded. >> if anyone was looking for the perfect metaphor for this shambolic government, we saw it

on monday. the prime minister woke up deciding his latest rebrand was mr security. but within hours the tory party was being investigated for accidentally publishing the personal details of hundreds of people. mr speaker, he must be the only tech bro brother on the continent who can't work a debit card or send an email, but he's not answered my question , so not answered my question, so i'll try it again. not answered my question, so i'll try it again . are any of i'll try it again. are any of the prisoners he is currently letting out early, considered to be high risk . be high risk. >> mr mr speaker, he keeps he just showed spectacularly why he's just not fit to lead this country into the future. but this this country, this country has a proud tradition of leading the world. we led the world when it came to the industrial revolution. but if he was around, if he was around, he would have probably called james

watt the steam bro. mr speaker , watt the steam bro. mr speaker, but what we're doing is preparing the country for the future. but when he talks about the prison scheme, let me be crystal clear. no one would be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to the public. offenders are subject to the toughest of licensing conditions, and if those conditions, and if those conditions are broken, they are back in prison for considerably longer. but what is his record on this ? he voted against on this? he voted against tougher sentences for violent criminals. he actually opposed, opposed new powers for the police to tackle violent crime, voted against new laws that have arrested a thousand criminal people smugglers. the message is crystal clear he can't be trusted to keep this country safe . safe. >> i appreciate that all this rebranding is taking all of his time, but he may want to read the recent inspection report into lewes prison on this topic. i've asked him twice about it. documents. it documents on page five. high risk prisoners being

released at short notice without sufficient planning. page 46. a high risk prisoner had his release date brought forward despite a history of stalking, domestic abuse and a restraining order. their words? he was a risk to children. just the early release of stalkers, domestic abusers and those considered a risk to children sound like the work of someone who is making the country more secure. >> mr speaker, as i've said, as i've said, no one should be put on this scheme if they are a threat to the public. and let me be crystal clear, it does not apply . it absolutely does not apply. it absolutely does not apply. it absolutely does not apply to anyone serving a life sentence. anyone convicted of a serious violent offence, anyone convicted of terrorism , anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of a sex offence and crucially , in contrast to the crucially, in contrast to the system that labour had put in

place , mr speaker, governors and place, mr speaker, governors and the prison service have an absolute lock so that no one is put on the scheme who shouldn't be. but thankfully, mr speaker, their scheme let out thousands upon thousands of violent offenders onto our streets and even to terrorists . thankfully, even to terrorists. thankfully, we've toughened up sentencing against those criminals with new legislation, but he voted against it. mr speaker, well, i'm glad to hear that those on life sentences aren't being released early, and he may not think that releasing domestic abusers is a problem , but labour abusers is a problem, but labour has repeatedly called for domestic abusers to be exempt from his scheme to release prisoners early. >> his government has shamefully ignored those calls. so now, now we have the evidence that domestic abusers are being released early. the lewis report, prime minister, will he finally change course and back labour's calls ? sps.

labour's calls? sps. >> mr mr speaker , as i've been >> mr mr speaker, as i've been crystal clear, there is an absolute governor lock on people who are put on the scheme and in contrast to the last labour scheme, prisoners were let out with no supervision , no with no supervision, no electronic tags. in fact, 80,000 offenders were let out, 16,000 were violent. mr speaker, leading to multiple murders committed. we fixed that system, but when it comes to this question, not only are we building the business biggest prison programme in history, we're also deploying rapid deployment cells. and, mr speaken deployment cells. and, mr speaker, because on this side of the house, we understand the importance of prison . unlike one importance of prison. unlike one of his frontbenchers, who said one of his frontbench and i said who, quote, prison doesn't prevent crime. it's always the same with the labour party soft on crime and soft on criminals. keir starmer he's literally letting criminals out early . letting criminals out early. >> and mr speaker, the only answer to the question i asked

whether domestic abusers should be exempt from his early release scheme from any one serious about security is yes , perhaps about security is yes, perhaps the most ludicrous part of the prime minister's speech on monday was when he said he won't accept the idea that any of the problems people are facing are caused by the 14 years of conservative government he won't say how many prisoners they've released early . he won't say if released early. he won't say if they're burglars, abusers or stalkers. he won't say where they are or what support their victims are getting. yet he thinks he has the right to tell people they can't blame his government for any of it . government for any of it. doesn't he think that rather than confiscating lanyards like some jumped up milk monitor, he should stop issuing get out of jail cards free to prisoners considered a risk to children? yes >> well, mr speaker , another >> well, mr speaker, another week with no ideas and absolutely no plan for the

country they've had. >> they've had 14 years to think about nothing but the future. >> but all they can do is talk about the past, mr speaker. but i am surprised because what he didn't bring up that has happenedin didn't bring up that has happened in the last week since we met, is that statistics confirm that we have now had the joint fastest growth rate in the g7 this year. mr speaker, the bank of england said that the economy had turned a corner. ian, we said our growth was impressive. the chief economist of the independent office for national statistics said the economy is going gangbusters. mr speaker , now the shadow speaker, now the shadow chancellor may want to copy and paste their comments into her next speech. or does she think they're all gaslighting the british public to support this ? british public to support this? >> thank you. thank you, mr speaker . speaken >> while i what i understand the need to upgrade our broadband and infrastructure, it cannot be right that a company called brisk is proposing to regret telegraph poles in the squirrels

