Speeches by Gardiner.

“Mr Spence, I saw you nodding. Did you want to add to that?”

“That is very interesting. The Government therefore have a role to play in ensuring that there is capacity to get this right.”

“Perhaps only if the Government set those very clear regulatory targets will that way be found.”

“Indeed; that would be prevention rather than cure. Dr Rajapakse, you speak as a scientist and you have been involved in this. Does incineration actually get rid of the PFAS? Does it break it down? We have been told that these are incredibly persistent chemical compounds.”

“That would be a heck of a lot of energy used to get rid of some of the materials in compostable paper cups.”

“What lessons do you think we can learn from other countries that have successfully reduced PFAS in their consumer goods, Mr Hirlam?”

“You are doing a wonderful marketing job here, Mr Hirlam, but that is not the purpose of this. However, you do lead me on to something I wanted to ask you about. When Parliament procures its cutlery—we have wooden cutlery, takeaway boxes, and so on—would it not be a good idea, and perhaps one the Committee might recomme…”

“It certainly would send out a signal, yes; and of course, all other companies might be able to go through the OJEC procedures and apply that way, rather than just Delipac. What challenges does your company face? You said, “We didn’t know whether we had and we had difficulty finding out.” How difficult was it for you to…”

“Thank you very much.”

“Indeed, but what one could do, I suppose, is to regulate to at least insist on transparency, so that if the public is looking to purchase a product, then they can either go to Mr Spence and get his PFAS-free fire extinguisher, or they can go to another product that specifically says, “We contain PFAS”. They can then at…”

“Dr Cloy, you are telling us that at the moment we spray our children’s school uniforms with a substance that we know has the potential to cause cancer, and that can interfere with their fertility in the long term. That seems quite incredible, doesn’t it? What happened to the precautionary principle that you mentioned?”

“Spoken like a true Yorkshireman, if I may say so. Thank you very much. That was robust and helpful. I wanted to ask you about the way in which PFAS may be being reintroduced into the environment through biodegradable or compostable materials. We can perhaps look not only to you, Mr Hirlam, but to others to talk about t…”

“What could the UK learn from the EU’s safe and sustainable design framework? How can we avoid regrettable substitution? I know these are used as technical terms, but, Professor Depledge, can you put them in layman’s language for us?”

“I want to return to the bloodletting that you mentioned earlier in the town of Bentham. I notice that some chap called Orlando Bloom recently paid £10,000 to have his blood purified from microplastics and PFAS. Picking up on what you said about specific professions, given we know that the aqueous film forming foams—or …”

“Two questions to the Deputy Prime Minister today, at Prime Minister’s question time, related to the ongoing health issues caused to military personnel from the nuclear testing back in the 1950s. I am conscious that they are talking about huge compensation payments there. Do you think it might be sensible for this Commi…”

“Mr Hirlam, and indeed all of you, may I echo what the Chair said about coming and giving evidence to us—Mr Hirlam in particular? We had approached another company that makes the plastic cups that I am drinking out of. I notice you are drinking out of one of your Delipac cups—yes, ostentatiously advertising it on screen…”

“As the Member of Parliament for the largest Jewish school in Europe, may I thank the Foreign Secretary for his earlier assurances on safeguarding the community in this country? May I also commend the way in which he has diligently pursued a negotiated outcome to this destabilised situation? He knows that it used to be …”

“If you were to encapsulate what you think this Committee should be saying, the carbon price, as it stands, is too low in order to enable the expansion that is been predicated. Too many flights are not included in it. Can you elaborate on that?”

“I was fascinated by what you said about those medium‑haul flights and the impact of them.”

“They are getting a more generous allowance than the rest of the economy, which is only 38%, is it not?”