tv The Week in Parliament BBC News June 20, 2021 5:30am-6:01am BST
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thousands of people in cities across brazil have been protesting against the government of president jair bolsonaro, demanding that the covid vaccination programme be speeded up. it comes as brazil passes the mark of half a million covid deaths, with the country entering a third wave of the pandemic. the us says it will continue negotiating with iran to revive the international nuclear deal, following the election of the hardline cleric ebrahim raisi as the next iranian president. his victory following a tightly controlled election in which reformists were barred from standing. a gay pride rally has taken place in poland's capital warsaw, with thousands of people taking to the streets. the march took place despite a clampdown on lgbt rights in poland, where same sex marriage is illegal and the government backs conservative catholic teaching. now on bbc news,
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the week in parliament. hello again and welcome to the week in parliament — the week the health secretary discovered who his friends are. the right honourable gentleman, now forever branded as hopeless hancock by his own leader. also in this programme: britain's biggest police force is accused of institutional corruption. this is one of the most devastating episodes in the history of the metropolitan police. changes at the top in northern ireland. mr speaker, let us l be good neighbours. thank you for- allowing me to speak. over and out. and looking back at prime ministers and their pets. which included budgerigars that
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flew around his bedroom, to the discomfort of visiting ministers. all that to come and more. but first, monday, june 21st was supposed to be "freedom day", the day the people of england could throw away their face masks and hug one another. but freedom day has been postponed untiljuly 19 after a rise in coronavirus infections. ministers say we must learn to live with the virus as we live with flu. the delay was approved by mps despite a rebellion by more than 50 conservatives. the ayes to the right, 461, the noes to the left, 60. so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. a comfortable victory for the government there, thanks to the support of labour mps. their leader, sir keir starmer, tried to pin the blame for the delay on boris johnson's decision not to impose tighter restrictions on passengers arriving from india, where the delta
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variant was first discovered. and when it comes to care homes, protective equipment or borders, we see the same pattern from this prime minister — too slow, too indecisive, overpromising, underdelivering. after all these failures and mistakes, why should anyone believe the prime minister now? mr speaker, why should anybody believe the leader of the opposition when he can't decide what he thinks from one week to the next? he says he has a tough position on borders. actually, he was attacking quarantine only recently and saying that it was a blunt instrument that should be lessened, mr speaker. what i think the people of this country want to see is a government getting on with the vaccine roll—out and getting on with our cautious but irreversible road map to freedom. half an hour before that exchange, borisjohnson�*s former adviser dominic cummings dropped his latest bombshell in his continuing critique of the government's handling
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of the pandemic. dominic cummings published text messages, apparently from borisjohnson, that revealed that, at the height of the pandemic last year, the prime minister had described his health secretary, matt hancock, as "hopeless" — with a strong swear word thrown in for emphasis. he also considered replacing him with michael gove. some mps were surprised keir starmer didn't ask about those messages, but the snp's westminster leader was on the case. as we enter the chamber, - we see what is reported to be whatsapp communication . between the prime minister and dominic cummings. and perhaps the prime minister will clarify whether or not - these are genuine or whether the derogatory comments - that he expressed on his health secretary are valid or not. - an invitation boris johnson chose to ignore. but he couldn't ignore tory unhappiness about the delay to the lifting of restrictions. can my right honourable friend explain why, instead of trusting his world—leading vaccine programme, the common sense of the british people and his conservative instincts of individualfreedom
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and individual responsibility, he instead prefers to trust people like professor susan michie at sage, a long—standing member of the communist party who last week let the cat out of the bag and said she wanted some covid restrictions to last forever? mr speaker, nobody, least of all i or my honourable friend, want to see covid restrictions last forever, nor do i think that they are going to last forever, mr speaker. as i made clear earlier this week, i think we can have a high degree of confidence that our programme, our vaccination programme, will work, and i think we need to give it a little bit more time, as i have explained, to save many thousands more lives by vaccinating millions more people. that's what we want to do. later on, matt hancock himself led the debate on those restrictions. we propose to give the nhs a few more crucial weeks to get
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those remaining jabs into the arms of those who need them. although we're taking these steps outlined in the regulations today, and i know this is disappointing for many people, we know that science has given us a solution. we must use this time to protect as many people as we can as quickly as we can, because even though this vaccination programme has been going at a blistering pace, there are still people who we must protect. he also confirmed that care home workers in england would be required to have the jab. matt hancock's labour shadow offered support for the delay with a heavy heart. he'd also read those text messages. the right honourable gentleman, now forever branded as hopeless hancock by his own leader. well, for many of our constituents, when they'll be watching the news tonight, when they know that they failed to protect our borders, when they know that they allowed this variant to take off and when they saw that restrictions are being
