Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Drew Hendry and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 30th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

May I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for everything she has done in her parliamentary and ministerial career, and associate myself with your comments, Mr Speaker, about my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke)? I know that my right hon. Friend is leaving this place to do something perhaps even more important, which is to run our COP 26 summit next year in Glasgow, and I know that she will do an absolutely outstanding job. She is completely right that it would be far more wonderful for this country to focus on what we can do to lead the world in tackling the problems of the environment and climate change rather than frittering away yet more political time and capital on two more pointless referendums. I thoroughly agree with her proposal.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Q14. May I say to you from the highlands, Mr Speaker, gura math a thèid leat? My constituent Rachel has been separated from her two young children and her husband Mark and forced to return to Malaysia because her £2,000 spousal visa application was refused. It was refused because her husband Mark’s payslips were not included. The problem is that payslips are not a requirement on the UK Visas and Immigration checklist. She called and emailed UKVI and was told that no other information was required. Does the Prime Minister consider that to be fair, and will he personally look into her new £2,000 application to ensure that this highland family are reunited by Christmas?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising his constituent’s problem with UKVI and I will make sure that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary addresses it immediately.

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Drew Hendry and Boris Johnson

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course we will have a very close relationship with all European projects—whether on research, science, education, or whatever it might happen to be. I will be very happy in due course to share with the hon. Gentleman and the whole House where we are on the political declaration. The objective of the changes to the political declaration is really to set out the difference in this Government’s approach to the future relationship on trade and the customs union, and to set out our ambitions to do global free trade deals.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Could the Prime Minister outline his thinking on the principle of the Northern Ireland Assembly reviewing and voting on these arrangements every four years? Is it because, if circumstances change, it has a right to change its mind?

[The Prime Minister]

That is indeed the case, as the hon. Gentleman will understand, but if he invites me to draw an analogy with the people of Scotland, I remind him that the people of Scotland were repeatedly promised that their referendum was a once-in-a-generation question.

Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Drew Hendry and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady so much. I think I can explain exactly what I mean, because I believe that the continuing failure to deliver on the mandate of the people has greatly exacerbated feelings, and the best way to reduce that tension is to get it done and then the whole country can move on. That is where my constituents are and I bet that is where the majority of our constituents are.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

In the light of the damning indictment of Scotland’s highest court, the Court of Session, and then the judgment of the Supreme Court, this Prime Minister has refused to resign and will not apologise. If even the Queen cannot trust him, why should anybody else?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said several times, the court did not impugn in any way the Government’s motives. It is open to test what the hon. Gentleman says in a general election, if he wants.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Drew Hendry and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the President has now repealed the policy, and I think it is still common ground on both sides of the House that it is important to welcome the Head of State and Government of our most important ally.

[Drew Hendry]

The Foreign Secretary should cancel this visit. We know that, as a self-confessed admirer of Donald Trump, he will not do so, but will he finally condemn the process of taking children away from their parents and putting them in cages? The language that we have heard so far does not condemn that action.

[Boris Johnson]

The Prime Minister condemned it, and she speaks for the Government and, indeed, for me. No sooner had she spoken than the President of the United States repealed the policy—thus demonstrating, I venture to suggest to the hon. Gentleman, the considerable and growing influence of the United Kingdom.