proceed will be able to proceed with the statement by the secretary of state secretary priti patel. thank you, mr ati:1i0am at 1:40am this morning essex police we re at 1:40am this morning essex police were alerted to an incident at the speaker. following the tragic discovery of 39 bodies in a shipping waterglade industrial park in grays. they discovered a lorry container with 39 bodies inside. early container in essex this morning, i indications suggest 58 of those found were adults and one teenager. from what police have been able to wa nt to ta ke ascertain so far is that the vehicle container in essex this morning, i want to take this opportunity to update the house on the facts that 00:00:22,639 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 are available so far. is believed to be from bulgaria and entered the country at holyhead, north wales, one of the main port for fairies north wales, one of the main port forfairies on the 19th north wales, one of the main port for fairies on the 19th of october. essex police have now launched a murder investigation. 25—year—old man from northern ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder. he remains in police custody as enquiries will now continue. i think the whole house will agree this is a truly shocking incident. my thoughts and all thoughts and condolences are with the victims and their loved ones at this utterly terrible time. iam sure ones at this utterly terrible time. i am sure the whole house will also convey their condolences at this sad time. while the nationalities of the victims are not yet known, i have asked my colleagues to work closely with the investigation, providing all the assistance we can in these horrific circumstances. this is on top of thejoint horrific circumstances. this is on top of the joint working taking place already between the police, border force, immigration enforcement, the national crime agency and other law enforcement agencies to ascertain exactly how this incident occurred. diane, day out, they work tirelessly to secure borders against a wide range of threats including people trafficking. and we will continue to work with international partners to

keep people safe. this is a tragic loss of life, and i and everyone of my team will continue to update the house as more facts on this dreadful incident become known. diane abbott. i would like to thank the home secretary for early sight of her statement any death under the circumstances is truly appalling, the fact there have been 39 reported deaths in this incident is a tragedy, one of the worst of its kind. each of those will have partners, family and friends who perhaps even now don't know how their loved one died under horrible circumstances. so i am sure i speak for the whole house when i say that oui’ for the whole house when i say that our thoughts, prayers and wishes go out for the loved ones of the victims. i would like to commend the emergency services for their work and shower with the member for thurrock —— share with the member for thurrock thanks to the emergency services, who will have seen sites that will remain with him forever. it is important to remember that these 39 pure, unfortunate people are the victims of this, they are

preyed on by the greedy, unscrupulous and people simply have a wilful disregard of others. but we should take account of the wider context. nobody leaves their homes ona context. nobody leaves their homes on a journey like this with so much risk and fear on a swim. they often do it because they are actually desperate, they can be the victims of economic deprivation, war, famine, catastrophic climate change, many adverse conditions people are fleeing from, but we mustn't lose sight of the fact that these people are victims. i would also like an assurance from the home secretary that the cooperation with the eu 27 on people trafficking, which is vital to make sure that these events do not happen in the future, that it will not actually become imperilled because we are actually leaving the

eu. ithink because we are actually leaving the eu. i think it is important as well to raise the general conditions of refugees and asylum seekers on the side of the house we have long argued the government should establish safe and legal roots for genuine refugees to make their way here. if they do not, ifear there may be further tragedies like this. when one thinks about the events of this incident, when one thinks about how these people died, how terrifying their death must be, we should also remember tash always remember that we are talking about migration, refugees and asylum, these people are people, and there is an observation on us to make sure that where these people are moving legally, we do provide safe and legally, we do provide safe and legal roots. —— routes. legally, we do provide safe and legal roots. -- routes. ithink the

right honourable lady for her comments and reflections following the tragic incident this morning. she is right, there are a number of points she has made in terms of our emergency service workers, who are dealing with this whole incident on the ground, and of course will be working collaboratively with the investigation teams, notjust the police, but the national crime agency, border force and many others, to look now to further this investigation. i think it is important to just emphasise a few other points because this is now a murder investigation, we are still ascertaining various facts, but in terms of the sheer humanity in the circumstances we find ourselves in, following the deaths of 39 individuals, that there are fundamental points in terms of criminality, about what we should be doing as a country in terms of making sure we stand by those who