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extended, i think many of our constituents will no doubt repeat the prime minister's expletive—laden sentiment about the secretary of state tonight. the liberal democrats agreed. so, mr deputy speaker, - the situation we find ourselves in was avoidable. ministers must take full responsibility for having to delay the lifting - of restrictions next week, and part of that responsibility is to support people to do - the right thing. with businesses on their knees, jobs are at risk and many- of the self—employed have yet to get a penny of support. - the rules are being eased for weddings, although some restrictions do remain. but as colleagues have said, and as my honourable friend will appreciate, for many couples, being able to hug but not dance, you can't have a band, you've got to socially distance — that's not the kind of big day that they wanted for themselves and their families. so can he reconsider this? andrea leadsom voted with the government. but other tories couldn't be persuaded. with a heavy heart, i'm afraid to say to the minister that
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i cannot support the government this evening because i cannot find a way to explain to my constituents why the things they are looking forward to getting back to doing have to wait. the government has set a disastrous precedent in terms of the future of liberty in these islands. now, i could understand it if we were a communist party, but this is the party that inherited the true wisdom of the whig tradition. sir desmond swayne. the easing of covid—i9 restrictions has been delayed in scotland too. the whole country was due to move to the lowest level zero of its five—tier system from the 28th ofjune. but the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said that this was likely to be be delayed by three weeks so that more people can be vaccinated against the virus. with borisjohnson having delayed the lifting of restrictions in england, she told msps that the scottish
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government too would adopt a cautious approach. given the current situation and the need to get more people fully vaccinated before we ease up further, it is reasonable, i think, to indicate now that it is unlikely that any part of the country will move down a level from the 28th ofjune. instead, it is more likely that we will opt to maintain restrictions for a further three weeks from the 28th ofjune and use that time to vaccinate with both doses as many more people as possible. doing that will give us the best chance, later injuly, of getting back on track and restoring the much greater normality that we all crave. yesterday, the national clinical director suggested that this new variant could delay lockdown exit by up to ten weeks. can the first minister tell us, is the government seriously considering delaying the move to level zero until september? at no point today did i say i thought restrictions would be in place for a period of further months. i didn't say that. i have tried all along not to commit to firm dates way into the future that nobody can
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be certain can be delivered. if we do have a three—week. delay from june 28, that takes us tojuly19. can we have a commitment that we will have next - to all 40—pluses double—dosed by that date and every- 18—year—old single—dosed . by that date, so we can ramp up, truly ramp up our. vaccination programme? on vaccination, we are literally going as fast as supplies allow. if we cannot reach milestones on vaccination, it is only going to be because we don't have the supplies to do that. so i've set out in response to the earlier question the milestones we're working to, the fact that all over—18—year—olds will either have had their first dose or the appointment for the first dose by the end of next week. we are then bringing forward second doses and we will go as fast as supplies allow, while planning for extending the vaccination programme into other cohorts. nicola sturgeon. now, an extraordinary tale of police corruption and the murder of a private investigator. the home secretary has accused
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the metropolitan police of a litany of mistakes over the killing of daniel morgan. priti patel was responding to a report from an independent panel, which found the force was "institutionally corrupt" in the way it concealed or denied failings over the unsolved murder — a finding rejected by the met�*s commissioner, dame cressida dick. daniel morgan was attacked with an axe in a pub car park in south—east london in 1987. his brother believes he was on the brink of exposing police corruption when he was killed. despite five police inquiries and an inquest, no—one has been brought tojustice for the murder. the met police admitted corruption had hampered the original investigation. priti patel told the commons the report was deeply alarming. police corruption is a betrayal of everything policing stands for in this country. it erodes public confidence in our entire criminaljustice
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system. it undermines democracy and civilised society. we look to the police to protect us, and so they are invested with great power. the overwhelming majority of officers use it honourably, but those who use their power for immoral ends do terrible harm, as do those who indulge, cover up or ignore police corruption. this is one of the most devastating episodes in the history of the metropolitan police. she listed the improvements that had been made to the way police corruption was handled, but she said she could not ignore the report's findings. its recommendations are wide—ranging and far—reaching across aspects of policing, conduct, culture and transparency in public institutions. today, i have written to dame cressida dick to ask her to provide me with a detailed response into the panel's recommendations for the metropolitan police and the wider issues outlined within the report.
