Sorcha Eastwood
Main Page: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)Department Debates - View all Sorcha Eastwood's debates with the Wales Office
(3 days, 14 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this. I believe this Government will seize the opportunities of net zero for working people, creating good, skilled jobs and taking them off the rollercoaster of volatile fossil-fuel markets. Under past Governments, hard-working communities had their pride and their jobs ripped away, and we will never do that in relation to a transition. We have already seen £40 billion of investment in energy and renewables, and the CBI data shows that 38,000 jobs in Wales are linked to clean energy. I want to see more of that; both the Conservatives and Reform are against it.
Sorcha Eastwood (Lagan Valley) (Alliance)
With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I will briefly pay tribute to the Police Service of Northern Ireland for tackling the public disorder in Northern Ireland over the last two nights, with over 30 police officers injured. I am sure the whole House will want to join me in that, and in condemning the racist violence.
Whether it is the cardiac scandal at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast, the cervical smear scandal at the Southern trust, the covid bereaved families or the crash of Chinook ZD576, all of which have impacted my constituents in Lagan Valley, the common thread here is that families simply wanted the truth, but they were let down by institutions at every cut and turn. Will this Government urgently introduce a duty of candour Bill, and ensure that it reflects what the “Hillsborough Law Now” campaigners and families have fought so very hard for?
The Prime Minister
May I start with the important point that the hon. Lady makes about Ballymena? I utterly condemn the violence that we saw overnight in Ballymena and other parts of Northern Ireland, including against PSNI officers. It is absolutely vital that the PSNI is given the time it needs to investigate the incidents concerned, rather than face mindless attacks as it seeks to bring peace and order to keep people safe. The Northern Ireland Secretary is in touch with the PSNI and the Executive, and I am being kept updated in relation to that.
In relation to the tragic cases that the hon. Lady mentions, I thank her for raising them. It is important that we have a legal duty of candour and we will be introducing that, because, as she says, there must be the truth here, based on all people being dealt with on the basis of dignity, fairness and accountability.