Speeches by Shannon.

“I think probably Treasury, since it is to do with VAT. They are the people who make that decision. Again, we have a good consensus, with some 12 MPs in total from all the parties.”

“Again, I made copious inquiries across the Chamber. I am mindful about being fair to some of the Labour Members. You always tell me, Chair, to make sure that I get at least four Labour MPs to sign it, so I had to have a number of long conversations with them in relation to this. I did not want to put them in an embarra…”

“That is fine.”

“Well, she was the second one to sign, because I asked her, “Would it be okay to sign?” and she said yes. But if she wants to withdraw her name, I am happy with that; it doesn’t bother me personally. But I wished to give her that respect because her conversation with me was to ask for it.”

“Unless she has withdrawn her name—would this be Sorcha Eastwood?”

“Yes, they all did. I asked them all individually and personally, yes.”

“Are they going to speak?”

“No, I understand that it will not. I did make inquiries, before I even approached the Committee, to see whether it was appropriate to do this, and it was indicated to me that it was. I think the fact that the chief constable has called for a public inquiry would indicate that. To me, if the top man in the PSNI back hom…”

“I understand that. It is just to make sure that the Members of Parliament from Northern Ireland who always travel home on a Wednesday—”

“I think for this one it is the MoD. That is my understanding.”

“I was presuming it would be the MoD. Would that be right?”

“Chair, can I apologise? There was a Northern Ireland statement in the Chamber, and as always, I was called near the end. The first application is for a debate on justice for the families of the 1994 Chinook disaster. It is a well-known disaster in which the cream of intelligence experts from Northern Ireland were kille…”

“It is no secret that I have major concerns over the legacy Bill, not least that innocent victims were precluded from taking their path to justice. What seems to be before us now is carte blanche for political inquiries and yet no hope for the Kingsmill families. It instead highlights the role of the Irish Government in…”

“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate and I wish her well in her campaign. Although this issue obviously does not affect my constituents in Strangford, I am here to offer my support to ensure that she achieves her goals, and I am sure the Minister is standing by to give her the green light. Does she …”

“I spoke to the hon. Lady beforehand, and she said that whenever I ask for an intervention, she will take it, so I thought I would get it done early. I commend her for her dedication and commitment, which I always admire, and I wish her well in this campaign. Does she agree that the nature of PoTS means that it can be d…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, I spoke to the hon. Lady beforehand to ensure that I was here to support her in what she is trying to achieve in north-east Scotland. It is very important that we add our support to her. Does the hon. Lady agree that while investment in tidal energy has not produced the desired result of sustainab…”

“I thank and commend the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for setting out the debate so very well. This year’s COP30 will highlight the role of sustainable food systems in addressing environmental prosperity and climate change. That is something to which each nation can contribute, especially within…”

“I thank the Secretary of State very much for his answers. The fact is that we are all in this together. We must understand that third-world countries have a role to play, just as the United Kingdom does, but we are the richer country. I am conscious that it may not always be financially possible for third-world countri…”

“We very much welcome the news that there is a ceasefire and that the hostages have finally been returned home after two long years in unimaginable conditions. The smiles on the faces of family members are a joy to behold. While President Trump deserves much credit for the peace deal, our Prime Minister and our United K…”