should not be trafficked in any way whatsoever, but as a country we lead the world in many of our own ways of working, and through our own legislation. but i think fundamentally there is always a point of collaboration and cooperation, and we must never lose sight of that. further it is with eu cou nterpa rts sight of that. further it is with eu counterparts but also international cou nterpa rts counterparts but also international counterparts as well through many of the multinationalforum counterparts as well through many of the multinational forum is counterparts as well through many of the multinationalforum is working with to prevent upstream migration, to prevent illegal human trafficking, all the terrible things we wa nt trafficking, all the terrible things we want to stop and prevent, but at the end of the day, do the right thing as a country as well to make sure we uphold the right kind of values, so particularly those fleeing the most terrible things we see in the world, that we provide asylum, which is exactly what we do. i thank my right honourable friend

for her statement. i would like to thank herfor the for her statement. i would like to thank her for the offer to make for her statement. i would like to thank herfor the offer to make her resources available to identify these people because the facts of these people because the facts of the matter is that the loved ones of these people have no idea of what has happened to them, they think they have gone to a better life, and thatis they have gone to a better life, and that is an absolute tragedy. i should also say, sadly, this is not the first time we have found people in metal containers in my constituency. i am really sorry to say it is all too regular and occurrence, and it was only a matter of time before this terrible tragedy. can i endorse what my right honourable friend who said, this is now a multinational problem we need to fix. we will not be able to stop people trafficking just from this country alone, this is something that needs to be worked on with international partnerships to make sure we root out these evil people who are profiting from people's help and putting people into misery.|j

would like to thank my honourable friend for her considered remarks about what has happened in her constituency. i would also like to reflect on the fact this is not the first horrific example of this happening in her constituency. she will know that this is an industrial park, and she was right to reflect upon the works of the emergency workers, those who are on the scene, who will witness such horrors which will live with them probably for the rest of their lives, and we owe it to them to provide the support they need after this event. but there is a fundamental issue here. as a government we are naturally always committed to working with our law enforcement partners, multinational agencies, to prevent all sorts of things of this nature ever

materialising and happening. we are committed to breaking up criminal gangs, we would do of course upstream, and work with international partners, and if i could highlight a few examples of previous governments have committed to legislation such as the modern—day slavery out, in fact our previous prime minister campaigned for that unsecured it, but having myself worked in the international sphere, through my work in dfid, they are doing a great deal with u pstrea m they are doing a great deal with upstream work, working through multinational agencies, the united nations and other organisations, there is so much more we can do internationally because the fact is, where there is global instability, displacement, we see such awful events like this happening.|j displacement, we see such awful events like this happening. i thank the home secretary for her statement andi the home secretary for her statement and i think we all share the same sense of shock and horror at this tragedy under terrible crime. the thoughts and prayers of my party with the victims their families and

we wish essex police and their partners every we wish essex police and their partners every success we wish essex police and their partners every success in bringing justice to those culpable. as a spokesperson for the northern ireland freight transport association pointed out, the route taken by this lorry appears unorthodox. it looks as if they appeared to avoid increased security in dover. will the home secretary accepted focusing security checks on one route will not work if security checks elsewhere are weaker. importantly, checks elsewhere are weaker. importa ntly, will checks elsewhere are weaker. importantly, will she accept that a sole focus and obsession almost on border security will not stop desperate people using desperate means and routes to try to get here. such folk are simply means desperate people taking even more desperate roots. will she accept it is crucial we are also generous in responding to this tragedy in the way we provide safe people routes for those

