I welcome the words of the Lord Privy Seal about the need to engage all of civil society in the issue of what a dangerous world we live in. How does she reconcile that with the fact that, time after time, the heads of our armed services are saying that...

I welcome the words of the Lord Privy Seal about the need to engage all of civil society in the issue of what a dangerous world we live in. How does she reconcile that with the fact that, time after time, the heads of our armed services are saying that...

My Lords, this is beginning to sound more like something out of “Mission Impossible”, with telephone messages destructing themselves after 30 seconds and other telephones being stolen in strange circumstances. This is getting to be a bit of a saga of excuses. We have here a decision about Peter Mandelson and that hugely important appointment, which was catastrophic. I would be the last person to accuse the Government of a cover-up, but it does leave a sense that the Government simply do not want to deal with this issue properly. Does the Minister not realise that this leaves the whole Government with a sense of avoidance: of not willing to face the truth that this was an appalling mess of their own creation?

My Lords, this is beginning to sound more like something out of “Mission Impossible”, with telephone messages destructing themselves after 30 seconds and other telephones being stolen in strange circumstances. This is getting to be a bit of a saga of excuses. We have here a decision about Peter Mandelson and that hugely important appointment, which was catastrophic. I would be the last person to accuse the Government of a cover-up, but it does leave a sense that the Government simply do not want to deal with this issue properly. Does the Minister not realise that this leaves the whole Government with a sense of avoidance: of not willing to face the truth that this was an appalling mess of their own creation?

My Lords, every week I pass by that wonderful statue of the Windrush generation at Waterloo station. It is an inspiration, showing people who were invited here to come and be part of our community, and they have served this community incredibly well. We have lived the Martin Luther King dream in this country of bringing people together better than any other country in the world, but that is all now under threat. Would it not be a very good sign of our intent to get this Windrush issue sorted as quickly and as fairly as possible to reclaim our status as one of the most tolerant and inclusive countries in the world?

My Lords, every week I pass by that wonderful statue of the Windrush generation at Waterloo station. It is an inspiration, showing people who were invited here to come and be part of our community, and they have served this community incredibly well. We have lived the Martin Luther King dream in this country of bringing people together better than any other country in the world, but that is all now under threat. Would it not be a very good sign of our intent to get this Windrush issue sorted as quickly and as fairly as possible to reclaim our status as one of the most tolerant and inclusive countries in the world?

My Lords, a little while ago, I became aware of the case of a young man charged with multiple counts of rape. He was arrested late at night in front of his weeping parents and taken away in a police van. It was five years before he came to trial.

The...

My Lords, a little while ago, I became aware of the case of a young man charged with multiple counts of rape. He was arrested late at night in front of his weeping parents and taken away in a police van. It was five years before he came to trial.

The...

My Lords, this debate has become very personal at times, and perhaps I might indulge in that. First, I apologise to my noble friend Lord Sandhurst for trying to get in the way of his valedictory speech. He is a friend of mine and will remain so, and I shall...

My Lords, this debate has become very personal at times, and perhaps I might indulge in that. First, I apologise to my noble friend Lord Sandhurst for trying to get in the way of his valedictory speech. He is a friend of mine and will remain so, and I shall...

I hope the House will forgive me, but I can scarcely keep up with the good news that the Minister keeps showering upon us, so may I ask him for an indication—not a guarantee or promise but an indication—that he will put his noble name to? One thing he has not mentioned is when unemployment will start coming down. Can he tell us whether it will be in 2027, 2028 or 2029, or have the workers’ Government forgotten about the unemployed?

I hope the House will forgive me, but I can scarcely keep up with the good news that the Minister keeps showering upon us, so may I ask him for an indication—not a guarantee or promise but an indication—that he will put his noble name to? One thing he has not mentioned is when unemployment will start coming down. Can he tell us whether it will be in 2027, 2028 or 2029, or have the workers’ Government forgotten about the unemployed?

