Thank you, Sir Nicholas, for remembering my father. I did not realise that you were so old. [Interruption.] How to win friends and influence people. A few days ago it was the 10th anniversary of the death of my beloved only son, Hugh. Sadly, a few months later, a mother...

Thank you, Sir Nicholas, for remembering my father. I did not realise that you were so old. [Interruption.] How to win friends and influence people. A few days ago it was the 10th anniversary of the death of my beloved only son, Hugh. Sadly, a few months later, a mother...

I welcome the Minister to his new, enhanced responsibilities in the FCO. Although I am not making any comparisons between the two cases—they are entirely different—in the Michael Shields case the investigations that Merseyside police were able to carry out were crucial in enabling our right hon. Friend the Secretary...

I welcome the Minister to his new, enhanced responsibilities in the FCO. Although I am not making any comparisons between the two cases—they are entirely different—in the Michael Shields case the investigations that Merseyside police were able to carry out were crucial in enabling our right hon. Friend the Secretary...

Sir Nicholas, I am delighted to sit under your chairmanship again today. I pay tribute not only to my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Mr. Benton), but to all those who have kept this case alive in Parliament...

Sir Nicholas, I am delighted to sit under your chairmanship again today. I pay tribute not only to my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Mr. Benton), but to all those who have kept this case alive in Parliament...

Of course I fully sympathise with the tenor of what my right hon. Friend says, but I think he will accept that the one thing that a British Government cannot do is tell the British or French police authorities what to do. We can make representations, and we have done...

Of course I fully sympathise with the tenor of what my right hon. Friend says, but I think he will accept that the one thing that a British Government cannot do is tell the British or French police authorities what to do. We can make representations, and we have done...

The Minister is quite right to emphasise that he is not in a position to order the French to do anything, but there could surely be some kind of ministerial contact. We could use ministerial good offices on this side and on the French side and ask the French at...

The Minister is quite right to emphasise that he is not in a position to order the French to do anything, but there could surely be some kind of ministerial contact. We could use ministerial good offices on this side and on the French side and ask the French at...

The honest truth is that consular staff have devoted a great deal of time to this and they have tried to provide all the support that they can. Sometimes, they are not able, and never would be able, to give all the support that families want, simply because there has...

The honest truth is that consular staff have devoted a great deal of time to this and they have tried to provide all the support that they can. Sometimes, they are not able, and never would be able, to give all the support that families want, simply because there has...

I am not able to comment on the other case that my hon. Friend raised. Incidentally, my right hon. Friend asked whether I would be happy to meet the family, Ministers and other hon. Members, and of course I am more than happy to do so, not least because there...

I am not able to comment on the other case that my hon. Friend raised. Incidentally, my right hon. Friend asked whether I would be happy to meet the family, Ministers and other hon. Members, and of course I am more than happy to do so, not least because there...

The fact is that the coroner recorded an open verdict. That was important. He was critical not just of the investigation but of the evidence. There is no evidence that Christopher died of natural causes; it is an open verdict and therefore should be investigated as such.

The fact is that the coroner recorded an open verdict. That was important. He was critical not just of the investigation but of the evidence. There is no evidence that Christopher died of natural causes; it is an open verdict and therefore should be investigated as such.

Yes, but of course the difficulty with an open verdict is that one is not saying that there is therefore hard evidence of something other than a natural cause. I realise that this is a fine distinction, but this is the distinction that Merseyside police needs to address, because it...

Yes, but of course the difficulty with an open verdict is that one is not saying that there is therefore hard evidence of something other than a natural cause. I realise that this is a fine distinction, but this is the distinction that Merseyside police needs to address, because it...

I thank my hon. Friend for agreeing to meet the family. In my contribution to start this discussion, I made it absolutely clear that the coroner had written twice to the Foreign Office to express his extreme concerns about this issue. What is not clear is whether the Foreign Office...

I thank my hon. Friend for agreeing to meet the family. In my contribution to start this discussion, I made it absolutely clear that the coroner had written twice to the Foreign Office to express his extreme concerns about this issue. What is not clear is whether the Foreign Office...

Thank you, Sir Nicholas. I support everything that my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) said. It has been a privilege, although that might sound like a strange word to use, for myself and Ann McCartney, a member of my staff, to be associated with the Traynor...

Thank you, Sir Nicholas. I support everything that my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) said. It has been a privilege, although that might sound like a strange word to use, for myself and Ann McCartney, a member of my staff, to be associated with the Traynor...

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the death of Christopher Traynor.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the death of Christopher Traynor.