estate in hayley green in my constituency . so would the prime constituency. so would the prime minister agree with me that residents are 100% opposed to these proposals and they they go against the guidance. so would the prime minister agree with me that they should abandon these proposals , that they should proposals, that they should review that we should have a review that we should have a review of permitted development rights in relation to this type of infrastructure. and he should he should and he should and he should give ofcom greater power to investigate breaches . to investigate breaches. >> well, can i thank my honourable friend for rightly championing the views of his constituents on this important topic? network operators have to follow legal obligations when deploying their networks, and ofcom can in fact investigate reports of failure to follow these obligations. and i know that the minister for digital infrastructure has met the

sector and ofcom recently to raise concerns about reports of poor pole siting , asked poor pole siting, asked operators to share infrastructure and i will ask her specifically to provide my honourable friend with a more detailed update. >> p leader stephen flynn . >> p leader stephen flynn. >> p leader stephen flynn. >> yeah. mr speaker, on monday the prime minister outlined what he considers to be extremist threats to our society, and in doing so, he actively compared nonh doing so, he actively compared north korea , iran and russia north korea, iran and russia with those people in scotland who believe in independence . who believe in independence. >> so can i ask him to rise once to the standards befitting of his office and apologise for those puerile and pathetic remarks ? mr speaker, that's not remarks? mr speaker, that's not what i said. >> but i would say to the honourable gentleman that his party is indeed a threat to the integrity of the united kingdom, and i hate to remind him, but that's literally their entire

purpose , mr speaker, because purpose, mr speaker, because when the people of scotland accept the referendum in 2014, it was the snp who didn't. they went on creating a minister for independence focused on constitutional wrangling, ignonng constitutional wrangling, ignoring the needs of the people, education standards, falling taxes rising. so actually, finally, he should do the right thing in end the obsession with independence and put the needs of the scottish people first. >> well, mr speaker, let's be clear what the prime minister did was not just equate my colleagues and i to despotic and dangerous despots across the world. >> he pro actively compared almost half , >> he pro actively compared almost half, almost half of the scottish population with a war criminal like vladimir putin. >> and he did so. >> and he did so. >> he did so as their prime minister, as the man who represents them on the world stage , and the man who on these stage, and the man who on these isles is tasked with defending their liberties and their democracy. >> now we know that his sorry

time in office is rapidly coming to a conclusion. >> is this really how he wants to be remembered ? yeah. to be remembered? yeah. >> mr speaker, as ever distracting from the actual record of what the snp are doing in scotland , and this obsession in scotland, and this obsession with independence means that scottish school children are being let down, plummeting down international league tables. the scottish nhs, the only place in the united kingdom where funding is actually falling in real terms, and taxes going up for ordinary, hard working families and small businesses. that is what the snp are doing in scotland. while this uk government is delivering for them. steve tuckwell all year . them. steve tuckwell all year. >> yeah yeah yeah. >> yeah yeah yeah. >> thank you , mr speaker. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> will the will. will the prime minister join me in congratulating ministerjoin me in congratulating uxbridge college? who have recently entered into a pioneering partnership with the massachusetts institute of technology this is

groundbreaking work for the field and for the further education sector, and it's going to have great benefits for local businesses and local students, for the education sector and for the local economy . the local economy. >> i join my honourable friend in congratulating uxbridge college and the west london institute of technology for their collaboration with mit . their collaboration with mit. this is equipping students with the skills of the future and that local businesses require. and that's very much the story of this government. mr speaker, the biggest long term settlement for post 16 education in this country in years , a proud record country in years, a proud record of creating over 5.5 million apprenticeship ships since 2010, providing opportunity for all, all while the party opposite wants to halve the number of apprenticeships and put a brake on people's aspirations. roberts. >> okay, my party, plaid cymru has secured a crucial win for our farmers as labour and wales are forced to pause the sustainable farming scheme. we

have done our bit for farmers now it's time the prime minister did his harmful trade deals and brexit checks are hitting our world famous welsh lamb and beef will he therefore guarantee to welsh farmers that he will never again sign a deal that threatens their interests? >> yeah, well, perhaps mr speaken >> yeah, well, perhaps mr speaker, if the honourable lady cared about welsh farmers, she should stop propping up the welsh labour government . and it welsh labour government. and it was actually the work of the welsh conservatives that ensured that there was a spotlight on the labour government's proposals in wales, which would have led to thousands of job losses, less food security for our country and destroyed rural incomes. farmers rightly describe it as bleak, damaging and shocking. just like the labour party's approach to rural britain . britain. >> yes, mr speaker, barnet hospital , a&e >> yes, mr speaker, barnet hospital, a&e is expanding finchley memorial hospital has had its diagnostics hub boosted

by new equipment, and there are more appointments in general practice locally than there were before the pandemic. but i still have constituents who are waiting too long for nhs care. so can i urge the prime minister to redouble his efforts to grow the nhs workforce and get waiting times down? >> yes, i'm delighted to hear about the new community diagnostic centre and my hon. friend's local hospital and we are working tirelessly to reduce the overall nhs waiting list , the overall nhs waiting list, which has come down by around 200,000 since since september of last year. and that is an achievement in light of the pressures from industrial action. but she's right. there's more to do, which is why our productivity plan will free up clinicians to spend more time with patients and to her point, our long term plan for the nhs will ensure that we train more doctors and more nurses to meet the workforce requirements of the workforce requirements of the nhs has for the future. >> richard burgon, thank you, mr speaken >> 30,000 palestinian deaths not

