House of Lords
Parliament

The House of Lords now adjourns for half an hour.

Peers will return at 2:30pm for 30 mins of oral questions before returning to debate of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.

Topics for today's oral questions include funding abortions, human rights abuses in West Papua, encouraging women to cycle and air pollution. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland and Conservative peer Lord Trimble wants Article 50 to be triggered "as soon as possible".

He also wants the Great Repeal Bill introduced as quickly.

He predicts that there will be "a lot more meat" on that bill than the one currently being debated.

He adds that proposed amendments to this bill would be better added to the Great Repeal Bill. 

Image source, AFP

Theresa May is meeting the front-runner to be the next French president for talks at Downing Street.

Emmanuel Macron is visiting London to rally support among ex-pats in the city. The capital's large French diaspora, it is home to 300,000 to 400,000 French residents, effectively makes it France's sixth-largest centre of population.

French citizens overseas are entitled to vote in this spring's election to find a replacement for Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace.

Downing Street said the meeting in Number 10 had been requested by Mr Macron, who was expected to discuss "a broad range" of issues with the prime minister.

Norway would like to have the option to be included in any arrangements between Britain and the EU after Brexit, Reuters quoted a government minister as saying on Tuesday. 

The Nordic country is not a member of the EU but pays for access to the European common market via the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. 

Speaking to EU ambassadors in Oslo, the country's EU minister Frank Bakke-Jensen, said. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Former government minister Lord O'Neill of Gatley makes four points.

He says the decision to hold a referendum was driven by politics and "not a great deal of thought" was given to economic implications.

He argues that productivity, weakness in the education system and the unbalanced nature of the British economy are as important challenges as Brexit.

He says that Brexit may make these challenges harder to tackle or may force the government to pay greater attention to such problems - "one lives in hope".

On trade, he calls for the UK to improve its relationships with China and India. Trade with New Zealand may be easier he says but it won't "be materially relevant". 

Lastly, he urges the government to ensure that an "obsession with immigration" doesn't result in losing key talent.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Home Office minister Rupa Huq announces that the Opposition will not block the bill or the amendments put forward by the government. 

She says that "those who have blood on their hands through the worst human right abuses should to not be able to funnel their money through our country."

She says that Britain has been guilty of holding money of human rights violators, but that the bill would help tackle it.

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Parliament

Labour's Lord Morris of Handsworth focuses on the government's reluctance to guarantee the residence rights of EU nationals. 

It is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot, he says.

Who are the workers that the government thinks we can do without and treat with such derision? he asks.

He tells peers that 50,000 NHS workers come from the EU.

House of Commons
Parliament

Home Officer Minister Ben Wallace defends a new government clause, which reasserts the courts' right to judge the 'balance of probabilities' that proceeds are the profits of crime, or will be used to commit further crime.

The clause has been lauded as a way to ensure funds of individuals linked to human rights abuses abroad can be seized. Conservative Dominic Raab says it will stop the flow of funds of "butchers and despots". 

However, Ben Wallace claims, it will also allow the courts to remain impartial. It aims to stop people using the bill for "vexatious" claims, allowing the courts to "vet" the viability of claims before high profile trials are held.

He fears that victims of human rights abuses abroad might use the powers given by the bill to sue foreign governments if the courts are unable to judge evidence available in the UK. 

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Parliament

Turning to parliamentary approval of a final deal, Lord Lisvane says he is looking forward to the government's response to a point made by Lord Hope of Craighead yesterday. 

Lord Hope asked if further legislative authority from Parliament would be needed to approve the final deal or if a simple vote would be sufficient.

That will add a new dimension, suggests Lord Lisvane.

Looking ahead to the Great Repeal Bill, he says it would be ironic if, given the focus in the campaign on sovereignty, withdrawal resulted in the transfer of powers to the executive rather than Parliament.

The bill, which is yet to be published, would incorporate EU law into domestic law "wherever practical". 

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Parliament

Former Commons clerk Lord Lisvane "brings up the century" as the 100th speaker in the debate.