If the Minister was travelling on a successful South Western train this morning, he was on a different train from the one I was on. I ask him to look back: the very first breath that this Labour Government took was to give a record-breaking, inflation-busting pay rise to train drivers. One would normally expect, in a public service, for that to bring about better punctuality and improvement of service, yet all those have gone backwards and there has been an increase in the number of complaints. I know some people suggested at the time that it was all to pay for the Government’s friends; we can dismiss that with a wave of our hands. But what is, and was, the point of an inflation-busting pay increase to train drivers if there is no improvement in public service?

If the Minister was travelling on a successful South Western train this morning, he was on a different train from the one I was on. I ask him to look back: the very first breath that this Labour Government took was to give a record-breaking, inflation-busting pay rise to train drivers. One would normally expect, in a public service, for that to bring about better punctuality and improvement of service, yet all those have gone backwards and there has been an increase in the number of complaints. I know some people suggested at the time that it was all to pay for the Government’s friends; we can dismiss that with a wave of our hands. But what is, and was, the point of an inflation-busting pay increase to train drivers if there is no improvement in public service?

My Lords, I have a lot of personal regard for the Minister, and I listened to his speech carefully, but I did not hear a single word about unemployment, so allow me to help him.

Many of us, sadly, are old enough to remember the Government of Harold Wilson. He came...

My Lords, I have a lot of personal regard for the Minister, and I listened to his speech carefully, but I did not hear a single word about unemployment, so allow me to help him.

Many of us, sadly, are old enough to remember the Government of Harold Wilson. He came...

I will just follow up my noble friend’s remarks. He is a noble friend; I campaigned for him several times in his constituency when he was an MP, and I will remain a friend of his, I hope. I want very quickly to follow up on his remarks about what...

I will just follow up my noble friend’s remarks. He is a noble friend; I campaigned for him several times in his constituency when he was an MP, and I will remain a friend of his, I hope. I want very quickly to follow up on his remarks about what...

My Lords, I speak as a cancer sufferer, as a man who applauds and supports the hospice movement and, I hope, as a conservative. I reject, as a matter of principle, the idea that the state can demand ownership of my body any more than it can own my spirit...

My Lords, I speak as a cancer sufferer, as a man who applauds and supports the hospice movement and, I hope, as a conservative. I reject, as a matter of principle, the idea that the state can demand ownership of my body any more than it can own my spirit...

The biopsy was not much fun. Stuck in those stirrups, my dignity dangling in the breeze, a charming lady nurse asked me if I was comfortable. We both agreed that that was a profoundly stupid question and laughed our way through the prodding and the poking.

Prostates raise many questions. I...

The biopsy was not much fun. Stuck in those stirrups, my dignity dangling in the breeze, a charming lady nurse asked me if I was comfortable. We both agreed that that was a profoundly stupid question and laughed our way through the prodding and the poking.

Prostates raise many questions. I...

My Lords, while we are on the subject of provisions in this place, may I express the hope that at last the front door is more family-friendly than it used to be? I have also heard that we are now planning another potentially traumatic change in that area in relocating and transforming the bag security search. If that is the case, may I follow up on the characteristically serious question from the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, and ask: are we going to be consulted about it, is there such a plan, what are the costs and budget involved, and when will we hear about it?

My Lords, while we are on the subject of provisions in this place, may I express the hope that at last the front door is more family-friendly than it used to be? I have also heard that we are now planning another potentially traumatic change in that area in relocating and transforming the bag security search. If that is the case, may I follow up on the characteristically serious question from the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, and ask: are we going to be consulted about it, is there such a plan, what are the costs and budget involved, and when will we hear about it?

My Lords, perhaps I might impose for just a few moments on this matter. I think it is relevant to remark on a very significant anniversary for the Labour Party this month. I am not talking about the first anniversary of this Government; I am talking about the 80th anniversary...

My Lords, perhaps I might impose for just a few moments on this matter. I think it is relevant to remark on a very significant anniversary for the Labour Party this month. I am not talking about the first anniversary of this Government; I am talking about the 80th anniversary...

To ask His Majesty’s Government how many cases of female genital mutilation have been reported in the past 10 years, and how many cases have been prosecuted.

