Oral Answers to Questions
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(1 week, 6 days ago)
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The Prime Minister
I commend my hon. Friend for his tireless campaigning on this case. I know the whole House will join me in recognising the horror of the crimes committed by Colin Pitchfork and in sending our condolences to the victims’ families.
We are reforming the parole system to add a ministerial check on the release of the most dangerous criminals, and we are changing the law so that, for society’s most depraved killers, life means life. I will, of course, arrange for the findings of my hon. Friend’s survey to be properly considered, and I will ensure that he meets the Justice Secretary to discuss his proposals further.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
We do support, and I do support, Israel’s right to defend itself and remove the threat that Hamas, the terrorist organisation, pose to its people. But I am also deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and I have consistently made that point at this Dispatch Box and to Prime Minister Netanyahu. We must see further action to ensure that more aid gets to people who desperately need it; the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings must be open to allow more aid in. We are doing everything we can, trebling our investment; trying to get aid in by land, air and sea; and currently working with allies to build a temporary pier. The hon. Lady can rest assured that the Government will continue to do everything we can to get support to the people in Gaza who need it.
Oral Answers to Questions
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
Network North will significantly improve connectivity across the north, including through £3 billion to connect up all the major towns and cities of the north and £12 million to improve connectivity between Manchester and Liverpool. My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for the region and I know that she and my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Damien Moore) recently discussed Midge Hall station with the Transport Secretary, who is looking at options. We are keen to use every penny that will be saved from our decision on HS2 to reinvest back in the north, in local communities, and my hon. Friend’s idea sounds fantastic.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
Every parent’s worst nightmare is watching their children starve and suffer, yet in Gaza living hell is being realised, with innocent children eating weeds and 1,000 children having lost one or more legs, with many of them having to have them amputated without anaesthesia or pain relief. I am sure the Prime Minister will agree that this is inhumane, so will he please publicly call for unhindered access for food and medicine to reach Gaza, and tell Israel to stop attacking healthcare facilities?
The Prime Minister
As I have said previously, we are deeply concerned about the devastating impact of the fighting in Gaza on the civilian population, and particularly, of course, children. Too many people have lost their lives already and there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. I have stressed those points repeatedly to Prime Minister Netanyahu, and we are doing our bit to get more aid in. As I have said, we have trebled our aid commitment. Earlier this month, we sent in the first maritime shipment of aid into Egypt, which will help, and we are working with the United Nations to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. I agree with the hon. Lady that we want to see more aid going into Gaza to help the most vulnerable people, and we should be proud in this House that the United Kingdom is playing a leading role in making that happen.
Israel and Gaza
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I thank my right hon. Friend for his excellent contribution. He is right: there is no place for demonstrations, convoys or flag waving on British streets that glorifies terrorism or harasses the Jewish community. That is why, last week, I met police chiefs and people from the Community Security Trust in Downing Street to discuss how better we can protect the Jewish community at this time and police these protests appropriately. I am pleased that that work is ongoing, but of course we will remain engaged with all partners. As my right hon. Friend said, anyone who breaks the law should be met with the full force of the law and be swiftly arrested. Many people will have seen incidents online and footage of scenes that are simply unacceptable. I can reassure him that the police are currently reviewing that footage and, where possible and where they can, they will arrest those responsible.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
The acts of terror that were committed by Hamas were horrifying, and our prayers go out to everyone affected, both in Israel and across the world, and those who are here in the House today. Israel is seeking justice, but innocent Palestinians must not collectively pay the price. I urge the Prime Minister to seek guarantees from the Israeli Government on four crucial points: first, that incendiary weapons will not be used in civilian areas; secondly, that hospitals and medics will not be targeted; thirdly, that food, water and electricity supplies must be immediately restored; and, finally, that we must not see military occupation and annexation of Gazan land.
The Prime Minister
I am confident that the Prime Minister of Israel does not want to see any regional escalation beyond dealing with Hamas. As a friend, we will continue to call on Israel to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians.
Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am truly humbled to follow what was, quite frankly, one of the most beautiful outpourings of love I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. [Hon. Members: “ Hear, hear.”]
I rise to add my tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the people of Tooting, who are united in grief. So many have been in touch with their own memories and stories, yet one word shines through again and again, and that is “duty”. That sense of duty underpins everything she did. Some recall her service in the British Army when, at a time with invasion imminent, she could have fled to Canada; instead, she stayed in London and put on a khaki uniform and a tin helmet. I remember best her service during the pandemic. Suffering the grief of the loss of her dear husband Philip, she cut a lonely figure at his funeral as she observed social distancing. She embodied the pain that so many people were experiencing at the same time and she led, truly, by example. She was a shining beacon of light in that dark moment and never once deviated from her duty.
It is almost 20 years since Her Majesty visited St George’s University Hospital in Tooting to see the work of aspiring doctors and nurses, and to meet NHS staff. When I am there, I often see the plaque she unveiled of two hands clasped in friendship and mutual support. We all need to hold each other’s hands a little tighter and to hug our loved ones a little closer.
I am reminded of the story told by trauma surgeon David Nott after his return from the horrors of fleeing war-torn Aleppo. When he met the Queen, the doctor was deeply distressed and could not face making polite conversation about his work over lunch. Sensing that, in that special way she had, the Queen touched his hand and brought forth a silver barrel of biscuits. “These are for the dogs,” she told him. They proceeded to spend the lunch feeding the corgis under the table. “There,” she said, “That’s so much better than talking, isn’t it?” Such intuition, such emotional intelligence, such kindness.
I mentioned Her Majesty’s role in the war as a young princess. During the darkest hours of world war two, she gave a BBC radio broadcast and said:
“when the peace comes…it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better…place.”
And she did. She made our world a better place. She showed strength as a woman and the strength to shape modern Britain. So let us commit to carry on that spirit of service and, above all, duty: duty to our constituents, to our country and to making the world a better place.
Oral Answers to Questions
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(2 years, 5 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
No decisions will be taken without consulting the Cabinet.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
This country is angry, and understandably so. Last Christmas, while we were in lockdown, millions of people were unable to be with their families; thousands of people waved through their care home windows at the loved ones wishing them a merry Christmas from the side of the road; people died without that last touch from their daughters, their sons, their wives; working in intensive care, I wept behind my mask as three children talking to their dying mother on an iPad begged her to wake up; and countless children are now growing up without parents—while parties were held at No. 10. This is disgraceful. This is an insult to everyone who followed the rules. It is an insult to everyone who was not allowed to say their final goodbye. This happened on the Prime Minister’s watch, so my question is very simple: how does the Prime Minister sleep at night?
The Prime Minister
I want first of all to repeat what I said earlier on about what happened a year ago, or what may not have happened. I share and understand the hon. Member’s grief and her feelings. I thank her for her service in the NHS. I know how much this country has been through and I know how difficult it has been. If you ask me how I sleep at night, the answer is that of course I take full responsibility and personal responsibility for everything that this Government have done, but I must say to you, Mr Speaker, and to the House that the way forward for this country now is to focus on the position we are in and, above all, to get our vaccinations as fast as we possibly can. We are in a much better position this year than we were last year, and that is thanks to the vaccination roll-out. I urge every Member of this House to join that campaign and that great British vaccination effort.