Speeches by Lockhart.

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“It is an honour to follow the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister). I stand to speak in support of new clause 1 in his name, which is supported by numerous people across the Opposition Benches. New clause 1 is not radical or wrecking; it is actually very reasonable in what it asks, and should therefo…”

“Cancer is a thief and a home-wrecker. Sadly, Northern Ireland has the worst cancer outcomes across the UK. I recently lifted the lid on breast cancer referrals, with red-flag appointments taking in excess of 14 weeks. Although the autumn Budget has been helpful, can the Minister confirm whether conversations are happen…”

“Women have been left in lifelong pain; children have been born with preventable disabilities; families have endured financial and emotional stress; many women have lost their jobs, their homes and even their marriages. Does my hon. Friend agree that, although financial and non-financial support are important, to preven…”

“Accuracy and fairness are really important, so I think the face-to-face assessments are vital. There has been talk of a 30% increase, which is a little bit less than what I would like to see. Can the Minister give this House assurances that the increase will not sit at 30%, and that the Government will strive for more …”

“The hon. Member is right: victims should be at the heart of this process. The allegations against someone who the Prime Minister and Ministers put full trust in are also absolutely shocking. Jeffrey Epstein was a sick child predator and a sex offender. He visited Hillsborough castle on at least one occasion. Does the h…”

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“I commend the hon. Member on her speech. Evidence shows that the two-child limit has not changed fertility or employment but that it has coincided, sadly, with a disproportionate rise in abortions among mothers with two or more children. Does she agree that removing the two-child limit will better support mums and help…”

“The hon. Member is making a really powerful speech. Even one intentional male role model can transform boys’ engagement at school, yet 2.5 million children in the UK grow up without a father figure. The “Lost Boys” report from the Centre for Social Justice shows boys falling behind girls at every stage of education, wi…”

“Northern Ireland is and will be disadvantaged if we proceed down this track. What engagement has the Minister had with the individuals concerned, as the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon outlined? Will he extend the invitation he gave to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the Members for Northern Ireland w…”

“The hon. Member is right. Does she agree that online pornography remains an issue that needs to be tackled? The statistics show that more than 50% of young boys aged 11 to 13 have already seen porn, and that it is shaping their minds about what consent is.”

“Unfortunately, the Sinn Féin Finance Minister in Northern Ireland has not got the memo on the need to support our hospitality sector, and is pressing on with a rates revaluation that will see a hotel in my constituency experience a 267% rate rise. Will the Minister commit to sharing this Government’s hard learning abou…”

“We have been unwavering in our opposition to the notion of immunity. There has never been a justification for arbitrarily closing down legal routes for innocent victims—not in 1998, not during the darkest days of the troubles, and certainly not today. While the Secretary of State and his party are perhaps late to this …”

“I broadly welcome the White Paper and its evidence-based recognition that sewage and waste water failures are central to poor water quality, rather than defaulting to blaming agriculture. That approach is entirely absent in Northern Ireland where the Agriculture Minister, Mr Muir, is advancing an extreme, one-sided env…”

“Last week, I made it clear that any hostile intelligence service would struggle to find a better location for espionage than the now approved Chinese mega-embassy. What assessment has been made of the risk that this site could be used for surveillance, intimidation or coercion of critics of the oppressive communist reg…”

“The £35 billion figure has been cited the most today. This is taxpayers’ money that should be funding schools, hospitals and other much-needed infrastructure. The deal is not only a shameful surrender of national sovereignty but a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

“It is timely to remind us all that if we held a minute’s silence for every person killed in the Holocaust, we would be silent for 11 and a half years. It is right and proper that we have a national memorial. Can the Minister reassure the House? Antisemitism is not confined to history; it is happening daily. Whether it …”

“While the Lords have endeavoured to amend the Bill in a number of areas, part 4, which allows foreign national offenders to be deported at any time during their sentence, are important to Northern Ireland. Because of article 2 of the Windsor framework, an assessment has been made that there is a risk that these offende…”

“According to Open Doors’ world watch list, which was released last week, Yemen is now the third most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian. Since January, over 50 Yemeni Christians have been arrested and imprisoned, facing intimidation, interrogation and the risk of torture. Will the Minister explain why fre…”

“Let me just remind the House of Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We must all bear that in our minds tonight. The question I would ask is this: how many more burned churches and murdered worshippers do we have to see before concrete actio…”