Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Jarvis Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)]

On 7 July 2005, terrorists attacked London’s transport network at King’s Cross, Russell Square, Edgware Road, Aldgate and Tavistock Square. Fifty-two people, who were travelling by tube and bus across the capital, never came home. We remember them and the loved ones they left behind, and all those who faced terrible injuries and endured the trauma of that day, and we remember the incredible bravery and courage of those who responded—the emergency service workers and the fellow passengers who saved lives that day. In the words of the King, this was an act of senseless evil, but he also reminds us that we must

“remember the countless stories of extraordinary courage and compassion”

as

“the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst.”

I want to thank not just those who responded that day but those who have continued to work tirelessly in the two decades since against Islamist extremist terrorism, against other increasingly complex terror and national security threats, in counter-terror policing, in the security and intelligence agencies, and on prevention. Most importantly of all, this is about all of us, as we remember how our capital and our country came together across communities and across faiths to ensure that we never let hatred win.

[Liz Jarvis]

I associate myself with the Home Secretary’s remarks. Eastleigh police station was closed in 2019 after 95 years of service. In 2023, the Hampshire police and crime commissioner promised that a new station would be opening within 12 months, but we still do not have one. Does the Secretary of State agree that my constituents deserve a new police station?

[Yvette Cooper]

As the hon. Member will know, decisions about where police stations are located are for the local force, the chief constable and the police and crime commissioner. She will welcome the news that Hampshire is getting 65 additional neighbourhood police officers, who will be out on the beat this year as a result of the Government’s neighbourhood policing guarantee.