Debate on the Address

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dame Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady). I am not sure that I found much in his speech that I could agree with, but I think he welcomed the provisions on animal welfare that were mentioned in the Queen’s Speech, so I will leave it there and say that I was on his side on that, because I welcome that provision.

I echo other colleagues’ praise of my hon. Friends the Members for North East Derbyshire (Lee Rowley) and for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), who proposed and seconded the motion on the Gracious Speech delightfully. I welcome the Queen’s Speech, even though it was delivered against the extraordinary background of the Supreme Court ordering MPs to return to Westminster and to go back to work, and of what everybody acknowledges is a potentially impending general election. In this time of division and dispute, it was so heartening to see Her Majesty the Queen preside over the proceedings in the other place and once again set us a fine example with her selfless service to our country.

I wish to welcome some of the provisions in the Queen’s Speech individually. The provisions on the NHS are excellent, particularly the plans to establish an independent body to investigate serious healthcare incidents. That has long been advocated by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee—it just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?—on which I have the privilege to serve. I hope that that body will enable people to gain justice if there have been failures in our medical system, and also that we will learn from those mistakes—that is so important.

I hope we can strengthen the NHS in respect of how we make services available to people with autism. I would particularly like to see mandatory training introduced for all health and care staff, as recommended in the 10-year review of the Autism Act 2009 produced on a cross-party basis by the all-party group on autism. That would be a welcome measure for any NHS Bill.

As far as I am concerned, the environmental measures on air and water quality cannot be implemented too soon. We need to protect and restore habitats so that biodiversity is maintained.

I am now going to turn into my grandmother, because I have to tell the House, “I told you so.” In drawing up this speech, I looked at my maiden speech from back in 1992, in which I said:

“The Government must encourage United Kingdom industry to seize the chance of a more efficient use of energy, better emission controls, and a whole raft of subjects connected with using more environmentally friendly technologies. Not only is that an essential component of a modern environmental protection plan, but commercial gain could be made from it for small and large companies.”—[Official Report, 25 June 1992; Vol. 210, c. 438.]

Indeed, a large part of my maiden speech was about the environment and the Rio conference, which of course followed on from Helsinki and really kick-started the concentration of efforts on climate change.

In that context, I hope that the excellent Glover landscape review, which has recommended that the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty become a national park, will be progressed without delay. In fact, I was the first person to suggest that option, to add a layer of protection to the threatened and fragile landscape in the Chilterns. I wrote around to all colleagues whose constituencies impinge upon the AONB, and to local authorities, and received a mainly positive response. The development that is proposed in Buckinghamshire and London will overwhelm this precious part of our environment and, I fear, will destroy forever the rare chalk streams that runs through our hills, unless we can provide an oasis of protected landscape. I again turn into my grandmother, because back at the time of my maiden speech I was in talks with the National Rivers Authority about protecting the chalk streams and the fact that they had dried up. That resulted in bed-lining trials. I am very worried that all these years later we are still talking about their protection and their potential total annihilation.

Of course, HS2 is also currently destroying our environment. I think everybody in the Chamber knew I would get around to this sooner or later—there is no surprise among those on the Front Bench. I really do welcome the Oakervee review, but I despair of the rationale, the exorbitant and profligate cost, the poor governance and the disastrous management of the project.

First, and immediately, I ask the Secretary of State for Transport to stop the roadworks due to begin tomorrow in Missenden. They are going to cause untold upset to my local community and its residents and businesses. I was talking to people in the village on Saturday, and the feeling is so strong that I wish the Secretary of State could go there himself and at least stop the works until the review reports. What is the point in causing disruption for a matter of a few weeks? A few weeks would make all the difference to that community. If phase 1 is cancelled, we would not have to face the disruption that is going to start from tomorrow and continue until the end of the review. Even now, after 10 years of poor communication and the disdain shown by HS2 Ltd towards my local community, I really do have to ask whose bright idea it was to cause this huge disruption in my locality in what is effectively starting to be the run-up to Christmas, which should be good for all the shops and businesses in Missenden. If access becomes difficult, it will affect their profitability. I encourage everybody in the House to come to Great Missenden—it is easily reached on the train—and to spend their pounds in the shops there. They will need the House’s help if HS2 goes ahead.

This weekend, there were reports about the treatment of whistleblowers, who were allegedly exhorted to destroy material that may compromise HS2. The statement from HS2 Ltd that it would not release documents requested by a Dr Thornton—I believe—because if they came into the public domain they could be used by critics successfully to lobby for the cancellation of the project, is an appalling turn of events.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has for many years been a great leader to those of us on the Government Benches who oppose HS2. Did she hear over the weekend the press reports that the Serious Fraud Office has been called in to investigate allegations of corruption in HS2?