enough to move this prime minister to end arms sales to israel. >> the killing of british aid workers not enough to move the prime minister to end arms sales. it even seems that, unlike the us, an all out assault on rafah with all the death and destruction that would entail, wouldn't be enough. >> so just what on earth would be enough to finally move this prime minister into the same position as the majority of the british public and end arms sales to israel ? yeah. sales to israel? yeah. >> mr speaker, i just point out to the honourable gentleman that the uk government does not directly sell arms to israel, unlike unlike the us , and nor unlike unlike the us, and nor does the uk government offer any military lethal aid packages to israel, as the us does. so he should not conflate these issues as part of the government's robust arms control regime. we do regularly review advice to ensure compliance with international law and ministers

act in accordance with that advice. our position with regard to export licences, as he knows, is unchanged following the most recent assessment and it is indeedin recent assessment and it is indeed in line with other partners, including the united states . states. >> as a member of the commonwealth war graves commission. i was delighted that the prime minister found time yesterday to ignite the light of liberation at the start of its journey to normandy , to journey to normandy, to commemorate the sacrifices made for the liberation of europe. will my right honourable friend join me this war graves week in confirming that standing up to tyrants who bring about war in europe is as much in our national interest today as it was 80 years ago? yeah well, can ithank was 80 years ago? yeah well, can i thank my honourable friend for his work as a commissioner on the commonwealth war graves commission? >> and he raises an important point about authoritarian states with different values to ours becoming increasingly assertive. so it is right that we build our security in uncertain times , security in uncertain times, defending and protecting our country, our values and our

interests . that's why we've made interests. that's why we've made the generational decision to increase our defence spending. and it's crystal clear that it's only the conservative party that can be trusted with our nation's security balloon. >> thank you, mr speaker. on the 2nd of june, the levenmouth railway reopens after years of community campaigning. but just at that point, tsb have announced that they are closing their leaving bank branch. loss of banks hollow out communities and they are an impediment to small businesses as well. now cash access uk have said that they are going to roll out 100 by the end of the year. banking hubs and fca are consulting, but can the prime minister accept that the government has been too slow on this? and what else is he going to do to prevent these banking deserts from emerging? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> well, mr speaker, as i've said repeatedly from this dispatch box, it's imperative that banks and building societies recognise the needs of all customers, including those who still need to use in—person cash services. >> and that's why we legislated to protect access to cash as part of the financial services

and markets act, and as a result, customers can access cash and banking services through a wide range of channels, including post offices , atms, telephone and other services, but including community initiatives like banking hubs alberto costa , banking hubs alberto costa, double child rapist and murderer colin pitchfork is yet again having another parole hearing in the next few weeks. >> as well as the brutal murders this man exposed himself to over 1000 girls and women. >> now, the mp for south leicestershire, i distributed a constituency wide survey asking my constituents about parole board reform. >> because the problem, mr speaker , is that the speaker, is that the reconsideration mechanism rules allow mr pitchfork to keep asking for a reconsideration of asking for a reconsideration of a reconsidered decision, limitless times and cost free to him. >> so can i ask the prime

minister if he will arrange a meeting between myself and the justice secretary to discuss nana changes to the reconsideration mechanism rules, and will he arrange for me to be able to deliver the findings of the survey, where thousands of constituents have responded to his number 10 policy team ? his number 10 policy team? >> can i commend my hon. friend, the member for south leicestershire, for his tireless campaigning about this case? and i know that the whole house will join me in recognising the horror of the crimes committed by colin pitchfork and sending our condolences to the victims families . our condolences to the victims families. now we are reforming the parole system to add a ministerial check on the release of the most dangerous criminals and changing the law so that society's most depraved killers. life means life. but i will, of course, arrange for the findings of my hon. friend's survey to be properly considered, and will ensure that he meets with the justice secretary to discuss his proposals further. >> rosena allin—khan .

>> rosena allin—khan. >> rosena allin—khan. >> thank you very much, mr speaken >> in gaza , israel has attacked >> in gaza, israel has attacked hospitals. it's attacked refugee camps, and it has killed aid workers . israel has blocked workers. israel has blocked vital aid, turned off water suppues vital aid, turned off water supplies and denied access to food . israel has killed food. israel has killed thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians as the world watches, trampling all over international humanitarian law . international humanitarian law. no other country would be allowed to act with such impunity . so allowed to act with such impunity. so can the prime minister tell me why he allows israel to get away with it unchallenged , and why he unchallenged, and why he continues to act as a bystander to such horror ? to such horror? >> well, mr speaker, well, we do support and i do support israel's right to defend itself and remove the threat that hamas, the terrorist organisation , poses to its organisation, poses to its people. but i am also deeply

concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza and have consistently made that point at this dispatch box. and to prime minister netanyahu , we to prime minister netanyahu, we must see further action to ensure more aid gets to people who desperately need it. the rafah and the kerem shalom crossing must be open to allow more aid in. we're doing everything we can, trebling our investment, trying to get aid in by land , air and sea and by land, air and sea and currently working with allies to build a temporary pier. but she can rest assured that we on this side of the house will continue to do everything we can to get support to the people in gaza who need it near crosby. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> last week, along with apprentices from the nuclear fuel company urenco, i visited coleg menai in klenovnik. the students were excited, but they need certainty about the future of wilbur before they commit to a career in nuclear. can the prime minister confirm when great british nuclear will decide if wilbur will be a gigawatt or an sms smr site? when my students can expect to see spades in the ground? and

