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tv   The Week in Parliament  BBC News  July 15, 2018 2:30pm-3:01pm BST

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the fresh air will move slowly but the fresh air will move slowly eastwards through the day. so for monday, still some showers for eastern scotland. northern england and down towards wales as well. could be some isolated showers cropping up further east, but much of the country still muddy, warm and dry. fresh from the northwest, and we will eventually see that moving gci’oss we will eventually see that moving across all the country through the coming week. a mixture of sunshine and showers, more rain by the end of the week. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister warns conservative mps they are putting brexit at risk by arguing over her proposals for how the uk will leave the eu. if we were going to find something that was in britain's interest, that delivered on the referendum and that was negotiable, we had to make what is a compromise, but is a positive in terms of the benefits that it gives us. the us president, donald trump, squeezes in one last round of golf before he leaves scotland this afternoon to meet the russian president in helsinki. police say the search operation to find traces of the novichok nerve agent which poisoned dawn strugess and charlie rowley is "the most
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complex and difficult uk policing has ever faced". it's the world cup final this afternoon, with france the favourites to win against croatia in moscow later. and novak djokovic says he hasn't got "much to lose" as he faces kevin anderson on centre court now for the wimbledon men's final. now on bbc news, it's time for the week in parliament. hello, and welcome to the week in parliament. and what a week! within the space of 2a hours, the foreign secretary and the brexit secretary resigned. but theresa may insisted her brexit plan offered the best way forward. this is the brexit that is in our national interest.
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it is the brexit that will deliver on the democratic decision of the british people. it is the right brexit deal for britain and i commend this statement to the house. jeremy corbyn disagreed. two secretaries of state have resigned, and still we are no clearer on what future relationship with our nearest neighbours and biggest partners will look like. and possibly one of the most surreal moments ever in the history of prime minister's question time. jay and merrill osmond. it takes some of us back to the 19705. we are very pleased to have you! but first, there's really only one word for this week and that's tumultuous. it started with a swift unravelling of the agreement hard—won by theresa may at chequers over her brexit plans. the brexit secretary and the foreign secretary resigned, along with three junior members of the government and two vice chairs of the conservative party. and when the long—awaited policy
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document was presented to the commons, there was chaos. but let's start by going back to monday and theresa may's statement to the commons — a mere half an hour after boris johnson resigned. she began with some tributes. i want to recognise the work of the former secretary of state for exiting the european union, for the work he did to establish a new department, and steer through parliament some of the most important legislation for generations. and similarly, to recognise the passion that the former foreign secretary demonstrated in promoting... laughter she then turned to to the plan itself. what we are proposing is challenging for the eu. it requires them... laughter. yes. it requires them to think again, to look beyond the positions they have taken so far, and agree a new and fair balance of rights and obligations. this is the brexit that is
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in our national interest, it is the brexit that will deliver on the democratic decision of the british people, it is the right brexit deal for britain and i commend this statement to the house. it's only this weekend that the cabinet managed to agree a negotiating position among itself, and that illusion lasted 48 hours. on friday, mr speaker, the prime minister was so proud of her brexit deal, she wrote to her mps to declare " collective cabinet responsibility is now fully restored". laughter. there were differing views from the conservative backbenchers. this week, the activists were so disappointed about what had happened at chequers. they were betrayed. they said they were betrayed, and they ask, "why do we go out each and every saturday to support the conservative party that gets mps elected?"
