Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

I have watched this whole sorry saga play out for weeks now. Like the public, I feel let down, disappointed and angry. Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed. That was a fundamental failure of judgment. Matthew Doyle should never have been given a peerage. That was also a failure of judgment. I feel the way that today’s vote has been handled by the Government smacks once again of being out of touch and disconnected from the public mood. The fact that MPs like me are being whipped into voting against the motion is, in my view, wrong. It has played into the terrible narrative that there is something to hide, and good, decent colleagues will be accused of being complicit in a cover-up.

A number of weeks ago, at a private meeting with my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister, I spoke about how, after a career spent working so closely with victims of child sexual abuse, I could not even begin to express how much it hurts me when people are screaming at me in the street that I am a member of the “paedo protectors party”. I also said that prior to this scandal, people criticised the Government’s policies and, at times, lack of political narrative, but they are now questioning the Government’s moral compass. My comments were leaked, almost immediately, by colleagues who were present. My words were later used by the Leader of the Opposition. Recent weeks have seen such abuse intensify and ongoing abuse and threats to my and my staff’s safety continue.

Privilege motions, ISC investigations, Committee hearings and process do not come up on the doorstep. What does come up time and again is a general feeling that there is something just not right—that politicians are failing to deliver on their promises. Trust has gone, and it has been replaced by anger. The already fragile fabric of our democracy is eroding further every day that this continues.

This Prime Minister is very careful with his words and does have respect for the office he holds. He does want to change this country for the better, and he truly believes in public service—something that has been sorely lacking from Prime Ministers in recent years—so I cannot understand why the Prime Minister does not refer himself to the Committee, with a clear statement that he is doing so to clear his name. One quick session of the Committee could surely see this matter concluded. Instead, this will now drag on and dominate every headline and interview. It will overshadow and undermine every good policy we make and continue to drag every single one of us down. Whether any Prime Minister misled the House is not a matter for the Foreign Affairs Committee, nor is it a matter for the Intelligence and Security Committee. It is a matter for the Privileges Committee—that is why such a Committee exists.

It may be that Opposition parties are using this motion to box Labour MPs in. I am not angry about that—that is politics; some of us here would do the same. I know one thing for certain today: I will not be voting against this motion. But I want to listen carefully to the rest of this debate, because like everyone, when I came to this House I wanted to do the right thing, and I hope I continue to do that for however long I have left in this place.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 9th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

T9. In May 2022, my constituent Tallulah Cox was diagnosed with brain stem cancer. She was left catatonic from the radiation treatment, a side effect that her parents, Zoe and Richard, were never informed about. They then had to fight constantly for the support and care that she needed from her local council and NHS. That support never came. Little Tallulah passed away on 2 November last year—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is topical questions. I have to get everybody else in. If the hon. Lady is going to ask a topical question, it must be short and quick to allow others to ask theirs. Has the Minister been briefed on what is being asked?

[Mr Speaker]

Okay. Very quickly, then—please just ask the question.

[Mrs Lewell-Buck]

Little Tallulah passed away aged two on 2 November last year after those services failed her. How can her parents get some justice?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

17. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting coastal communities.

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 20th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Let us hear from another: I call Emma Lewell-Buck.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

T5. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.Not only have the Government legislated to allow sewage on to our beaches and into our sea, but they are now limiting funds for local authorities to stop historic coastal landfill sites polluting our coast. One of those sites is in gorgeous South Shields. When can we expect the Government to do something about it?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 7th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think we have got it, Minister.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

The recent inquiry by the child of the north all-party parliamentary group found that, under this Government, children in the north live in greater poverty, many in destitution, and that that problem is likely to keep growing. Why is it that, when it comes to children, this Government’s mission is always to level down rather than level up?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 13th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Lewell-Buck]

I thank the Secretary of State for that response, but I am disappointed that he failed to mention the news this weekend that more than 11,000 children have been killed or maimed in the war in Yemen. As he knows, the truce has collapsed, escalation is feared and the humanitarian situation is desperate. In the past he has defended UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia on the basis of the UK’s strict arms export licensing criteria. Since the Government watered down those criteria—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. These are topical questions; they should be short.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. When I say I am moving on, I am moving on; it is not for you to continue. It goes at my pace, not yours. I call Emma Lewell-Buck.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

I have repeatedly raised the anguish that my constituents, the parents of Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry, are going through. Chloe and Liam were murdered in the Manchester Arena terror attack. Archaic law in relation to terror attacks prevents my constituents registering their precious children’s death. I first raised the issue in March—it was urgent then. Despite multiple promises from the Government Benches that legislative change was being considered, nothing at all has been forthcoming to me or my constituents. Why?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I know that we may have some by-elections coming, but the fact is that we are on topicals, and they are meant to be short and sweet. Lots of Members want to get in, and you are stopping Members from getting in. It is not fair.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

T4. My brave constituent Claire Ball used all her strength and courage to report that she was sexually abused as a child. She endured a painful court process, where her good character was continually called into question. While her abuser was allowed multiple character witnesses to state that he was a good person, Claire was not. What is the Secretary of State going to do to make sure that victims are afforded the same rights as perpetrators?

Integrated Review

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 16th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We will certainly take Lancashire, even if the Prime Minister cannot say whereabouts.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab) [V]]

The review and the Prime Minister’s statement are typically big on words, but scant on detail or strategy. It was a mass of contradictions steeped in a lack of realism when it comes to affordability and scope, and there was zero acknowledgement of the harm that years of underinvestment in our nation’s defence have caused. Ultimately, the world will judge him and his Government on their actions, so can he explain how breaching article 6 of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty fits with his commitment to international law?

Point of Order

Debate between Emma Lewell and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 10th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In January, I had it confirmed that the 2018 report on the factors driving food bank usage was complete. In oral questions, I asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why the report had not been published, but she did not even know that the report existed. I have since received a letter from the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Colchester (Will Quince), who has responsibility for welfare delivery, advising me that the report is not complete and that there is no date for its publication. This is not the first time the Government have suppressed a report on food banks. Can you advise me how I can elicit some clarity on the status of this report and its publication date?

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Lady for giving me notice of her question. It is certainly on the record for others to listen to, but it is not something for the Chair. My advice would be to pursue it, with advice from the Table Office. I am sure that the people there will assist her in getting the answer she wishes to have.

Bill Presented

Victims of Abuse (Support) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Munira Wilson, supported by Wendy Chamberlain, Layla Moran, Daisy Cooper, Sarah Olney, Christine Jardine and Wera Hobhouse, presented a Bill to establish a right to specialist sexual violence and abuse support services for victims of sexual, violent and domestic abuse; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 March, and to be printed (Bill 109).