when can these brilliant nuclear minister visit wilbur again to announce some good news? announce some good news? >> announce some good news? >> honourable friend is a tireless campaigner for the wilbur nuclear site in her constituency. now she knows that the spring budget. the chancellor announced that great british nuclear has reached an agreement to purchase the site at wilbur and these and one other site will be vital to achieving our aim of more energy security from nuclear power. decisions have not yet been made on the final site to be used, but as ever, she makes a very strong and compelling case for her area. and as soon as a decision has been made, i know that the energy secretary is keen to update her at the earliest opportunity . earliest opportunity. >> pat cullen belem. >> pat cullen belem. >> thank you, mr speaker. in march, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman's report into 1950s women's state pension injustice made clear to the government that the department for work and pensions was guilty of maladministration, that these women suffered significant injustice, that they were owed compensation, and that

parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for redress i >> nearly 279,000 of women have already died waiting for justice. so when will the prime minister finally place before this house a mechanism for appropriate redress ? appropriate redress? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> well, mr speaker, as i said to the house last week, i understand the strong feelings across the chamber about these matters and the desire for urgency in addressing them and following the ombudsman's multiyear investigation. it is imperative that we take the time to thoroughly review the findings . and i'm not entirely findings. and i'm not entirely sure i agree with her characterisation of all of them so far. but broadly, we are committed to making sure that pensioners have the dignity and security they deserve, including through the triple lock, which is increasing pensions by £900 this year. but i welcome tomorrow's debate on the ombudsman's report and we will, of course, take all views into account as we identify and implement next steps . thomas. implement next steps. thomas. >> thank you, mr speaker. i know

that my right hon. friend, the prime minister takes a personal interest in community pharmacy, community pharmacists play an essential role in reducing pressure on urgent care services by helping people prevent ill health and managing long term conditions. pharmacy first is a good example of government commitment to community pharmacy. however, community pharmacy. however, community pharmacy are under extreme financial pressure and some are closing, including in saint ives. this year's 177 pharmacies ives. this year's177 pharmacies have closed, compared to 116 last year. will my right hon. friend do everything he can to ensure funds are directed towards community pharmacy, so that our pharmacy friends can help government to deliver nhs services where and when they are most needed . most needed. >> minister, as my hon. friend knows, i do care deeply about the future of our community pharmacies. there are over ten and a half community pharmacies across the country working incredibly hard to serve their patients, and i'm pleased that around 80% of people live within around 80% of people live within a 20 minute walk of a pharmacy. and that's why we're backing them with pharmacy first, with

£645 million of extra funding, whereby people can now go and see their pharmacists rather than their gp, to get treatments for the seven most common ailments, like ear infections and the like. and this will ensure that not only can they get treatments closer to home, mr speaker, but it will help deliver our plan to cut waiting lists and get people the care they need more quickly . they need more quickly. >> thank you, mr speaker. three nonh >> thank you, mr speaker. three north tyneside schools have been identified with a structural problem, not rack . with hundreds problem, not rack. with hundreds of pupils now taught off site costs of putting these schools right significantly outweigh the 3.5 million sc fund for all of nonh 3.5 million sc fund for all of north tyneside. will the prime minister ensure the department of education applies the policy that if it's alerted to significant issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources , it will with local resources, it will provide additional support on a case by case basis? >> well, mr speaker, i thank the honourable lady for raising the case as she knows the department for education has provided

extensive support and funding to all those schools that had rack, which in the end was less than 1. i think of all schools that could have been affected and more generally, given the very significant amounts we're investing in school rebuilding and maintenance, i'm sure that the education secretary would have heard her concerns and will write to her in due course . but write to her in due course. but thank you, mr speaker. the clear message from yesterday's farm to fork summit is that food security matters. so as we await today's written statement on ground mounted solar, can my right hon. friend assure me that the thousands of acres of agricultural land proposed for solar installation in my constituency from a 2100 acre installation in the claydons called rose field, to smaller but equally destructive ones , but equally destructive ones, such as near the village of kimblewick, now have less chance of getting approved . the of getting approved. the honourable friend is absolutely right to raise this, and particularly at a time of increasing geopolitical risk, we must protect this nation's food security and therefore our most

valuable agricultural land. we can achieve our solar deployment targets and do that on brownfield sites, rooftops and away from our best farmland. i know he'll look forward to the energy secretary's statement later today, which will ensure that we do avoid using our best agricultural land because, like him, i agree that we should be backing british farmers to produce more food that is good for our country, good for our economy, and good for our food security. >> helen morgan , thank you very >> helen morgan, thank you very much, mr speaker. >> i've seen for myself the mouldy and damp accommodation that our military families are sometimes forced to live in. so i was disappointed this week to find out that the officer in charge of accommodation wrote to families this month to say that requests for non—urgent repairs are not currently affordable. the prime minister has spent this week claiming that defence is a priority, so when is he going to prioritise a safe, warm and decent home for the servicemen and women who put their lives on the line for us?