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and, sir, for the first time in over ten years, that group refused to go outand campaign. but on the other hand... i think that the prime minister has the vast majority of the country behind her in delivering a brexit in the national interest. the second significant brexit—shaped event of the week was the publication of the policy document the white paper, explaining what the cabinet had agreed and giving details of uk's future trading relationship with the eu. it was to be presented to the commons by the new brexit secretary. but, as he got to his feet, mps heckled. they hadn't got copies of the white paper. for clarity, it is already available on the website, if people wish to procure it that way. order! "it's a disgrace", mps shouted, and boxes of the white paper were ferried into the chamber and hurriedly distributed. it would be very unseemly,
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discourteous to him, and to members of the house, for his statement to be delivered while copies are being distributed. i will therefore suspend the sitting of the house for five minutes. and, forfive minutes, this is all that viewers got to see as mp5 frantically read their white papers. suspension over, dominic raab resumed his speech, but many mps were paying scant attention, glued to their newly acquired papers. but the brexit secretary didn't get an easy ride. i'm confident that a deal is within reach, given the success of the prime minister and her negotiating team so far. laughter. and most issues... laughter. the shadow brexit secretary warmly welcomed his opposite number to his newjob, but there the niceties ended. can i gently say this? he's not got off to a very good start. just when it seemed this statement couldn't get any stranger... the white paper sets out
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proposals for a facilitation for a customs arrangement. mr speaker... order. laughter. the hilarity was caused by the government chief whip who was kneeling in front of the brexit secretary, just on the left of the shot, having a whispered conversation. these conversations regularly take place between members of respective benches — i'm not complaining about that — i simply thought it right that the conversation should be concluded. ant the interrogation could then continue. because that would seem to be a courteous way in which to proceed. sir keir starmer. thank you, mr speaker. i didn't say anything because i assumed the secretary of state was being briefed on the contents of the white paper. what on earth is happening in this place? not only did opposition parties get copies of the white paper appallingly late, it is customary for party spokespeople to receive statements before ministers rise to their feet, not during, as happened here.
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this government's contemptuous treatment of this parliament is once again laid bare for all to see. well, shortly after that statement finished on thursday, i spoke to the deputy political editor of the times, sam coates. i began by asking him what he thought of the afternoon's shenanigans. what it does is it speaks to the uncertainty and chaos that there is at the moment with theresa may's brexit plan, particularly when it comes to what is going to happen in parliament and what's going to happen in the commons. of course, theresa may had her chequers away day where she set policy, but that now all has to be voted on in the commons and lords and it has to be set out first and then decisions have to be made and legislation has to be passed. and i think that the adjustment and uncertainty and the fact of people switching sides, you had brexiteers who previously helped the prime minister now being her opponents, and all of that
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being quite ugly and raw politics, was played out in the chamber today. it is in the interest of some brexiteers to use the chamber, to use the optics of uncertainty and chaos in the chamber, to suggest that theresa may is struggling to get her brexit plan through the commons chamber. it was quite an effective tactic. i think you almost can be quite cynical about it. yes, there was some upset that the white paper wasn't handed to mp5 at exactly the right moment, and maybe some journalists saw it beforehand, but ultimately, strategically, brexiteers want to make this process, in parliamentary terms, look like a mess, and there to be more problems further down the road. i think from that point of view, they work quite successful. but didn't the government foresee that? giving the paper to the media three hours before they gave it to sir keir starmer, isn't it a bit of an own goal? something that's going to come back and bite them? well, i think it is a one—day wonder, to be honest, in terms of significance. statements have been handed to the media in advance, you know,
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speeches are handed to the media in advance, since time immemorial. i think that significant thing is that mps didn't have long enough with the document to be able to read it and ask proper questions about it. do you think that was deliberate, though? i can't look into the eyes of the chief whip and know the answer to that. it's one of those things. things are going to the wire in government. but at the same time, there's an extraordinary amount of cynicism. it could be either. i think more importantly, if the government that thinks it can in a way hoodwink and trick its way through the next few weeks and months in the commons, i think things like today show that that's just not possible. coming up are two bills, brexit bills in the commons. we've already had the eu withdrawal bill, and that was quite tricky getting it through, are these two going to be worse than that, harder for the government? so, to a certain extent, theresa may has been lucky — or shrewd — because she has got things like the european withdrawal bill through the commons by kicking key decisions down the road. although those are significant