He describes the bill as "refreshingly short" but confesses to being puzzled by subsection two of the first clause: "This section has effect despite any provision made by or under the European Communities Act 1972 or any other enactment."

He wonders if this is an "insurance policy" to avoid an "oh crickey moment" when an inconvenient piece of legislation is "unearthed".

Or, he suggests, perhaps the drafters of the bill have something in mind that will be at odds with the provision of the bill.

He advises the government to keep in mind one rule of drafting legislation: "If you don't specify your target the courts may not agree that you have hit it." 

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now debating the final stages of the Criminal Finances Bill.

The bill is designed to improve the government’s ability to tackle money laundering, corruption, tax evasion and terrorist financing.

It comes in response to organised criminals, who are able to utilise the British financial system to move, hide, or use the proceeds of crime.

The bill will create new powers to help agencies and private sector investigate and tackle money laundering, including forcing suspects to identify the source of wealth and increased ‘seizure and forfeiture’ powers.

A Conservative MP has asked the Speaker of the House of Commons directly if a vote of no confidence will be held in him.

James Duddridge raised a point of order in the Commons and asked the Speaker John Bercow if the “government or indeed the backbench business committee contacted you in any way to allocate time for this unresolved matter to be debated and indeed voted on”.

He also acknowledged that there had been a “somewhat underwhelming” response to his call for a vote of no confidence.

Speaker Bercow said “the short answer is no and there is absolutely no reason why they should have done”.

He said his point was “fortified in the knowledge that it is also the sound advice of the experienced clerk of the House”.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen later raised another point of order and asked the Speaker to “apologise” in the Commons for “unilaterally seeking to ban the President of United States from Westminster Hall”.

Speaker Bercow said he had “treated of that matter very fully” when he addressed previous points of order in the House of Commons, adding “we shall leave it there”.

Lord Mandelson says he is working "every single day" to bring about the downfall of Jeremy Corbyn as his party's leader.

Speaking at a Jewish Chronicle, external event, the former senior Labour cabinet minister said Mr Corbyn had "no idea in the 21st century how to conduct himself as a leader of a party putting itself forward in a democratic election".

He added: "The problem with Jeremy is not that he's a nasty man. It's as if he's in a parallel universe."

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Parliament

Lib Dem Baroness Northover has done the calculations and found that there are 23 speakers per line of the bill.

The short bill presages a complex process, she says, and she adds that Parliament must be "fully engaged".

If negotiations do not produce "sunlit uplands", she tells peers "we must not be afraid to say so".

House of Commons
Parliament

UKIP’s Douglas Carswell asks whether, given missile tests in North Korea and a more aggressive Russia, the western world should show more “resolve” in tackling these issues.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson replies that many people are “hopeful” of that the US will find its leadership role again "where it has been lacking".

House of Lords
Parliament

Baroness Jones of Moulescoomb is the only Green Party peer, but campaigned to leave the EU against her party line.

"I found myself in some very unsavoury company at times," she says. But she says she believes "passionately" that "we have made the right decision".

However, she expresses reservations about the government's plan. She says she wishes there was a "decent" white paper with "detail".

She defends her right to place amendments to the bill. She says she's not trying to "wreck the bill", nor is she a "traitor". 

She adds that threats to abolish the Lords if they amend the bill are actually suggestions of "a welcome bonus".

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP's Martyn Day asks what representations were made to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlements in the Palestinian territories during his visit last week. 

The foreign secretary says he repeated the UK's "historic position" that the settlements are illegal and a barrier to peace.

Shadow foreign minister Fabian Hamilton claims that President Trump has "casually disregarded" this policy in his first month, and asks the foreign secretary to clarify whether the Israeli prime minister had mentioned whether settlements would become a norm. 

The shadow foreign minister also asks if the US was heading towards support of a one-state solution. 

Boris Johnson says that he does not think this is the case, but that there "needs to be dialogue", but currently, "the Palestinians are not committing to dialogue in the way that they should and it takes two to negotiate."