"My Lords, can the Minister, whose personal commitment is not in doubt on this issue, tell us why the Government continue to reject a significant proportion of recommendations by the Parole Board for the transfer of IPP prisoners to open conditions? In answering that question, perhaps he will help me …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, Ministers are facing three Oral Questions about IPP prisoners within a fortnight, the third being mine. That is because we are determined, co-ordinated and—speaking for myself—an angry bunch. Why are the Government granting early release to a group of prisoners guilty of very serious crimes when, as the …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister says the Bill is intended to criminalise only seriously abusive conduct and not, for example, to impinge on parents’ rights to bring up their children. So why does Clause 1 say that any conduct can be a conversion practice? Is a parent who fails to take …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"Not at all. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for all the work that he has done on this topic, both individually and as chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights. I had the pleasure of meeting Chloe Cheung and some of her colleagues, and became even more …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, I was pleased to co-sign the amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. All the amendments in this group—Amendments 1, 3 and 4 in particular—are expressing frustration with the limited scope of the Bill. Perhaps the Minister might be able to give an idea as to whether …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, as my noble friends have said, we on these Benches strongly support the Bill, but with some caveats about process, scope and drafting. We felt bafflement and frustration as this Government—and indeed the last one—failed to act on the very obvious threat from the IRGC. The Conservative Government …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister talks about things that are unacceptable and will not be tolerated, but the Chinese Communist Party is using the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office as a tool for its repressive activities. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, referred to it as a relic of a time …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, I warmly thank the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, for securing this important debate and for her consistent work in keeping our attention on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I congratulate her on her excellent speech. I think the House is speaking with a united voice.
"My Lords, the Minister referred to the British way of doing things. Does he therefore agree that although various speculative issues have been raised around enforcement, in reality a combination of self-restraint, respect for the law and social discouragement from breaking it should eliminate most issues, particularly over time, rather …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech
"My Lords, Russia is undoubtedly stirring tensions to undermine western security and Bosnia’s progress to EU membership. As has been said, the UK has always played a strong role in supporting the Dayton agreement and the Office of the High Representative, which my former leader Paddy Ashdown filled 20 years …..." Baroness Ludford - View Speech