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pieces of legislation that do heavy lifting, they nevertheless avoided a parliamentary moment where you had a confrontational clash between as it were the two streams of thought in the conservative party on brexit. i don't think that moment can be put off that much longer, because you've got the trade bill coming up, and i think that's a moment where brexiteers who are aghast at theresa may's plan are going to try and force a confrontation with the government. now, there are, i don't know, 20, 30, 40, 50 brexiteers, depending on which account you believe. the government can only survive if less than six people rebel, and it looks as if brexiteers are willing to have a fight on that in the coming days. if she's defeated on a flagship bill, a brexit bill, i think she's in real trouble. if she pulls it and avoids the immediate moment of confrontation, i think brexiteers will kick up all sorts of fuss. which, neither option is good for her. she could try and buy off the brexiteers with
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kind of concessions, but whatever way you look, she's in for a very difficult few days. interesting times. sam coates, thank you. well, the week was full of surprises, and not all of them were brexit—based. prime minister's question time was a little different — the prime minister not being there for one thing. she was in brussels for the nato summit with donald trump. so the cabinet office minister, david lidington, was standing in. the shadow foreign secretary, emily thornberry, sat opposite, understudying forjeremy corbyn. but the line—up wasn't the oddest thing about the occasion — apparently there were pop stars in the public gallery. jay and merrill osmond. it takes some of us back to the 19705. we're very pleased to have you! well done! emily thornberry. the two osmond brothers stood up and waved as mp5 cheered. and if you don't remember them from their 70s heyday, here they are with their other brothers. anyway, like the speaker, i digress.
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emily thornberry began with a reference to england's world cup semifinal, which was to played later in the day. i may know very little about football, but even i can see that england's progress so far at the world cup shows what can be achieved when all the individual players work effectively asa team... cheering and laughter. ..when there's a clear game plan and when they're all working together and, of course, when everyone respects and listens to the manager. laughter. so can i simply ask the minister of state what lessons he thinks the england team could teach this shambles of a government? mr...mrspeaker, ithink that the england team does teach some good lessons, which is about the importance of having a clear plan which the leader... which the team...
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which the team captain has the full support of the squad in delivering, and we will, of course, be publishing tomorrow full details of the united kingdom plan for brexit, which we will be putting to the british public and to our 27 european partners. when hhe honourable — right honourable lady gets up again, perhaps she will tell us what the labour party's alternative plan is, for at the moment, that is one of the best kept secrets in politics. david lidington. now let's have a look at some of the other westminster news in brief. labour failed in an attempt to sanction the work and pensions secretary by docking her ministerial pay. the move followed a row between esther mcvey and the spending watchdog, the national audit office, over universal credit. the minister's apologised
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for mistakenly telling mps the nao felt the new benefit should be rolled out faster. there is still a level of chaos on the front line that meant for one of my constituents, she could not afford to eat or put socks on her children's feet. and this from the man who said there is no money left. and another minister under fire was the scottish secretary. in an high—octane edition of scotland questions, the snp demanded he resign, because they said he wasn't looking after the interests of scotland. he has been going about boasting he is the longest—serving member of cabinet in his role, so in seems odd that being invisible and ineffective has being rewarded.
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he has failed to speak up for scotland in the cabinet and he has failed to meet his promise, when will he accessed his failures and resign? goodness, the honourable lady didn't get a chance in the debate last week, so she just reheats the same old stuff. at the heart of this, mr speaker, is that the snp don't accept or like the representations i make on behalf of scotland and that is to keep scotland in the united kingdom. the scandal over the windrush migrants was raised again. some of those who arrived from commonwealth countries from the late 19405 to the 19705 were wrongly categorised as illegal immigrants. mp5 were assured the 5o—called "hostile environment" immigration policies will remain 5u5pended to ensure there'll be no further impact on the windrush generation. labour's chris bryant had been looking at the background of various mp5, and compiled them into a sort of quick—fire round of who do you think you are? the speaker i5 descended from romanian jew5. the former foreign secretary's great—grandfather wa5 turkish.