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this afternoon, i will also ask her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services to consider how best it can look into the issues raised. her labour shadow quoted from the report. the family of daniel morgan suffered grievously as a consequence of the failure to bring his murderers tojustice, the unwarranted assurances they were given, the misinformation which was put into the public domain and the denial of the failings in investigation, including failing to acknowledge professional incompetence, individuals' venal behaviour and managerial and organisational failures. the panel has proposed the creation of a statutory duty of candour, to be owed by law enforcement agencies to those whom they serve. it's a vital reform and it's particularly urgent, as there will be another inquiry soon into the covid pandemic. so, can the home secretary confirm that that recommendation will be implemented?
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priti patel said work was taking place across government on how these wider issues would be addressed. it was theresa may who set up the panel when she was home secretary. at the heart of this damning report, thorough report, - is yet another example - of an organ of the state whose job was to protect the public prioritising the reputation i of the institution overi the delivery ofjustice. will my right honourable friend agree with me that the vast - majority of police officers act with integrity and with - an overriding sense of public. duty, but where corruption does occur, it must be - rooted out with vigour? this has only come to light because of the determination of the family and the persistence of the independent panel, so most troubling of all is the failure of senior
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police leadership and of policing institutions to uncover what has happened and the scale of the problem over so many years. i note that there is a whole chapter on the challenges of securing cooperation. is that what provides the explanation for why it took eight years for the panel to complete its work? was some of the delay caused by difficulties in persuading the met police and others to provide documents and files requested by the inquiry? priti patel said there was a slowness in terms of sharing information. so that is why, mr speaker, it is important that i hold the commissioner to account, ask the right questions, as i'm doing so this afternoon. and as i have said, it is important that, first of all, we seek answers to many outstanding questions, we question and find out what has happened in terms of policing conduct historically, over three decades. priti patel. edwin poots resigned as leader of northern ireland's largest political party, the dup, after just three weeks in charge. he was forced out after an internal party revolt
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over his decision to agree a deal with sinn fein and nominate paul givan as first minister. the deal, brokered by the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis, followed a stand—off over irish language laws. the uk government said it would legislate for language protections if the stormont executive doesn't. the fresh instability may have implications for the future of power—sharing, and at a special sitting at stormont, unionist unhappiness was clear despite the appeal for unity from the new first minister. northern ireland is a special place. it's special because of its people. we have different identities. we need to respect those identities. that difference shouldn't be seen as a threat, it should be seen as a strength. we have a rich tapestry that makes up who we are, what we are, the society that we belong to. sinn fein nominated michelle o'neill to continue as deputy first minister, joint head of the executive office.
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and on the issue of rights, we have seen the dup resist these. i don't expect that to change. i will work with the other parties in this assembly and the executive towards achieving a progressive social reform agenda for women, children, irish language—speakers and newcomer communities. only two days ago in this chamber, the dup voted against a transition service that was explicitly agreed in the new decade, new approach political agreement. that represented bad faith and a lack of leadership, and it really isn't acceptable. but as a society, we're only going forward. we're certainly not going backwards, and the process of change will not be stopped by anyone, including the dup. there was possibly premature optimism. the sdlp welcomes that this crisis appears to have been i averted, but the people i of northern ireland should never have been brought back to the point of crisis yet again. -
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all of the premises must be honoured. it is a day of indisputable victory for sinn fein because of it is a day of shame for the dup, added by the fact that the nominated —— nomination made today was in defiance of a vote of the dup assembly group. and that vote by the dup assembly group meant the writing was on the wall for edwin poots, who resigned three days earlier, arlene foster had stepped down with an appeal to northern ireland's political parties to stick to the deal they had agreed to in january last year. letters realising every corner of this— letters realising every corner of this house that people live here — of this house that people live here who have an irish identity, a british identity, some _ identity, a british identity, some have a british and irish identitx _ some have a british and irish identity. some are british and northern_ identity. some are british and
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northern irish troubles there are new_ northern irish troubles there are new emerging identities, but all— are new emerging identities, but all of— are new emerging identities, but all of this place, it is a place _ but all of this place, it is a place called home. we can poke each _ place called home. we can poke each other— place called home. we can poke each other in the eye and have a competition of my identity is better— a competition of my identity is better than yours, but it is only— better than yours, but it is only by— better than yours, but it is only by respecting each other's identity— only by respecting each other's identity that we will move forward. the beauty of the union_ forward. the beauty of the union is_ forward. the beauty of the union is that we can have all of our— union is that we can have all of our identities and live here side—by—side. of our identities and live here side-by-side._ side-by-side. she ended her statement — side-by-side. she ended her statement with _ side-by-side. she ended her statement with these - side-by-side. she ended her statement with these words. let's be generous. our lord told us the parable of the good samaritan, and i'm sure we've all heard it. but, remember, two people pass by. they close their eyes to the injured jewish man. now, mr speaker, i haven't always made the right calls. none of us are perfect. but at the end of the parable, our lord asks, "who is your neighbour?" the one who stopped to offer help. the one who stopped to offer help. remember, stopping meant the samaritan reaching out across the religious divide, and it also meant him reaching into his own pocket and paying a price to provide shelter for the injured man.
