House of Commons
Parliament

The shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth is introducing an opposition day debate on community pharmacies. Two weeks ago, it was announced that central government funding for pharmacy services would fall by £113m next year.

Today's motion calls on the government to "rethink" the cuts and "ensure that community pharmacies are protected from service reduction and closure".

Mr Ashworth says that the former health minister Alistair Burt thought that the plans would result in the loss of as many as 3,000 pharmacies.

Mr Burt intervenes from the backbenches to say his figure was "an estimate, based on the worst-case scenario" rather than a definitive figure.

Select Committee
Parliament

Crossbencher and former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Lord Condon has the final question.

He notes that the evolution of Europol and EuroJust has been facilitated by the "overarching jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)".

He asks if severing the link to the ECJ will make it "incredibly difficult" to negotiate bespoke deals.

Alison Saunders imagines that it would be hard to implement bilateral deals with EU countries without following the standards of the ECJ. 

"It may become a real issue," she adds.

And there this brief hearing comes to an end. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell is speaking to introduce his Ten Minute Rule Bill, the British Victims of Terrorism (Asset-Freezing and Compensation) Bill.

The bill would allow the authorities to seize assets held by countries or organisations that sponsor terror, to enable compensation to be paid to British victims of terror attacks.

An MP gets 10 minutes to speak in favour of a Ten Minute Rule Bill. If agreed to by the House, the bill joins the list of private member's bills to be debated on sitting Fridays.

Theresa May provokes hilarity by mistakenly congratulating Jeremy Corbyn on a new "granddaughter".

Just catching up with the issue raised earlier at PMQs by the SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson on international and domestic tax avoidance and criminality. He asked the PM what she would do if she knew that UK financial vehicles were being used for this.

On tax avoidance, she said if Mr Robertson had evidence of this he should speak to HMRC.

The SNP MP said Scottish Limited Partnerships were being aggressively marketed internationally, yet the International Monetary Fund has warned of the risk these posed in the fight against money laundering.

He said SLPs had acted as fronts for websites peddling child abuse and he asked Mrs May to meet him to discuss a joint way forward.

Mrs May said the government was looking at the whole question of how it can take effective action to deal with this criminal activity, which is why the National Crime Agency was created.

Mr Robertson had begun by passing on his condolences to the family of the serviceman who died at a weapons range at RAF Train in the Scottish Highlands. Mrs May said the whole House would wish to pass on their condolences to the family.  

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Charles Walker spoke out about four-times Olympic medalist Louis Smith, who has been suspended by British Gymnastics over a video in which he appears to mock Muslim prayer practices,

Mr Walker told Mrs May that when people make fun of Christianity in this country, "it rightly turns the other cheek",

But when Louis Smith "makes fun of another religion widely practiced in this country he is hounded on Twitter, by the media and suspended by his association".

Mr Walker added: "This man has received death threats and we have all looked the other way. What is going on in this country? Because I no longer understand the rules."

Mrs May says she understands the level of concern he raises, but adds: "This is a balance that we need to find. We value freedom of expression in this country... But we also value tolerance to others... and tolerance towards religions.

"It is right that people can have hat freedom of expression but in doing so that right has a responsibility to recognise the importance of tolerance to others."

House of Commons
Parliament

The prime minister has hit out at the "utterly outrageous" decision of Fifa to ban English and Scottish footballers wearing poppies in their forthcoming fixture.

She told the Commons a "clear message is going out from this House - we want our players to be able to wear those poppies".

Responding to a question from Labour MP Steve McCabe she said of Fifa: "Before they start telling us what to do they should jolly well sort their own house out."

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Gordon Marsden says the armed forces charity Saafa suggests that 85% of working age veterans do not think the UK is doing enough to support them

"What are you doing personally to change this?" he presses the prime minister.

Mrs May replies "we absolutely recognise the debt we owe to our veterans", adding: "One of the things we can do is helping people coming out of the armed forces find their way into the world of work."

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Maria Caulfield says the last 18 months "have been hell for commuters in Lewes", saying that a journey home last night that should've taken an hour took four hours.

She says we have a country that works for everyone, but a "railway that works for no-one".

Mrs May says she feels for the MP and the journey she had to take last night.

She says the government is working with Network Rail and has invested £20 million in improvements to Southern Rail, adding "the Transport Secretary is on the case".

House of Commons
Parliament

The Conservatives' newest MP Robert Courts, who succeeds David Cameron following a recent by-election, raises the issue of shops in Chipping Norton.

Mrs May says she spent her pocket money in the town as a child, so she had done her bit to support Chipping Norton High Street.

Commons Speaker John Bercow quipped: "We're always grateful for an extra bit of information."

Mrs May, of course, went to school near Oxford, about 23 miles from Chipping Norton.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Jeff Smith raises the issue of air pollution, following a judgement in the High Court this morning, adding that air pollution had resulted in 40,000 early deaths.

Mrs May says she recognises there is more for the government to do to relieve the issues around air quality.

House of Commons
Parliament

Theresa May says she will be taking along representatives from the UK's leading life science and technology sectors during her forthcoming trip to India.

She said it was important links between the UK and India are protected post Brexit.

Labour's Angela Smith asks that Mrs May also raises the issue of Tata steel, to which Mrs May says she is doing what she can to protect the industry and Tata.

Select Committee
Parliament

Crossbencher Lord Jay of Ewelme confesses that he was surprised by Ms Saunders' assertion that the majority of the cases they deal with have an international component and asks her to elaborate.

Alison Saunders says that the judgement was "more anecdote, than fact based" but goes on to explain that drugs, people trafficking and gun smuggling all require dealing with other countries.

She explains that the more serious and complex the crime, the more likely it is to have "intentional elements". 

House of Commons
Parliament

DUP MP David Simpson asked that the agrifood sector be protected following Brexit.

Theresa May says she is determined to get the best possible deal for the British people when the UK exits the EU, and that includes the food sector.

She says the government will be doing "everything we can to listen to the representations from NI executive and getting the best deal possible for the agri-food sector".