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the aga5, the jardine5, the poulter5, the filis all came over with the normans. the corbyn5 came over with the hugenout5. many others are frankly in the end irish. isn't it true that there's not a single member of this house that has pure, pure, pure british blood, and we should rejoice in the fact that we are all children of immigrants. a conservative peer challenged gender—stereotyping in a debate in the lords on the government's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender action plan. if men choose to wear pink dresses and make—up, or women climb trees and have hairy armpits, why should any of us try to make people behave in ways that they choose not to, when we are quite happy to let other people behave in exactly those
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ways merely because we assign them to a different gender? mp5 argued that planting more trees may be the answer to improving air quality. one mp called on the environment minister, therese coffey, to get physical. would she give the secretary of state a good thump in the direction of taking trees seriously? trees are closely related to the quality of air we breathe in our country, and this government only plans to sort clean air out by 2040. can't we have more trees like the northern forest initiative, the white rose initiative, but will she get that man next to him to do something and do something now? president trump's visit was always going to be controversial — and that was before we knew he was talking to the sun! protests had been planned — some in dirigible form. it all added up to a major policing operation, with officers drafted in from across england and wales to help manage
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demonstrations in london. as a working trip, there was to be no address to parliament. but that didn't stop mp5 airing their views about the president during a debate on policing the visit. and i think it's fair to say there was a divergence of views. i'm very proud to declare that i love america, my wife is american, my son was born in america, my daughter has a us passport and i lived and worked there for ten years. i love america and americans. sometimes in this place i feel like i'm the only one. does the minister agree that the visit of a us president is symbolic of our overall relationship with our most important ally? what on earth is the government playing at, inviting this fascist like trump to come to britain and cause all this mayhem that we've already hear from these benches? police from every part of the british isles. doesn't he realise the government,
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and the prime minister in particular, does she want to hold his hand again? is that what it is all about? you're making a rod for your own back. dennis skinner. now this week saw the death of dawn sturgess, the woman who, along with her partner, was exposed to the nerve agent, novichok. the prime minister said the police and emergency services were working to establish the full facts of what was now a murder inquiry. in march, former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were both treated at the same hospital in salisbury after being poisoned with the substance. last week, the chief medical officer to england said the risk to the wider public remains low, but that people in the local area should not pick up any strange items such as needles, syringes or unusual containers, given that the source of the contamination has not yet been found. this advice remains unchanged. the most important thing going forward, after this vary serious security incident, is that we limit speculation,
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we limited guesswork, and we have the most thorough investigation which leads where the evidence takes it. the most likely option still today, and the most likely explanation, rather, still today, is that the russians have been so careless about the way in which novichoks have been used in the united kingdom that this murder still lies at the door of the kremlin. it is absolutely still the government view that there's no other plausible explanation than the kremlin was responsible. sajid javid. the prime minister was urged to apologise "on behalf of the nation" to the hundreds of thousands of unmarried women who were pressured into giving up their babies for adoption in the 19505, 605 and 705. it's estimated that more than 500,000 children were adopted
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because their mothers were often rejected by their families and ostracised by society. one labour mp, alison mcgovern, spoke of the experience of the former labour health minister, ann keen, who herself had been a victim when she became pregnant as a teenager. ann became unexpectedly pregnant in 1966 when an older man she worked with forced himself on her. her family were horrified, and decisions were taken that she moved away where she would meet with social worker. it was just assumed that the baby would be adopted. like ann keen, she said many women gave birth in the nhs. these women were made to feel ashamed of their bodies, of their pregnancies, and it's that culture of shame that was perpetrated by officialdom in one guise or another. now, it's a complex history, madam deputy speaker,