hear hear! >> mr speaker, we are committed to ensuring that our armed forces personnel and their families have safe and well maintained accommodation at this point , 96% of service, maintained accommodation at this point, 96% of service, family accommodation meets or exceeds the government's decent home standards. and last year we put aside an extra £400 million investment to improve things. and when issues are reported, the ministry of defence has set up a dedicated hotline to ensure that those complaints are investigated by a professional surveyor. and i know that there have been several improvements made specifically to the accommodation in her area . but accommodation in her area. but again, we are able to continue backing our armed forces personnel and for the job that they do for us, because we are they do for us, because we are the only party in this place committed to increasing our defence spending . defence spending. >> general clark. >> general clark. >> mr speaker, this week the all party parliamentary group on birth trauma published our first report called listen to mums ending the postcode lottery on perinatal health. this was the first national inquiry by

cross—party politicians on this issue, and we received more than 1300 testimonials from the public. 1300 testimonials from the pubuc.so 1300 testimonials from the public. so can i thank the health secretary first for attending our report launch on monday, and i am delighted that she has agreed to our headline recommendations for a national comprehensive maternity strategy to be published by nhs england. so can i ask the prime minister to fully back our report and implement all of our recommendations to ensure that all mothers in this country get the after care that they deserve? >> or can i thank the honourable member for stafford for her incredible campaigning on this issue? when we met in discussed, she presented me personally with a copy of this important report and i'm hugely grateful to her and i'm hugely grateful to her and the appg on birth trauma for carefully considering the report andindeed carefully considering the report and indeed all those brave women who have come forward to share their stories. i'm delighted that the secretary of state and the nhs ceo both support the overarching recommendation for a comprehensive national strategy to improve maternity services. we will update the house on next

steps in due course, but we are fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow. >> final question in other words , mr speaker, when adult rape cases are taking two years on average to complete, it's no wonder that 62% of all rape survivors now drop out of the process when just 2.5% of rapes recorded last year have resulted in a charge, and fewer still will end in conviction, it's no wonder that the victims commissioner rape crisis and others have argued that rape has been effectively decriminalised in this country. >> is the prime minister not ashamed that because of his government's failings , his government's failings, his victims and survivors are being put through a living hell in our criminal justice system ? criminal justice system? >> well, mr mr speaker, while it's right that the hon. lady raises this incredibly important topic , i completely disagree

topic, i completely disagree with her characterisation of how this government has treated it. it's actually this government previously that introduced the rape review action plan, which is now showing significant improvements to how we treat rape end to end through the criminal justice system. violence against women and girls is now a strategic policing requirement . for the first ever requirement. for the first ever time we've rolled out operation sought area so that police forces have the expertise that they need . we've actually they need. we've actually quadrupled funding for victim support with more independent domestic sexual violence offender advisors . there's a new offender advisors. there's a new 24 over seven support for victims. we've ended the digital strip search, provided pre—trial cross examination, all of which, by the way, has meant an improvement in the process. and we have seen an increase in the average sentence to rape by a third since labour were last in office. and by the way, mr speaken office. and by the way, mr speaker, we did that using a power that her party voted against. >> that completes prime minister's questions . that was

minister's questions. that was prime minister rishi sunak taking questions from mps in the house of commons. we're still joined here in the studio in gb news westminster studio by cabinet office minister alex burghart and shadow education minister matt weston. >> you've been sending in your questions to gb news .com/ your say for our panel, and that's what makes this programme so special because it's all about you, whether you're watching or listening . it's your pmqs listening. it's your pmqs programme. so without further ado, we're going to go to dale. i'd love to know where you're from. dale. but thank you for your excellent question, which i'm going to put to the conservatives alex burghart, shadow minister of i just called you a shadow minister. minister in the cabinet office. excuse me, as the conservative representative says, dale, how can the prime minister say that his party can be trusted with the security of this country whilst they continue to allow unknown illegal immigrants to walk into this country? >> well, look, dale, the prime

minister, absolutely can be trusted with the security of this country. i'm sure you've heard him make the commitment to 2.5% of gdp on defence. we're leading the way in nato, making sure that our european allies match that so that the west is very strong against the threats it faces. and on the specific issue that he raises, this government has done more than any other to increase the disincentive for people to come to this country illegally. and we're currently in every day. we're currently in the process of implementing that. it's been a real fight in parliament, in the labour party have opposed this every step of the way. it's been it's going to be a real fight through the courts. but the prime minister said in his speech he gave a few weeks ago that during the summer he absolutely expects planes to take off. when is that? >> quickly, alex? >> quickly, alex? >> i think he said 10 to 12 weeks in his speech was two weeks in his speech was two weeks ago. so we're talking who will be able to do the mental we are talking hundreds, hundreds, not like we what we saw in australia was once you had that policy in place, people thought twice about coming so very, very

strong disincentive for people to come. and i know it's been frustrating how long it's taken to come about, but we're getting there. we're going to deliver on there. we're going to deliver on the labour party. would scrap it okay. >> matt weston, you're the labour representative on this panel labour representative on this panel. you've seen what's happening in in in ireland, 80% of the migrants arriving there from, from gb ni, according to the dublin government, saul is asking, what would your leader asking, what would your leader as prime minister keir starmer do? would he take back, as he describes it, the irish economic migrants as well? >> we've really got to get to the basis of this problem. this has been allowed to run for years now and it's plagued the conservative party and quite understandably, the british pubuc understandably, the british public no longer trusts them with the security of our borders. that was the whole point about people voting for brexit was the promise that we would be able to take back control of the borders, the reality is that we, the government, has promised all these sorts of gimmick type solutions. to addressing it. now, correct me if i'm wrong,

each person who's going to be returned on a flight to rwanda is going to cost about £2 million. that's a huge amount to the taxpayer . the taxpayer. >> it's completely that number comes down as the volume grows, doesn't it ? doesn't it? >> but we're talking about a couple of thousand, aren't we? you know , a couple of thousand, you know, a couple of thousand, 2 or 3000 is the figure that we've been told is the realistic number that they're targeting against the hundreds of thousands that are coming? what we need is on the ground. we need tighter protection on the ground in france , but also in ground in france, but also in the uk. we need to have, we're looking at a border command force to establish that, tightening up and speeding up the processing for asylum. and we will put in hundreds more caseworkers into the home office to deal with this. that's what needs to happen, because there's a huge backlog as well. don't forget that. >> and it's a backlog that has been allowed to grow people in who has no plan to send anyone anywhere other than, well, if the processing was quicker , then the processing was quicker, then there wouldn't be lots of people who we don't know their status.