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our lord concludes the parable by saying, "go and do likewise." mr speaker, let us be good neighbours. thank you for allowing me to speak. over and out. applause. arlene foster. to wales now, where the first minister, mark drakeford, has unveiled his "programme for government" after labour's victory in last month's senedd elections. the programme promises a living wage for care workers, who'll be paid £9.50 an hour, and jobs and training for young people. the first minister, who doesn't have an overall majority, also offered to work with his political opponents. where there are others in this chamber who have an appetite to work constructively to pursue and indeed improve the proposals we have put forward, they will find this government keen to engage positively with them. these actions then set out in the programme prioritise kindness and collaboration over
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division and competition. the conservatives wanted more detailed plans to grow the economy. were you adviser to the welsh government and the then first minister, the first labour government did put tva targets there so that we as an opposition could scrutinise the progress of that particular government. i note from this particular programme for government, targets are sorely missing, and it would be beneficial to understand, especially when it comes to the economy, how much ambition you have for the economy here in wales. it's up to this government to show that a truly transformative - programme for government can be put in place within that uk context. - i'm afraid that that is not - what i see in this programme for government, but as i wish - the first minister well in embarking on the next five years, _ i guess it's up to his government to prove me wrong. rhun ap iorwerth. time now for some other news from around westminster,
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and a former bbc director—general has told mps that, in hindsight, martin bashir should have been sacked over his behaviour in the run—up to his 1995 interview with princess diana. at the time, tony hall investigated bashir�*s faking of bank statements amid questions about whether the reporter had used them to secure the scoop. lord hall, who was head of news in the mid—1990s, was asked about his conclusion. considering what you knew at the time, why did you report to the bbc board of governors that you believed that mr bashir was honest and honourable man? well, let me start off by saying, if i might, to acknowledge how hard this has been, the lord dyson investigation, for the royal family, for the two princes, and i'm sorry for the hurt caused. but at core here, i trusted a journalist, i gave him a second chance. we, the team, gave him a second chance, and that trust was abused and was misplaced.
