Speeches by Smart.

“This House did not pass the motion on the Humble Address so that Ministers could decide, four months later, which inconvenient information they would prefer that Parliament did not see. Given the ISC’s concerns that the Government are redacting information far too broadly, we must ensure that the Government are not jus…”

“Before being elected to this place, I was a member of the independent panel for the community and environment fund and the business and local economy fund for HS2, which was responsible for disbursing funding to communities disrupted by the building of a whacking great railway line. Communities rightly and understandab…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) on securing this important debate. I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on an issue of such importance to many families across the country and beyond. Since being …”

“I thank the Chief Secretary for advance sight of his statement. The women and girls who spoke out against Jeffrey Epstein and those connected to him did so at enormous personal cost. We must never lose sight of the fact that their bravery is the reason we are having this conversation at all. The Prime Minister promised…”

“Earlier this year, the NATO Secretary-General said: “We are not at war, but we are not at peace either.” Trump’s reckless war in Iran has shown how vulnerable our country is to external shocks, while Putin’s imperial ambitions pose a once-in-a-generation threat to our security and our way of life. The UK is not resilie…”

“I am here subbing for my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean), who, as has already been mentioned, welcomed his new daughter late last Thursday. I am very pleased to tell the House that mum Gemma and baby Lyla are both doing very well indeed. Yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee publish…”

“At Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, when asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), the Prime Minister failed to deny that he knew that his team were lobbying for a head of mission role for Matthew Doyle, and that they were doing so with his authority. Under the ministerial code…”

“I present this petition on behalf of the residents of the constituency of Hazel Grove. It accompanies a similar petition for the residents of the constituency of Cheadle, presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison), with over 3,000 signatures. The petition states: The petition of residents of the c…”

“strongly agree with my hon. Friend’s point. We understand the reasons behind the regulations—they follow on from the Manchester Arena inquiry, which raised important concerns about the provision of healthcare at sporting and cultural events—but we do not want the unintended consequences to mean that it is difficult for…”

“If only for a correction of my pronunciation, I would welcome an intervention.”

“We have had a particularly strong debate this afternoon. We have reminded one another that mountain rescue teams are a vital part of our emergency infrastructure, and we believe that their importance will only grow. We want our communities to be out enjoying our great outdoors, because it belongs to all of us. My hon. …”

“I strongly agree with the right hon. Lady on making sure that all our emergency services are properly resourced to do the job that we rightly expect them to do. I also agree that the organisation of our police forces across our whole country should reflect the differing needs in urban and rural areas—although there are…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for mountain rescue. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I know that many colleagues across the House and people in our communities share a deep appreciation for the extraordinary work that mountain rescue teams do. While Hazel Gro…”

“I am grateful for the intervention. We need to use whatever technology exists to make the work of mountain rescue volunteers even more effective. I will come on to talk about the work they do to find people who are missing, but drone technology can certainly help with that, and we should welcome it. The sheer scale of …”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving a shout-out to those involved in lowland rescue. I know there is a whole search and rescue community, including those who look at caves and other environments, and I am glad that he gave me the opportunity to thank all those involved in the great work of lowland rescue. As cli…”

“We need to do far more to back British small businesses through public procurement, both to boost growth and to ensure our national security. Public procurement amounts to hundreds of billions of pounds a year. The Procurement Act was meant to ensure that more of that money reached British small businesses, but in prac…”

“Last month, the Rycroft review confirmed that the UK faces persistent and strategic interference from hostile states and warned that our defences against information warfare are “worryingly weak”. With important elections across the country in two weeks’ time, including in my Stockport council area, what steps are the …”

“I am going to try again, because a number of right hon. and hon. Members have asked this question, and I am not quite sure I have heard an answer from the Prime Minister. Why did he choose to ignore the advice from the then Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, to seek security vetting before confirming Peter Mandelson as his…”

“Our Jewish community has contributed to our national story for centuries, and we are right to be proud that our country welcomes citizens to our shores who fled persecution elsewhere, including my nan, who came here in the late 1930s, fleeing the Nazis. Much of the discussion this afternoon has understandably been abou…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity to wade into such a thorny political issue—and an issue where it is important to stay on the right side of what can be said in discussing a proscribed organisation. The Government should use their powers of proscription proportionately, in all cases, and sh…”