with strong connections and ties to the uk, the very people most likely to risk their lives, will she accept there is more of the country can do to provide safe routes for schemes like dublin, family reunion, relocation and settlement?|j like dublin, family reunion, relocation and settlement? i thank him for his remarks on the questions he has posed. i'm sure he will recognise that the united kingdom is very proud of its record when it comes to a lot of the work on national settlement schemes —— resettlement schemes. we support resettlement schemes. we support resettlement and that is right principle that we stand by as a nation, and no one question that. i think when it comes to the route the potential lorry came through and specific to his remarks as well, i think it is important to reflect on the fact that across all avenues, all entries, there are ports and

airports, obviously the uk operates intelligence controls, we have border force doing checks at every level, but the fundamental principle that we cannot ignore here is the fa ct of that we cannot ignore here is the fact of the matter is we are dealing with those that are using people for the most appalling purposes, and what we have seen today and what we are witnessing is one of the most horrendous crimes against humanity and crimes against individuals, and as we don't have the full facts are details behind what is going on, we must give the police and other agencies space to investigate what has happened and then look at what more we can do to prevent this happening again. she will be aware that words are barely available to cover the full horror of this. she will be aware, to pick up one of the points made that most of the efforts with border force in terms of

combating the disgusting and murderous practice of people trafficking have been concentrated on the channel ports and unorthodox nonofficial transport across the channel. can she reassure the house that border force will spread its effo rts that border force will spread its efforts to not just cover that border force will spread its efforts to notjust cover holyhead, as in this case, but also other ports around the country, where if lorries are coming in regularly, clearly this disgusting trade can ta ke clearly this disgusting trade can take place because it is going to require the defence of the whole of the united kingdom if we are to be successful in saving lives in the future. he is absolutely right, and we have just seen today one example, one incident, a horrible, horrific incident in essex, but my right honourable friend has also alluded to are other examples, small boats for example coming through kent and dover, and there has been a great deal of work taking place preventing

people trafficking through those roots, and he is right, and in a nswer to roots, and he is right, and in answer to this question, absolutely, we are committed notjust with border force but with other agencies and through the intelligence network as well to work more collaboratively to ensure that all ports are prepared while staff are looking out for the most appalling behaviours, and some of the examples we are speaking about today, but also that we do more collectively as a government to work with international partners from stopping this happening in the first place. given the importance of holyhead, i call mr owen. i am shocked and saddened that this incident and the appalling loss of life, and my thoughts go out to the families of the 39 victims. the secretary of state mentioned the port of holyhead, the busiest seaport in the republic of ireland, and on october the i9th,... -- it

republic of ireland, and on october the i9th,... —— it came through the port of holyhead. how many checks we re port of holyhead. how many checks were made at the port of holyhead on that day? it is important because i know the work that people do on trafficking through that port. he raises a very important point, i cannot tell the house right now that information, that is subject to the investigation. i will come back to him directly myself as the investigation unfolds with the specific information he has asked for, but i can assure him that everything will be done in terms of checks coming through holyhead. both frontbenchers and my honourable friend for thurrock have spoken for the entire country of this horrific event, but isn't one of the most specific lessons that the existing international conventions simply do not work any more because of events of recent years. we this in the med

iteration —— mediterranean and other areas, so iteration —— mediterranean and other areas, so will she use her past experience along with other members of the government to try to persuade the united nations to modernise and introduce a new convention which will be hopefully more fit for purpose and avoid these terrible events happening in the future? he raises such an important point, and he speaks with great experience and insight on this issue. as the world has changed, conflict has changed, he is right, we are seeing all sorts of desperate situations around the world and there is much more we can do in terms of leveraging our voice and influence with the big organisations such as the united nations, so there is no doubt that there is much more that can be done, and he will be very familiar with un migration compact which come out in