they may have a right to stay, they may not, but they're in hotels for weeks and a real disincentive. >> you're just going to have people carrying on coming over. and, you know, the labour party can promise to hire more and more civil servants, but that is not a solution. what a what's a solution is creating a very strong message that britain is not the place to come. if you come here illegally, you will be sent to rwanda. and if you're, you know, you might be. yeah because not everybody will know. no, but you, you will be sent to rwanda if you come. >> let me just give you one example, matt weston. let me just give you one example. i don't know if you picked up on the news this morning about this scorpion character who's been picked up. i think, in iraq. this is a person who's been responsible for thousands of illegal immigrants coming into this country. he was tracked down by a bbc journalist. why was it so difficult? why isn't it that the uk government is actually taking these actions , actually taking these actions, doing what bbc journalists are? so the point about caseworkers is right . we but we need the is right. we but we need the forces actually on the ground in france properly funding those agents in france, but also here

in the uk. >> alex, why are you so soft on tracking these people down, look, i'm sorry to disabuse matt of the notion that the only person who's been tracked down has been by a bbc journalist . has been by a bbc journalist. this is what our security services is, what our security services is, what our security services are doing a very good job of every single day of the week. and the truth is that without the effort that we put in to disrupting these dreadful people trafficking operations up the line, the situation not just in britain but across europe would be much worse . would be much worse. >> alex burghart on the same theme. the theme of the question is there between the pm and keir starmer was about soft justice as, as, as critics would call it, of not not jailing anyone for less than a year under the sensing bill, which sits, doesn't it, undebated. but we'll be coming towards mps shortly. sharon says the number of prisons places have barely changed in decades , while the changed in decades, while the population of this country has gone up from 60 million to over 72 million within ten years. we

need more new prisons. that much is clear. and sharon is fed up. alex burghart with a strategy of downgrading some crimes to reduce a number of criminals we have sent to prison. why are you soft on on justice in the tory party? >> not soft on justice sharon. and you know, you i hope you understand that custodial sentences have gone up under this government. the number of serious offenders being detained for longer has gone up under this government . violent crime this government. violent crime and burglary are down by 50% over the past ten years. these are major achievements that have been made possible by the uk going to jail for violent crime and crime is as well. >> please, please repeat that. that figure and violent crime and burglary is down by 50% over the past. >> violent crime. yeah. >> violent crime. yeah. >> and burglary, perhaps because of violent crime is down. you say over the last ten years. >> and the reason and so the reason. the reason why. but sharon is absolutely right. we do need more prison places. and

that's why the government is investing in just that. we have 10,000 more prison places coming onune 10,000 more prison places coming online next year. 10,000 more prison places coming online next year . another 10,000 online next year. another 10,000 coming after that is the biggest investment in the prison estate since victorian times, and it's going to make a real difference. one of the other things that the justice secretary is doing, which is extremely important, is he's taking steps to send foreign national offenders back to the countries that they came from. so they're no longer in our prisons. they're no longer being paid for by british taxpayers . a really important taxpayers. a really important step to take capacity to free up capacity, sharon is will come back to on that. >> sharon is absolutely right. >> sharon is absolutely right. >> look smart prisons do you because she wants you to build more prisons. >> we need to create more places that you have to build more prisons. the government promised 20,000 more prison places. they committed £4 billion. how much? they spent 1.3. just like the hospitals and everything else that they promised. but let me just put the crime and serious crime issue, on the table here, we had someone shot in warwick and leamington last summer that

just does not. that never happened before. the amount of knife crime . that's your constituency. >> that's my constituency. >> that's my constituency. >> there is this serious amounts of violent crime going on in our constituencies, whether it be drug related or whatever . we're drug related or whatever. we're seeing a massive rise in antisocial behaviour as well. the public know it and they can feel it. the truth is, with all the cuts that have been taken place through austerity, we've lost so many of the services that people previously could depend on. >> so as a result, as are you a criminal though , just because criminal though, just because you haven't got no. >> a lot of young people, a lot of young people who would have perhaps been dealt with by local services, maybe by youth clubs and so on, would have been actually helped through a difficult stage of their life. they would not have turned to crime. i was at a school last week, and they were just saying to me how many of their kids are now dealing in drugs. it is the start starter crime. it is really pervasive now in a society . of course, what labour society. of course, what labour promised last time ahead of 1997, is that we would be tough on crime and tough on the causes