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but i for one would like to know how it happened. she called on theresa may by saying sorry. simply by apologising, the promised would send a message to anyone unexpectedly pregnant today that they ought to expect help and support, and never approbation. and mostly, she would send a message to every woman in this country that our past, where women were blamed and robbed of their power, is finally the past. alison mcgovern. the former foreign secretary, lord carrington, died this week. he was 99. lord carrington was the last surviving member of churchill's 19505 government. he took his seat in the lords in 1945 and became one of the longest serving politicians of the modern era. he famously resigned from margaret thatcher's government when argentine forces invaded the falkland islands in 1982. many peers wanted to pay tribute. a tory elder statesman recalled lord carrington‘s poetic talents. the last time i remember working
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with him, which wasn't very long, because he resigned, we attended a cabinet committee that was attended by the chairman of the coal board, lord marshall. lord marshall was going on and on and on. he wrote very good limericks, he had a gift. he wrote: "the noble lord marshall of goring is frightfully, frightfully boring. when we come to 12:40pm, i think i'll have sounds of snoring!" in 2008, lord carrington took bbc parliament on a guided tour of one part of the palace of westminster. this was the king's robing room. where the house of lords sat in 1945 because the house of commons chamber had been bombed, and the house of commons sat in the house of lords,
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and the house of lords was relegated to the king's robing room, which, as you can see, is not very big. but in those days, the house of lords was pretty small, and it accommodated everybody without too much difficulty. lord carrington. now, let's take a look at the wider world of politics. here'sjess ure with our countdown. at five, the royals had their eyes to the skies as the raf celebrated their centenary with a spectacular airshow of red, white and blue. at four, is that air force one? no, it's a giant inflatable baby donald trump flying over parliament square as protesters welcomed the us president. at three, defence minister tobias elwood is not known as a gossip... but he certainly can't hold his water. at two, former labour leader ed miliband turns town crier.
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it's coming home! it didn't come home. gareth southgate's boys were knocked out of the world cup by croatia. and at number one, it's a special anniversary this week. did you know it's been two years since theresa may became prime minister? not a lot has happened really. finally, if brexit is taxing your political attention, spare a thought for the head of hm revenue and customs, jon thompson. he was giving evidence before the public accounts committee about, yes, brexit. the chair of the committee, labour's meg hillier, seemed concerned abut his personal welfare. do you sleep well at night, mr thompson? me? well, i've lost 351b this year because of, you know, worrying about brexit.
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jon thompson promoting the new brexit diet. and that's all we've got time for. don't forget there's a round up of each day in parliament every night at 11pm on bbc parliament. but for now, from me, mandy baker, goodbye. hello there. well, this glorious summer hello there. well, this glorious summer weather has continued for many of us through the course of the weekend, but things are about to change a bit. for some of us, there's been barely any rain in the past six weeks or so. there is some rain on the way through this week. we've already seen it this afternoon across northern ireland and the west of scotland. at the east of scotland and england and wales, hot, humid and england and wales, hot, humid and sunny through to the end of the
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day. tonight, humid and sticky across england and wales. this front is moving in bringing rain across bars of scotland, northern england and wales. things turning fresher behind this front. but still muggy towards the self—induced. through the day tomorrow, the front brings a few showers to eastern scotland, northern england, wales and the south—west of england. some on the heavy side. to the east, most places staying dry. you could catch an isolated downpour. 29 or 30 degrees once again. turning fresher in the north—west. through the weekend, it will turn fresher for north—west. through the weekend, it will turn fresherfor all north—west. through the weekend, it will turn fresher for all of us. some sunshine, but the chance of more rain later in the week. this is bbc news. i'm carole walker. the headlines at 3.00 — the prime minister has revealed the advice she was given from us president donald trump about brexit. he told me i should sue the eu! sue the eu?! sue the eu! not go into negotiations, sue them. actually, no, we're going into negotiations with them.
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did you even think about that for a second?! theresa may also warned conservative mp5 they are putting brexit at risk by arguing over her proposals for how the uk will leave the eu. if we were going to find something that was in britain's interest, that delivered on the referendum and that was negotiable, we had to make what is a compromise, but is a positive in terms of the benefits that it gives us. meanwhile, the us president is playing one last round of golf before leaving scotland for a meeting with the russian president in finland.
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