Speeches by Shannon.

“Can I leave that with you?”

“Mary, you have given me a difficult question. I suspect that you might have as much knowledge of the right person. I am sorry, Chair; I thought it was straightforward, but Mary is absolutely right. It could be another Department. Can I leave it with you to tell me the right Department? I thought it was straightforwardl…”

“I know the pressures that the Committee is under. I am happy to leave it to your discretion.”

“If possible. First of all, thank you, Chair, and Committee members for giving me the chance to request this. I have been approached by some organisations, as I am my party’s health spokesperson. It is one of those ones where I did not have much bother getting people to sign or contribute. I have five Labour Members, tw…”

“I welcome what the Minister is saying, which is positive. This is a good step for guardians, carers and veterans. Sometimes people come to me and ask me questions. They say that they cannot get any help with the changes that have come in and how they are affected. When they are given more money, sometimes they fall int…”

“I thank the Secretary of State and I know he is interested in small modular reactor schemes, which we are very interested in having in Northern Ireland. The shadow Secretary of State has also giving a commitment to them. Can I please ask the Secretary of State what discussion he has had with the Northern Ireland Assemb…”

“rose—”

“We very much welcome the triple lock and the extra moneys coming to our pensioners, but an issue has come to my attention recently. I had an 84-year-old pensioner in my office just last week who said, “Jim, I’ve got a demand from the HMRC for hundreds of pounds, but I’ve never been in debt in all my life.” When it come…”

“I thank the Minister for her full answers. The fact that justice should be open and transparent is not negotiable. Anything other than that is not democracy but, by its very nature, despotic. The Minister has provided a justification. However, it is clear that although the system could undoubtedly be tightened up, comp…”

“I could not let this opportunity pass by. My point is about Russia’s influence; I want to mention in particular Russia’s abuse and disregard of lives. I am thinking of human rights and the persecution of religious minorities, and I could give some examples right away. Those of us who have stood up to condemn Russia for…”

“May I say what a pleasure it is to follow the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley), and thank him for his knowledge of the subject matter, and the way that he portrays it with such empathy and understanding? I also thank the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) who set …”

“Sometimes.”

“The Minister will have heard me ask numerous times over a number of years for interventions on behalf of Jimmy Lai, who is a British citizen, as other Members of this House have done—indeed, we have been very strong collectively. His sham trial has now ended and, unsurprisingly, Jimmy will be held in unknown conditions…”

“I thank the Minister very much for his enthusiasm and energy in doing this job. I think that we welcome the tariffs. The agreement was projected to give Northern Ireland’s economy a boost of some £50 million. Three distilleries in my constituency— Echlinville, Hinch and Rademon—will take advantage of the reduction in t…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) very much for what he has said, and I agree with the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis)—it is not often that we have two people agreeing spontaneously with the Member speaking on behalf of the Committee. I think that I have the strongest legs in the …”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“The Chief Secretary is an honourable man. He is answering incredibly difficult questions, and we have to recognise that. He will know that I seek to find solutions rather than prioritising point scoring in this House—I say that very respectfully—and in this instance it is clear that the public want a solution to the se…”

“We are a nation of animal lovers. When I got married, my wife loved cats and I did not, but I realised that if I loved her, I had to love her cats, and that is how it works. Can I bring to the Minister’s attention one thing that annoys me and my constituents, which is pet insurance? Pet insurance is okay until the day …”

“The Solicitor General announced an expansion of the victims’ right to review scheme, allowing rape and serious sexual assault survivors who request a case review by a different prosecutor before a final no-evidence decision is made. That is welcome news. What discussion has taken place with counterparts across the Unit…”

“I wish to raise concerns about the treatment of the Shi’a Muslims in Saudia Arabia. There have been long-standing reports of systematic discrimination, including restrictions on religious practice, unequal access to employment and limits on political participation. Such reports raise serious concerns about freedom of r…”