To ask His Majesty’s Government how many cases of female genital mutilation have been reported in the past 10 years, and how many cases have been prosecuted.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that information and his very encouraging response. Female genital mutilation means cutting off a young girl’s clitoris. It usually happens in a back room off

some back street. It is being inflicted on thousands of children every year and yet, in 50 years, as the noble and learned Lord suggested, there have been only three convictions. Like the Post Office, bad-blood and grooming-gangs scandals, people will, rightly, in a few years’ time, demand, “Why was nothing done when we had the opportunity?” So, I am very glad to hear what the Minister says. It is not the Minister’s fault; clearly, it is not—we all bear a degree of shame for this past record. Will he encourage the setting up of a task force, to report very quickly, whose objective will be to increase the number of prosecutions and convictions? Without successful prosecutions and convictions, we will still be failing thousands of innocent children.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that information and his very encouraging response. Female genital mutilation means cutting off a young girl’s clitoris. It usually happens in a back room off

some back street. It is being inflicted on thousands of children every year and yet, in 50 years, as the noble and learned Lord suggested, there have been only three convictions. Like the Post Office, bad-blood and grooming-gangs scandals, people will, rightly, in a few years’ time, demand, “Why was nothing done when we had the opportunity?” So, I am very glad to hear what the Minister says. It is not the Minister’s fault; clearly, it is not—we all bear a degree of shame for this past record. Will he encourage the setting up of a task force, to report very quickly, whose objective will be to increase the number of prosecutions and convictions? Without successful prosecutions and convictions, we will still be failing thousands of innocent children.

My Lords—

My Lords—

I am afraid I am a little less sanguine about some of this than others. This catastrophic cock-up—and it was a cock-up, not a criminal event—is a direct consequence of us getting involved in a war in which we should never have got involved in the first place, which we...

I am afraid I am a little less sanguine about some of this than others. This catastrophic cock-up—and it was a cock-up, not a criminal event—is a direct consequence of us getting involved in a war in which we should never have got involved in the first place, which we...

My Lords, I understand why the Minister refuses to give hypotheticals on forthcoming tax. However, this Government made a clear commitment not to introduce taxes on working people. They have looked very much like a fish on the end of a hook over the last 12 months when trying to define what a working person is. Perhaps they should have thought about that before they made such a clear, binding commitment. Without being hypothetical, does the Minister agree with the Chancellor, who, during that election campaign, defined working people as

“people who go out to work and work for their incomes … There are people who do have savings, who have been able to save up, and those are working people as well”?

Does the Minister stand by that commitment?

My Lords, I understand why the Minister refuses to give hypotheticals on forthcoming tax. However, this Government made a clear commitment not to introduce taxes on working people. They have looked very much like a fish on the end of a hook over the last 12 months when trying to define what a working person is. Perhaps they should have thought about that before they made such a clear, binding commitment. Without being hypothetical, does the Minister agree with the Chancellor, who, during that election campaign, defined working people as

“people who go out to work and work for their incomes … There are people who do have savings, who have been able to save up, and those are working people as well”?

Does the Minister stand by that commitment?

My Lords, last week when we were discussing this issue I made a silly mistake. I suggested that the wretched front entrance had cost as much as

Grenfell Tower. I am sorry; I completely misread the briefing that I was given. I do not feel comfortable leaving such a silly comparison like that uncorrected on the record, so I hope that the Senior Deputy Speaker and the whole House will accept my apology for such a silly error on such a serious issue.

My Lords, last week when we were discussing this issue I made a silly mistake. I suggested that the wretched front entrance had cost as much as

Grenfell Tower. I am sorry; I completely misread the briefing that I was given. I do not feel comfortable leaving such a silly comparison like that uncorrected on the record, so I hope that the Senior Deputy Speaker and the whole House will accept my apology for such a silly error on such a serious issue.

My Lords, I shall make a very brief comment on the points of the noble Lord, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, about the image of the House.

We know and accept that hereditary Peers are anomalous, but what about most of the rest of us? Let us be clear about this: we...

My Lords, I shall make a very brief comment on the points of the noble Lord, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, about the image of the House.

We know and accept that hereditary Peers are anomalous, but what about most of the rest of us? Let us be clear about this: we...