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the speaker sir lindsay hoyle's patience with the prime minister has been wearing thin after borisjohnson chose to reveal details of the delay to the lifting of the lockdown rules to a news conference rather than to mp5. i do not find it acceptable - at all that members of all this house are elected to come - here to serve their constituents, not to serve them via sky or bbc. the question should be made here. the prime minister should be here. i i'm sorry if his dinner would'vel been affected because i was told that he was in brussels. i think the nearest brussels tonight was the sprouts at the dinner - that was being served to him. but i say now, prime minister, you are on my watch, - and i want you to treat this house correctly! _ after a meeting between the two men, it's now been agreed that mps will get to hear the news at the same time as the rest of us. a conservative mp has apologised to the commons after an inquiry
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found him in breach of parliament's bullying and harassment policy. the commissioner for standards found that daniel kawczynski had acted in an intimidatory and threatening manner towards two members of staff after technical difficulties had meant he'd been unable to attend a virtual committee meeting. i did not swear nor raise my voice, but my behaviour led to two complaints. i have reflected on my behaviour. i accept it constituted bullying, and as such was entirely inexcusable. the circumstances were stressful for the staff who were assisting the committee and for me. i apologised to them before, and i apologise to them again and to the house unreservedly. i will never repeat such behaviour. thank you, mr speaker. finally, there's been some good news this year for animal lovers who rent their home in england. depending on your tenancy agreement, there's more of a chance
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that your landlord will let you keep a pet. and according to an historian in the house of lords, you'd be in good company. does my noble friend recall the importance that winston churchill attached to his pets, which included budgerigars that flew around his bedroom to the discomfort of visiting ministers? would not the great man have been distressed that so many landlords are denying their tenants the affection and companionship that loving pets provide? perhaps my noble friend can hear a famous voice muttering those words "action this day" to get those new tenancy agreements widely applied, so important in this context. i'm grateful to my noble friend pointing out the views of the great man, and we do recognise that domestic pets bringjoy, happiness and comfort to people's lives,
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and we've seen that particularly in the pandemic, and we also recognise that the model tenancy agreement is a step forward and we need to see its wider adoption. and that's why we're going to work hard to ensure that landlords do adopt it. and, indeed, there is some evidence of dog lovers living in rented accommodation who've been able to keep their pet, despite some scurrilous newspaper reports that dilyn the dog isn't as well—behaved as his owners. well, that's it for the week in parliament. thank you for watching. i'll be back on bbc parliament at 11pm on monday evening with the highlights from the commons and the lords. until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello. last sunday, we saw temperatures in the mid to high 20s. this sunday, some of you will
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be lucky to get into the mid teens, and that's after a spell of yet more rain overnight, clearing its way off into the north sea as we go through the day and then leaving a legacy of cloud and developing easterly breeze. so, into the morning, admittedly not too chilly at this stage and certainly across scotland, northern ireland, not as chilly as it was on saturday morning. but england and wales, lots of cloud around, outbreaks of rain and drizzle, some heavy bursts still towards the east of england in particular. that will gradually ease away. the rain and drizzle turns light and patchy and then a few showers will develop in across some southern counties of england and south wales. at the same time, after some sunny spells in scotland, northern ireland, we see cloud and showery rain, some of which will be heavy, pushing its way southwards and eastwards. a developing easterly breeze tomorrow across the eastern half of the country, and that is what is going to limit the temperatures to just 1a or 15 degrees for some. but in some sunny spells — there will be some around the english channel — 20, 21. maybe up to similar sort of temperatures in south—west scotland and north—west england. through sunday night then, and those showers across scotland and also northern ireland will push their way a little bit further southwards. at the same time, another batch
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of rain works its way out of france, across the channel islands and towards southern counties of england. a cooler night to take us into the summer solstice across parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england. where a high pressure is building in, it's the azores high, that same one we had the other week but it's to the north of us, bringing in cool air interacting with that rain we will see through the english channel. now, the big uncertainty is how far north this rain band gets. looks mainly across some southernmost counties but it could get into the midlands, maybe east anglia at times too. away from that, it should be a dry and bright day but with a northerly breeze. for this stage in latejune, it is going to be a cool one — temperatures for some only around 13—16 degrees. and what will follow will be a distinctly chilly night. we finish the summer solstice and go into a night which could bring a touch of frost across some sheltered valleys in the grampians and also the highlands. single—figure temperatures, in fact, quite widely into tuesday morning. but tuesday compared to monday, much, much brighter, a lot more sunshine around. still that notable breeze down eastern coasts. that will ease through the day, so gradually becoming a little less chilly here and
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good morning. welcome to breakfast with rachel burden. and ben thompson. our headlines today: a surge in coronavirus vaccination bookings, as 18—20 year—olds sign up for theirjab in huge numbers. keep ourfamilies keep our families safe and hope to get out there. keep our families safe and hope to get out there-— keep our families safe and hope to get out there. probably when travel 0 ens and get out there. probably when travel opens and thinks, _ get out there. probably when travel opens and thinks, it _ get out there. probably when travel opens and thinks, it will _ get out there. probably when travel opens and thinks, it will probably i opens and thinks, it will probably be easier— opens and thinks, it will probably be easier if you are vaccinated and things— be easier if you are vaccinated and things like — be easier if you are vaccinated and things like that. those in england who are double—jabbed and come into contact with covid, may soon be spared ten days of self—isolation how we do like to be beside the seaside — coastal towns are the biggest winners,
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