Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Colonel Jorge Mendonça says service personnel are "easy targets" because they are held to a "high standard of behavior". He tells the committee when conditions are uncertain, "errors will be made".

He adds to understand when an "honest mistake" has been made or a "crime" has taken place, conditions on the ground and military law must be taken into account.

Colonel Mendonça says the commanding officer's role has been "watered down" in the legal process.

House of Commons
Parliament

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart is responding to an urgent question from Labour's shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon requesting a statement on HMP Birmingham.

Control of the prison has been taken out of the hands of G4S by the government.

Mr Stewart says the situation at the prison was "completely unacceptable", and was a point of concern for some time. Despite work to improve things, the government decided G4S would not be able to turn the prison around.

He lists changes the government is making to how the prison runs, including a new governor, a reduction in the number of inmates, and renovations. He insists that this will be at no cost to the taxpayer.

He defends private prisons, which Labour have been critical of, listing a number of successful privately run prisons. He also adds that it was a Labour government that made the initial movement towards privatising HMP Birmingham.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Wes Streeting raises foreign students here legally being ejected from the UK - blaming the hostile environment policy. He says pursuing the immigration claims of people like this is wasting taxpayers' money.

Ms Nokes says there have been cases of fake schools and colleges being set up so people can trick the immigration system, and that it's right they be closed, adding that the courts supported the decision to close them.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Colonel Tim Collins tells the committee that the republican movement maintains a "death penalty" to this day.

He says the military and the police are now "hunted beasts".

He rejects the claim that 10% of killings in the Troubles were related to security personnel, as they were there legally, bearing arms and when they discharged weapons it was in self-defence or protection of others, he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Helen Heyes says that her constituents involved in the Windrush controversy are living in fear and distrust of the Home Office.

She says a lack of funding has led to the closure of advice surgeries, and calls on the Home Office to commit to fund independent advice for those too fearful of the Home Office to come forward.

Ms Nokes promises to "work extremely hard" to assist anyone who needs it, and says a number who have been through the process have found it easy, with many being granted citizenship.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes says that government has been proactively working through high commissions to identify Windrush victims wrongly deported.

The SNP’s Joanna Cherry says the home secretary is still refusing to make a full apology to all Windrush victims.

She calls for a full and proper revisiting of the hostile environment policy that led to the scandal.

Ms Nokes says the policy will not be removed as it also helps to identify those who are here illegally.

Select Committee
Parliament

You can watch the Defence Committee session about a statute of limitations for veterans by using the tab above and here, external.

Select Committee
Parliament

The committee session is starting now. On the committee are:

• Dr Julian Lewis (Chair) - Conservative
• Leo Docherty - Conservative
• Martin Docherty-Hughes - Scottish National Party
• Mr Mark Francois - Conservative
• Graham P Jones - Labour
• Johnny Mercer - Conservative
• Mrs Madeleine Moon - Labour
• Gavin Robinson - Democratic Unionist Party
• Ruth Smeeth - Labour
• John Spellar - Labour
• Phil Wilson - Labour

You can find out more about the committee and its work here., external

House of Commons
Parliament

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee Yvette Cooper says the government has rejected the committee's recommendation that it reinstates immigration appeal rights.

She says the government needs to do this to prevent Windrush being repeated.

Ms Nokes says there is an review process still on-going, and that the government needs to take the recommendations of this review into account.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott suggests the government is not aware of how much damage the scandal has done to relations with those in the Caribbean.

Three people have died since being forced to leave the country after being caught up in the scandal, she says, calling it shameful that this information was provided by the Jamaican government, not the British.

She asks why the government has only apologised to specifically 18 people affected, and calls for the abandonment of the 'hostile environment policy', which she says continues despite a rebrand.

Ms Nokes says those that have had wrong done to them have been affected for decades, by a variety of governments - listing a number of policies introduced by the previous Labour government.

