Speeches by Cooper.

“It is not a bespoke system, then. If I am getting this right, you seem to be saying that the controlled list is global and there is not a bespoke list for Israel. Am I picking that up incorrectly?”

“Sir Chris, as of 31 July 2025, your latest statistics indicate that 55 export licences are open where “the Government of Israel is the end-user or a potential end-user.” Can you tell the Committee how you have assessed that these exports do not have combat utility in the conflict in Gaza?”

“You are confident of that, but can you give us some clue as to how you have assessed that? How has your assessment worked?”

“12. What recent progress she has made on establishing a national inquiry into grooming gangs.”

“It beggars belief that the inquiry inches along at such a dreadfully slow pace. With the Scottish Government ruling out an inquiry there, will the Home Secretary please commit to fast-tracking a thoroughgoing inquiry into the grooming gang scandal, for the sake of the victims?”

“Sadly, we are not here to relitigate this entire Bill, which is so wide in scope and impact, and yet so skimpy in detail, having been cobbled together for a headline under Labour’s “first 100 days” banner. I refer the House to Lords amendment 61, which without doubt will be dashed aside as Labour seeks to salvage somet…”

“As a seasoned diplomat, does the Minister recognise that there is a danger that we are holding Israel to a different standard? When the Americans reached out into Pakistan to snuff out Osama bin Laden, the architect of 9/11, we were taking them to the bar; when Israel reaches out with a precision decapitation strike on…”

“The Chancellor elicited much public sympathy with her recent tearful appearance on these Benches, but over the summer I have had Dumfries and Galloway farmers in tears at the loss of the next generation of farming. A new Centre for the Analysis of Taxation report says that HMRC’s own figures indicate that these changes…”

“6. If she will meet with representatives of the farming industry to discuss the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief on that sector.”

“Charles Stewart Parnell came to this place and used British institutions against the British state. Now, in Scotland, we have First Minister John Swinney, who is a kind of pound-shop Parnell. Although we are hearing much about defence infrastructure across the UK, the SNP Government have a presumption against supportin…”

“I am delighted that the face of procurement is changing and that, hopefully, we will see a telescoping of the time between the flash of inspiration and the bang of kinetic effectors, as they say. The neutral vendor framework for innovation is a very important part of that, but will the Minister give me an assurance tha…”

“It was a great moment when my daughter pulled a pint for me as part of her duties as a barmaid in her first job as she worked her way through university. Although that job put vital cash in her pocket, it also gave her people skills and proof on her CV that she was reliable and trustworthy with cash valuable stock. Her…”

“Is it that Ofgem does not have sufficient powers? We have heard a lot about that in this Committee about paper tigers, where powers look great on paper, but they are not being enforced. Where is Ofgem? Does it need more powers or does it just need to use what it has?”

“It seems to be that domestic customers are better treated than commercial customers. Domestic customers have several checks, balances and safety nets in place, whereas the commercial people are just out there on their own.”

“If I can come to Venus, you talked about the difficulties that businesses face understanding their bills. Could more be done with bills? When HMRC tells you how much you have paid, you could get a breakdown of what your money is going to or something like that. Would it be helpful if that was simplified? Would that bet…”

“If it was easy, it would be done by now—it is the hard things that we are here for. Chris, I will come to you. You did a very good job of outlining the impact of non-commodity costs. Standing charges are another part of that. Do we need a big conversation about this whole question of these non-commodity charges in all …”

“Dhara, if I can stick with you, is this the dirty little secret at the heart of the green, clean energy system? In fact, it is not really wholesale gas prices that are hitting people in the pocket; it is all these levies that are being loaded on. Is that not really the case? We can argue the toss about whether or not w…”

“It is good news that Liberty Steel Dalzell in Scotland is not involved in this immediate crisis, but it is not shroud-waving to suggest that the difficulties in the wider industry may mean that one day it will become involved. When the overdue steel strategy arrives, will it be a 360° look at steel production as a whol…”

“Many happy returns, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Druze in Syria are suffering nothing short of atrocities, and that situation continues. What practical help can the UK give as the Israelis try to set up safe zones and humanitarian corridors for them?”

“I should declare an interest in that my eldest son today started work at Rosyth royal dockyard, a key part of British military infrastructure for more than 100 years. Over the summer, we saw Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney meet with Ukrainian military personnel at the Edinburgh military tattoo. Incredibly, were …”