[Dame Cheryl Gillan]

I cannot stand that story up, other than to say that I have read the reports in the newspapers that say the SFO is investigating aspects of HS2. It would be interesting if those on the Front Bench could confirm that. I do not believe everything I read in the press, but it really would not surprise me, because this is a project that managed to give away £1.7 million of unauthorised redundancy money. Nobody was held to account for that and the money has not been paid back, so nothing would surprise me, although I stress that it was a press report.

Brexit Negotiations

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman follows these things very closely, but, if I may say so, I do not recognise his characterisation of the response from our EU friends, even in Dublin.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

I hope the Prime Minister can hear the collective sigh of relief, which tends to indicate that this might be the beginning of the end, so will he join me— [Interruption.] Oh, we are nowhere near the end of the beginning! Will he join me in encouraging everybody in this House to come together, whether or not as part of the marvellous group “MPs for a Deal”? Will he reach out to MPs from all parts of the House and deal with their genuine concerns on the details of this agreement in the coming weeks?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for everything she does to bring colleagues together on this issue. I do not know whether this is the end of the beginning or the beginning of the second half of the middle, or exactly where we are in this process, but there is momentum now behind these proposals. [Interruption.] I am not going to pretend that this will be easy or that this is a done deal. Hon. Members are right to be cautious, but the UK has moved a long way, and I hope that our partners will recognise that and move correspondingly.

Prime Minister's Update

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly admire the way that the hon. Lady is trying to work in a cross-party way to try to bring this to a resolution. I will take up her proposal and do what I can to bring it forward over the next few days. I appreciate that time is marching and very tight.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

Significant numbers of MPs from across the House are coming together to indicate that they are “MPs for a deal”. Will the Prime Minister confirm first that he is one of those, secondly that he is working hard for a deal, and thirdly that we will have the opportunity to vote on another deal?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for what she is doing, as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk), who is, I think, involved in the cross-party work for Members for a deal. I can absolutely agree that if and when we are able to bring back an agreement, one that I think will work for this House and for this country, following 17 and 18 October, we will of course put it to Parliament, and I do hope that it will then get assent.

Prorogation (Disclosure of Communications)

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Monday 9th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Grieve]

No, I can think of no such event. Indeed, it is the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and the Law Officers’ job to make sure that anything the Government say in litigation fulfils their duty of candour and is not misleading.

Then a most remarkable thing happened, Mr Speaker, and this is where it becomes more difficult for me. In the course of the days that followed I started to be given information from public officials informing me that they believed the handling of this matter smacked of scandal—there is no other way to describe it. Of course, that places me in a difficulty, because it is simply the information that I have been given. I want to make absolutely clear that I am not in a position—any more, I think, than any Member of this House—to be able to ascertain whether that information is mistaken. I can only say that I believe those sources to be reliable. Also, in my experience it is extraordinarily unusual that I should get such approaches, with individuals expressing their disquiet about the handling of a matter and some of the underlying issues to which it could give rise.

It is as a consequence of that that I have drafted, along with right hon. and hon. Friends and other Members, the Humble Address concerning the Prorogation documents. I want to emphasise at the outset that in doing so and identifying named individuals, whether they be special advisers, who make up the vast majority, or one in case a civil servant, I am making absolutely no imputation against any single one of them whatever. It would be disgraceful to do so, because I do not have the evidence on which to do it.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have worked together, originally as master and pupil and then as Attorney General and civil servant. We have a great deal of history in this matter. Does he agree that there are civil service mechanisms and systems for guiding the behaviour of civil servants, and that these matters are ideally best not discussed in the manner in which we are discussing them this afternoon?

[Mr Grieve]

My hon. Friend is right about our long association. She is also right, of course, having worked in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where I am quite sure she maintained at all times the highest standards of integrity. The difficulty, however, is this: 31 October is looming. We are, as a House, about to be prorogued and rendered entirely ineffective until 14 October. This is the choice of the Government. The routes I might have wished to have taken to see this matter properly investigated simply do not match the time available for us to take them. As trust has progressively broken down, I am afraid I have become increasingly concerned that if one were simply to ask polite questions, the Government may not respond in the manner they should.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment as trade envoy to Israel. He has done a lot of work on antisemitism, and should be congratulated on it. We have been ensuring that we put more money into police forces: around £1 billion extra is available to police forces this year, and many police forces around the country are recruiting more officers. On the theme with which the hon. Gentleman started his question, I imagine that to him and to others it is a matter of great sadness that the Leader of the Opposition took the Labour party through voting against extra money for the police, and against extra powers for the police.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

Some 31 people were killed in Idlib yesterday, and many tens of thousands of people were displaced—again. I thank the Prime Minister for her personal commitment to Syria, and to international development more widely. I would like her to join me in reassuring the people of Syria that all of us here will continue to remember them.