2015, when people stood up and spoke convincingly to do much more in this place, but he is right, there is more we can do internationally.|j thank herfor more we can do internationally.|j thank her for his statement, it is unbearable to imagine people losing their lives in this awful way. while we obviously cannot pre—empt the investigation, she is right to say that people trafficking is one of the most vile crimes there is, people are profiting from putting other peoples lives at risk, and from other people's desperation. and she tell the house what engagement has taken place with the irish police and the bulgarian police and the european migrant smuggling centre to make sure there is full international cooperation into this awful crime to make sure more lives are not put at risk? i thank her for her comments. she will appreciate this is now a murder investigation,

so asa this is now a murder investigation, so as a result, all avenues of enquiry and collaboration are now under way, so i will report back to the house in due course, and directly to the right honourable lady once we are able to share much more specific information because this is how —— highly sensitive, but we will report back. can i echo the words of my right honourable friend, the memberfor thurrock, words of my right honourable friend, the member for thurrock, and words of my right honourable friend, the memberfor thurrock, and my neighbour as well, and express my shock and horror of the lost of 39 pure souls. can i also pay tribute to all the emergency services but also to local authority officers who are now involved in dealing with this ina are now involved in dealing with this in a very professional way in red under difficult circumstances. will she commit to supplying them with all necessary resources to be able to conduct their investigations and deal with the investigation speedily and as effectively as possible? i thank him for his comments on the points he has

raised. he is right, our emergency services are obviously under strain dealing with this. but at the same time, our local authorities and emergency services will be coming together with essex police and others to be supported, and as i said in my statement earlier, we will provide all the necessary support that is required to notjust obviously deal with the murder investigation to provide the support needed there, but help on the ground, because obviously this is a deeply traumatising time, which is complicated with other agencies involved, and now it is a murder investigation too. i share the horror and sadness at the news of these deaths, which is unimaginable what the individuals concerned must have gone through, and while i welcome the secretary of state because my comments about more international action in recognising

the need for safe legal routes to sanctuary, which he also agree that we have to look at our own immigration system and repair it to ensure that what we provide is fair, compassionate and effective for those who want to come here? compassionate and effective for those who want to come here ?|j compassionate and effective for those who want to come here? i thank herfor her comments those who want to come here? i thank her for her comments about what has happened. i think today is not the place to be talking about an immigration system at all, we had migration challenges we are seeing around the world. people are being displaced in record numbers, and many are being displaced and preyed upon through some of the most appalling behaviours, criminal gangs and organised gangs. i think at this particular stage, it is right that we work with all our partners domestically and internationally, as well as law enforcement agencies to do our utmost to stop this horrific crime. mobile phone rings the sound was melodic, but it was

orderly. i had the pleasure is a firefighter serving at the fire station in routes, and when the firefighters went on duty last night, never in their wildest dreams would they have expected to witness the sort of trauma that they saw when the container was opened. and it won't just be the emergency services, it will be the local authority workers and even the mortuary will not have seen and even the mortuary will not have seen such a destruction of life coming through. can i ask the home secretary not just for coming through. can i ask the home secretary notjust for now, but can i say red employer that all the help for post traumatic stress is provided, because it doesn't always show straightaway, but in months and yea rs show straightaway, but in months and years to come. he speaks with great personal insight on this, and he is right, the trauma of even being part ofa right, the trauma of even being part of a recovery and emergency service

following an incident like this will be shattering for all individuals involved, and there is an important thing for those working with the emergency services, when incidents like this one people and life saving is involved, it is a fact that trauma comes back to people later on, and we will notjust be investing but ensure we support those individuals who are really just doing so much work locally today. this is an act of unconscionable criminality organised by gangs across europe. i want to ask the home secretary if she has approached euro poll, of which we are still a member, and have a plan for three years to tackle criminality and gangs, to track down the perpetrators of this kind of crime? we always were, this is now a murder investigation, alive

investigation, so all agencies will be activated in terms of working together, but i think the important point to make is one he has raised. there is a degree of organised criminality here, and whether it is in europe right side of europe, we will always stand firm against this, and make sure we collaborate with all partners. these international, serious and organised crime gangs who are trading in drugs in humans are ruthless, and we need to be others —— is ruthless in our prosecution of these people. we have to end this wicked trade in human misery. and i saw first—hand the huge efforts in the home office working with our international partners across europe to tackle this issue, but could i ask her to read double our efforts and those —— redouble our efforts in those