Select Committee
Parliament

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The Defence Committee is to hear evidence from former service personnel about the possibility of a statute of limitations on investigation and re-investigation into past conduct.

There have been calls for the introduction of a statute of limitations to protect veterans from historical prosecution resulting from Troubles legacy cases in Northern Ireland.

The committee will be taking evidence from former commanding officers:

• Colonel Tim Collins, former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
• Colonel Jorge Mendonça, former Commanding Officer 1st Battalion, the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

The session is expected to cover the legal underpinnings for the legacy investigations into Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland; the support provided by the Ministry of Defence to service personnel and veterans who are the subject of investigations and whether more support and protection could and should be provided.

House of Commons
Parliament

Responding to an urgent question from the shadow home secretary, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes updates MPs on the government's approach to the Windrush scandal.

The government is determined to put things right, she says, with over 2,000 people helped by the taskforce set up to help people affected by the scandal.

Details of a compensation scheme will be announced as soon as possible, Ms Nokes adds, while the government has launched a review to ensure it does not happen again.

The Speaker announces that Sir Kevin Barron has decided to stand down from the Standards Committee.

He says that the election for a new chair of the committee will take place on Wednesday 17 October, and Sir Kevin will continue in his position until then.

The Speaker calls on his colleagues to show their appreciation for the work that the Labour MP has done in this role.

Mr Carney is due to step down in June 2019 but wants to help with a "smooth" Brexit transition.

House of Commons
Parliament

Following the United States' decision to cease contributions to UNRWA, which funds UN work in the Palestinian Territories, Labour's Matthew Pennycock asks whether the UK will follow Germany in increasing its funding.

In response, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt says he is able to announce today that UK contributions will increase.

Labour MP Richard Burden asks whether the government supports the US approach and what action will be taken to ensure lives are not lost as a result.

Jeremy Hunt says they will speak with others about finding additional funding, stressing that the UK does not support the US decsion.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat Tom Brake asks for an update on attempts to secure the release of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is currently imprisoned in Iran.

Jeremy Hunt says the situation is a "gross injustice" and that the government will "leave no stone unturned" in attempts to secure her release.

The prime minister has spoken with her Iranian counterpart to discuss, he adds, and he has met his.

He is willing to visit Tehran if necessary, he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Peter Grant asks what representations have been made to Saudi Arabia following the bombing of a school bus in Yemen by Saudi-led coaltion forces last month.

He says that previous government policy of leaving Saudi Arabia to investigate its own crimes is not working.

The Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, says there is proper accountability when things go wrong in the Yemen conflict.

House of Commons
Parliament

The foreign secretary is asked about co-operation on foreign policy with the EU after Brexit, which Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat broadens to include Nato.

"Standing up for Nato is just as important as standing up for co-operation with our EU partner states," he says and asks how US co-operation could be included.

Mr Hunt says the UK is being tested at every opportunity by Russia, and that working with EU and US allies is vital in standing against this.

"The issue of sanctions are going to become more important in the months ahead, because the US has said it will introduce sanctions as a result to the Salisbury attacks," he says - adding that the US expects the EU to follow suit.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry says the evidence on the Rohingya attacks is damning and asks why the minister says questions still need to be asked, rather than taking action.

Jeremy Hunt says it's important that he visits the country and meet the government there, and that the UK works with its allies to co-ordinate any action.

Ms Thornberry suggests the foreign secretary go to straight New York and appeal to the United Nations for action - rather than visiting Myanmar. He says he fully intends to do both.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Azfal Khan asks what recent assessment Jeremy Hunt has made of the political and security situation in Myanmar.

The foreign secretary says he will raise the "extremely serious" case of the two journalists, who were jailed for seven years by a Myanmar judge yesterday for breaching a law on state secrets, on his forthcoming visit to Myanmar.

Mr Hunt says the perpetrators of the attacks on the Rohingya "must be brought to justice" and that the Foreign Office "will leave no stone unturned" in doing so.

He said a high level meeting of ministers will be held later this month.