of crime, and that's what the pubuc of crime, and that's what the public want to see again. >> well, i actually wanted to check alex's figures, i mean, he's right long term trend in serious violence is down. the reason i wanted to check, actually, is because i hear you didn't trust me. >> gloria. >> gloria. >> no, no, because i heard i hear so much from from the labor party, about how crime is up. i actually long the long term trend. >> why do you want to not jail anyone for less than a year in your government? let me finish , your government? let me finish, alex. if you're building 10,000 more prison places next year , more prison places next year, why say you're not going to jail, criminals for less than yeah >> so 10,000 more places will open next year. and 10,000 more after that. so 20,000in total. very much delivering on our promise. very, very important. and, you know, it's because, as sharon said, the population is larger. but we do have a pressure on the prison service at the moment. we're completely open about that. the reason is that during covid, we made the very difficult. but i think proper decision, not to end jury

trial, but the flow and jury trials take a bit longer and but the number of jury trials we could hold during covid was was fewer than would be normally the case. so we ended up with a lot more people in remand. and that that pressure is going to take a little while to work through the system . once it has, we're system. once it has, we're actually going to have a prison estate and a justice system that's in better order than it's beenin that's in better order than it's been in for a long time. okay >> you know, the truth is that we do not know who they're going to be releasing. as keir starmer said in his exchange with the prime minister, the real fear is that some of these, you know, the, the, those perpetrators of domestic violence, serious sexual assaults, they will be, coming back out of prison early and that's, you know, so unfair and that's, you know, so unfair and wrong for the victims of those crimes. and just to go back to the serious crime data, i do struggle with that because knife crime in my constituency has rocketed and it's rocketing around the country in so many of our towns and cities. so i'd love to see what that data

really, that was serious, serious violent crime. >> i will, i'll tell you where my own research . my own research. >> i think we all know where knife crime is rocketing. it's rocketing in london under labouh >>i labouh >> i think people are getting off the train from london and birmingham, and there is so much county lines. >> anyway, the knife crime, the point which is set up there by keir starmer, the labour leader, was to say that the tories are focusing on things that don't matter. they're ignoring jailing criminals and they're worrying about lanyards. now, lanyards have views that don't work in office. maybe have a lace around your neck, which is more difficult for you, isn't it? >> because sharon's point is that it's completely fair enough to leave your politics at home. >> exactly. yeah yeah. sharon is saying that keir starmer may be laughing at the idea , but yeah, laughing at the idea, but yeah, why? why is she sick and tired of people broadcast their political ideologies in a workplace now? that's right. isn't it? leave your politics at home, in the office. >> i really do, you know, just to explain it, things like that. >> you wear around your neck, you know, where you stick your your photo id on. it's a it's

your photo id on. it's a it's your budget work. and. >> alex, alex, alex, wear a light blue one and i'll wear a red one. a rainbow one can show support. some people might wear that lgbtq causes and the rest of it. absolutely. yeah. but you know, i think the point that keir was making, clearly was that and i understand the point that and i understand the point that the viewer is making, however, it's about what are the serious issues facing our country ? where is the debate country? where is the debate about cost of living? where is the serious debate about housing and the real crisis that we're facing, and the fact that so many people have been suffering with the rising mortgage rates of the last 15 months, you know, people are really struggling for us to be talking about this issue and for it to be raised by a government minister, i mean, please , the airtime is being please, the airtime is being wasted. he's your colleague to the real issue. >> this silly idea that keir starmer came up with, that's the only thing the government is focusing on when the government is improving the economy. >> the ons now saying the british economy is going gangbusters. we've got we've got 0.6% growth. imf say we're going to grow faster than germany,

france, italy, japan in there in the medium term , we've got this the medium term, we've got this extraordinarily important legislation on rwanda, which we're seeing to fruition in the next few weeks. we've we've got this huge push to build prison places that we've just been talking about . of course, we're talking about. of course, we're talking about. of course, we're talking about. of course, we're talking about other things than lanyards. so it's keir starmer that brought it up at pmqs. and of course, it's right that civil servants won't be working for the government, leave their politics at the front door when they come in. you don't know that they can deliver. but of course there are more important issues. but but it's also important to maintain civil service impartiality. >> i think the government is in danger of repeating norman lamont of the early 90s, when he started talking about the green shoots . the public are not shoots. the public are not feeling this. the economy may be rebounding. i mean, the idea of it going gangbusters. i mean, really, it's slightly this is an independent body, humorous. i don't think they use that language , i know they did the language, i know they did the point. the point is when you come from a very low base and we've had a recession for the last six months, you look at

what's happening in the us, look at the phenomenal growth that the us is enjoying, compared to the us is enjoying, compared to the uk. they went through a pandemic as well. >> okay. >> okay. >> i mean , you know, it's told >> i mean, you know, it's told me about. >> yes. and just mismanagement. >> yes. and just mismanagement. >> you're right on knife crime going up year on year because gloria if you take london out it's a different england and wales. you say it's all in london. >> it's the vast majority is in london. okay, let's, let us go to amanda from wiltshire, who has a personal testimony question not related to prime minister's question time, but about her life. >> and she wants to ask keir starmer about housing. and, matt, you are the next best thing we have to keir starmer today, she says. we live in social housing, we're overcrowded and a mouldy , overcrowded and a mouldy, draughty home. my winter electricity bills are between 400 and £600 a month. we can't afford to buy our private rent instead of concentrating on new houses to buy. why are larger four and five bedroom social housing not being built? we sleep on the floor, says amanda from wiltshire. >> we have no bedroom, bigger council houses, matt , >> we have no bedroom, bigger council houses, matt, amanda is absolutely right and this is one of the things i'm campaigning

for in my local constituency of warwick and leamington. >> is that the wrong houses are being built, we're not building enough. truly affordable housing for the likes of amanda across the country, it is being driven by what the developers want to build, not by what is the real need of society and what people like amanda desperately need. we need truly affordable housing. housing which is very low cost to maintain, i.e. housing which is very low cost to maintain, he to heat and so on. that is what labour promised in 2010. all the new homes that were being built since 2016 would have been zero carbon. so next to no energy bills , so we next to no energy bills, so we get this and that is why keir starmer is going to change, reform the planning legislation to make sure that we build modern houses that are really what are really needed by the public. how many? well we have said 1.5 million in the next five years homes though. >> but how many council homes we are going to build? >> i think we're planning for 90,000 social rent houses.

