Speeches by Carden.

“I suppose I am looking for the reason why Sir Philip Barton’s departure from the FCDO came at such a critical time in this process.”

“Just to follow up on this document, is it the case that a Minister would ever have been shown one of these documents? Do you have an idea?”

“I don’t want you to comment on it; I want to know if we are going to see notes and minutes of discussions and decisions that were made when it comes to the reason why he left the FCDO before he was meant to.”

“You are one of the country’s most distinguished civil servants and you have this week been dismissed by the Prime Minister. Can you tell us why? Is it your contention that you have delivered your duty, that you have carried out security vetting in the usual procedural way? What is your reaction to the way that you have…”

“Finally, is the Prime Minister right to have expected you to provide him with more information on the vetting process?”

“If we go back again, the Cabinet Secretary at the time, Lord Case, advised the Prime Minister to carry out security vetting prior to announcing any appointment. Why would that advice not have been followed?”

“What I want to ask, having heard everything you have given us so far, is: what do you think would have happened if you had denied clearance? How would you have gone about that? What would the impact of that be? Would it even be possible?”

“I wonder why it would not have happened automatically? If that was the view of the civil service, that vetting would be gained before an announcement made, why would that advice not just automatically be followed?”

“Finally, is the Prime Minister right to have expected you to provide him with more information on the vetting process?”

“Yesterday, the Prime Minister said, “Foreign Office officials granted him developed vetting clearance, against the specific recommendation of the United Kingdom Security Vetting that developed vetting clearance should be denied.” And then you have said to us that UKSV did not fail Mandelson and FCDO did not overrule th…”

“What I want to ask, having heard everything you have given us so far, is: what do you think would have happened if you had denied clearance? How would you have gone about that? What would the impact of that be? Would it even be possible?”

“I wonder why it would not have happened automatically? If that was the view of the civil service, that vetting would be gained before an announcement made, why would that advice not just automatically be followed?”

“If we go back again, the Cabinet Secretary at the time, Lord Case, advised the Prime Minister to carry out security vetting prior to announcing any appointment. Why would that advice not have been followed?”

“Yesterday, the Prime Minister said, “Foreign Office officials granted him developed vetting clearance, against the specific recommendation of the United Kingdom Security Vetting that developed vetting clearance should be denied.” And then you have said to us that UKSV did not fail Mandelson and FCDO did not overrule th…”

“You are one of the country’s most distinguished civil servants and you have this week been dismissed by the Prime Minister. Can you tell us why? Is it your contention that you have delivered your duty, that you have carried out security vetting in the usual procedural way? What is your reaction to the way that you have…”

“19. What the evidential basis is for his Department’s policy on rent control.”

“There is an injection of housing investment in some parts of my constituency, but sadly it is by landlords who are taking advantage of low house prices to turn family homes and whole terraces into houses in multiple occupation, charging sky-high rents for people to live in single bedrooms, undermining the local communi…”

“I thank the Chancellor for her statement. May I ask her to do something for a specific group of people? Constituents who have to rent their home in the private rented market, especially those in more deprived communities like mine, will see their energy bills go up, but their biggest outgoing each month will still be t…”

“The number of young people not in education, employment or training hitting 1 million follows a trajectory that has been ongoing for a long time and is a global phenomenon. I am delighted that the Secretary of State has today said that a Labour Government are determined to intervene and do something about it. How does …”

“T3. My constituents living in private rented accommodation are looking to the Government to take action on the cost of living, rent and utility bills. The Government have legislated to stop above-market increases in rent, and I understand that the Department is consulting on charging tenants a fee to go to a tribunal. …”