countries like bulgaria where so many people are coerced or bribed or persuaded to participate in this human trafficking, to prevent them from doing it? i thank her for her comments and reflections, and she will know from her own work previously as well in this area, and she speaks with a great deal of experience in terms of what goes on in other countries, in terms of criminality, coercion, putting pressure on people, and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals, we want that to stop, we will continue to work collaboratively, but also the way in which we do this is to have the right kind of deterrent in place, but to ensure we can prosecute through the criminaljustice system. for those who missed the announcement yesterday, i advise colleagues of a notable event, namely the re—election of the honourable gentleman, the member for

gateshead has chair of the backbench business committee, a role he discharged with conscience kill. he isa discharged with conscience kill. he is a most extraordinary specimen in this place and that he has secured re—election which shows the esteem in which he is held. i am even more grateful than usual, thank you. in my constituency of gateshead, the bulk of the face—to—face case work i do is with refugees and asylum seekers. with that in mind, i am very mindful that we need to establish the identities of these victims as quickly as we possibly can, we need to identify the identities and points of origin. because many of the victims may well have relatives and friends who are already here in this country and settled all around this country.

they are our constituents. and we need to think about what we are going to do to assist those people when they discover... in salford. this is fascinating, such a simple switch could make a difference. this is fascinating, such a simple switch could make a differencem is interesting and adds to a growing body of evidence but our own body clock may influence the way that certain medications affect us depending on what time of day we ta ke depending on what time of day we take them. the spanish researchers took almost 19,000 participants and split them into random groups of two, give one set their blood pressure medication in the morning and the other set the blood pressure medication in the evening. the evening group have the risk of

having a heart attack, stroke or heart failure. it is felt that because blood pressure drops naturally in the evening the medication was more effective at keeping it under control at night. and then continued to have that effect during the following day. researchers in spain said this is a simple piece of advice that is free and could save thousands of lives by the british heart foundation are urging people not to change the time they take their medication without first speaking to a doctor. dominic hughes, thank you. there's good news for wales at the rugby world cup injapan they're confident that centre jonathan davies will be fit to play in their semi final against south africa this weekend; he has recovered from a knee injury. also, the team have had a special guest at training — the prince of wales dropped by to wish them well. andy swiss reports. it was a day rugby royalty met the real thing. after spending yesterday at a ceremony for the new japanese emperor, a very different gathering

for the prince of wales. given a signed shirt by the welsh players ahead of their world cup semifinal. the prince presented new arrival owen lane with his tournament. but what words did he offer about the south african team? quite big people, he said. and the message certainly got through. he just said, "they're bloody big huggers, aren't they!" and left it at that. but no, he just wished us all the best and we had a little bit of a chat. butjust wished us all the best, really. wales's preparations might have had royal approval today, but now it's all about the rugby. can they make history and reach their first world cup final? jenkins, to gareth davies... this time last year they beat south africa. the springboks, though, were understrength. they will be favourites this weekend, but many here have belief. can they get to the final?

they can, yeah. they beat south africa four times in a row. they are a group of players and group of management who know how to win big games. they will get the players mentally right. they probably weren't mentally there for that game against france. they will be underdogs going into this one which probably suits wales a bit. and wales, remember, are the six nations champions. now they, and everyone of their supporters, will be hoping for something even better. andy swiss, bbc news, tokyo. a big weekend ahead. let's take update the house on the facts that are available so far. lunchtime and often time for a sandwich but that is what we have in the weather. this is your slice of bread, a frontal system to the north—west and here is the other slice in the south—east and the bit in the middle, clear skies that we

will continue to have this afternoon in the south—west, wales, the midlands and parts of northern england. essentially we will squash our sandwich in the next 2a hours, the two fronts merging together and then clear skies coming in from the west. this evening, we have clearer skies push into scotland and northern ireland, perhaps a much sharper showers and quite windy. a few gaps in the cloud in the midlands and north england, still a few chilly