barely any. isn't it a year? but you. but you've got to build from a low base. we've got to reform land ownership. and how how that is structured in this country and accessing land to build. >> i want, i want to let, alex from the tories come back in. when you hear testimony like that, you've been in power for 14 years. how does it make you feel? are the things you think we should have done things differently? >> she shouldn't be in this situation. >> i'm very, very sorry to hear what amanda and her family are going through. and i, i think housing is a major challenge in a country like ours. but i've taken inspiration from some of the work that i've seen in my own constituency where, you know , part of my, area, we're in green belt, we're quite near london. things are very expensive, but we're we're building a new village. and, you know, that kind of long term planning enables you to build some houses for sale, some houses for rent, some social housing. but i think that kind of long term view consolidated building because you can put in nimby should nimbys be fighting development or is a moral duty

not to fight? i think that there is a way of squaring the circle, and i say this as as someone who represents a constituency that's in the commuter belt, it's partially rural, is if you if i say to my constituents, we're going to stick another 500 homes in your village, they'll get very angry if i say, okay, can we build a new settlement down the road and we'll put in all the road and we'll put in all the transport links and we'll put in all the public services. then they're right behind. and i just want to clarify one thing. >> the data actually on on knife crime, the west midlands police last year recorded the highest rate per 100,000 population. >> your listen we're going to go over to tom. >> coming up is good afternoon britain with tom and emily. tom and emily what do you have on your show. >> we've got a huge amount on this afternoon. new government guidance expected to be published tomorrow on sex education. that thorny topic , education. that thorny topic, sex education could be banned entirely for the under—nines and absolutely no talk of children being able to change their gendeh being able to change their gender. that's going to be out of the classroom if this guidance is taken on board.

>> we've also got an exclusive from mark white about new tactics being used by those criminal gangs in northern france. it's a new way that small boats are coming across to the united kingdom in a very, very, avoiding way from those french authorities. we'll have the details of that. >> sounds absolutely brilliant. lots of news and debate coming up , as ever, with you too. so up, as ever, with you too. so that's it from us, isn't it? >> that's it. >> that's it. >> you've been watching and listen to pmqs live with gloria de piero and me, christopher hope, don't go anywhere because coming up next, it's good afternoon britain with tom and emily. thanks for joining afternoon britain with tom and emily. thanks forjoining . us. emily. thanks forjoining. us. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar , sponsors of weather on . solar, sponsors of weather on. gb news. >> welcome along to your latest weather update from the met office here on gb news. many places. seeing a bit of sunshine today, but for some it's pretty

drab over parts of northern and eastern england. highest temperatures to the north of this weather front across northern scotland. low pressure down to the southwest , down to the southwest, generating some showers for devon and cornwall and this weather front is that cloudier zone, pretty drab over much of northern england and eastern england. rain and drizzle on and off here. maybe some heavier showers over the midlands later, but much of wales, southeast england dry and bright with some sunshine . plenty of sunshine sunshine. plenty of sunshine across northern scotland. here temperatures in some places getting up into the low to maybe mid 20s, but much cooler on the east coast with some mist and low cloud sticking around here. feeling quite warm in the sunny spells over parts of the midlands, southeast england this afternoon and a pretty pleasant evening to come here. the showers in the southwest , 1 or showers in the southwest, 1 or 2 heavy ones for devon and cornwall, but pretty well scattered. many areas here. staying dry. 1 or 2 scattered showers across northern ireland too. there's that cloudier zone over northern england, although parts of the far north of england should brighten up with some sunny spells in the north of scotland, temperatures getting and staying in the 20s

even into this evening. but much cooler with that. ha on the east coast, which will tend to come and go and keep things fairly misty. some of that mist and low cloud sticking across eastern scotland overnight, the rain and drizzle tending to fizzle out further over northern england. but later in the night the chance of a bit more rain returning to parts of east anglia. for many, it's a dry night, some mist and fog possible in the south. temperatures mostly holding up in double digits, just a little cooler compared to recent nights in northern scotland. on to thursday and it's looking like a pretty drab day again over parts of east anglia and lincolnshire. rain and drizzle returning here and then spreading back into parts of the midlands and north wales later. further south, some brightness, then some heavy showers breaking out . could be showers breaking out. could be some thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. again largely dry in scotland, with the highest temperatures once more in the far northwest. bye for now . far northwest. bye for now. >> looks like things are heating up . boxt boilers sponsors of up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:00 on wednesday, the 15th of may. a gb news exclusive. >> we reveal how people smugglers have changed tactics as channel crossings surge by 40. are we entering a dangerous new phase of this crisis? >> a commons clash over crime on the day of the government's big anti—knife crime push, sir keir starmer and rishi sunak accused each other of letting dangerous criminals run free, and sex education in schools is set to be banned for under nine year olds, and a total ban on teaching children. >> they can change their to . >> they can change their to. gender critics say these restrictions could put children at risk