[The Prime Minister]

First, I commend my hon. Friend’s work in setting up Singing for Syrians, which has been raising funds for people in Syria, and the commitment that she has shown to the people of Syria. We remain, and the Conservative Government will remain, committed to working for a political solution in Syria that can provide the stability and security that the people of Syria deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are taking what will be seen by many as a radical, key step in dealing with this issue. We have been making good progress as a Government over the years. It is important that we give this commitment. We are about 2% of the problem across the world, so it is important that others follow our lead. That is what we will be working to see.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

There can be little doubt that this Prime Minister knows what a feminist looks like and I would like to thank her for all she has done to progress equality. Does she agree that there is still a long way to go?

National Security Council Leak

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Thursday 2nd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

As I said in response to an earlier question, the role of the Attorney General under the Official Secrets Act is not to authorise or initiate investigations, but to give or withhold consent for a prosecution if and when a finished case is presented to him.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

I know from sitting firmly on the other side of the official-ministerial divide how hard it is to get officials, let alone our allies, to share important, and particularly secret, information with Ministers at all. Does my right hon. Friend agree that what matters is that we protect the integrity of the National Security Council if it is to operate at all properly?

[Mr Lidington]

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend.

European Council

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Thursday 11th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the optimism that he has shown, and for his reference to the positive mood in the House. I hope that we will indeed be able to do as he suggests and find a way through, because I think that the public want us to do exactly as he said: to get this sorted.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

The views of Brenda from Bristol are definitely echoed by those of Beryl of Banbury. The last thing we want is European parliamentary elections. I ask the Prime Minister, even though she has now managed to achieve a longer extension, to do everything she can to ensure that we leave the EU as quickly as possible, as my constituents voted to do nearly three years ago.

[The Prime Minister]

Getting the terminability of the extension was very important for us. It means that it is in our hands; we can leave earlier, on a timescale that means we do not have to hold European parliamentary elections, and we can deliver for my hon. Friend’s constituents and constituents up and down the country.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

As I said a moment ago, the discussions with other parties and Members on both sides of the House will continue, but I can confirm that the Government would seek to provide Government time in order for the process to proceed. If the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) is not passed tonight, we will set aside time for a first day of debate later this week, and after that day’s debate has been concluded, we will consider and consult on what further time, if any, might be needed. If, on the other hand, my right hon. Friend’s amendment is carried, the consequence for the control of the Order Paper will be that the decisions will be very much a matter for my right hon. Friend and the House more generally, given the terms in which the amendment has been drafted.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that there will be free votes on the Government side of the House if that situation arises?

[Mr Lidington]

I think it would be premature to say anything about whipping at this stage, because we do not currently know exactly what the content of any options might be, what amendments to them might conceivably be tabled, or which of those amendments the Chair might be willing to accept. However, I know that my right hon. Friend the Chief Whip will have heard my hon. Friend’s representations.

European Council

Victoria Prentis Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I have no wish to distract Members from the importance of these matters, but there has been quite a lot of naughty behaviour this afternoon, including the behaviour of the right hon. Members for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) and for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) in repeatedly using the word “you”, which is unparliamentary. I am looking to a custodian of our fine traditions of parliamentary courtesy, and I need look no further than Victoria Prentis.

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

Well, Mr Speaker, I do not know about you—[Laughter]—but I think that the 2017 Conservative manifesto is possibly not bedtime reading in many households, so let me remind the House of it briefly.

“We want to agree a deep and special partnership with the European Union. This partnership will benefit both the European Union and the United Kingdom: while we are leaving the European Union, we are not leaving Europe, and we want to remain committed partners and allies to our friends”.

Does the Prime Minister think that any of the indicative votes that we may be able to cast on Wednesday—aside from the meaningful vote on the withdrawal agreement—will be covered by that manifesto? If so, will she whip us to vote in any particular way?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is tempting me to indicate what we might do. We do not know what the options are. We do not know which options will be chosen, or the sequence in which they will be chosen. However, my hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that we stood on a particular manifesto. We stood on a manifesto to honour the result of the referendum, and the Labour party stood on a manifesto to honour the result of the referendum. I think that there is a way to honour the result of the referendum, and it is a pity that we have not been able to agree that.