Speeches by Tapp.

“The Minister has been clear that we can of course recruit from outside the civil service, and that being within the civil service equips the person with the powers, the tools and, of course, the access to be effective in the role. I am slightly concerned that the hon. Member for Stockton West tabled the amendment off t…”

“Thank you for your passionate speech; I am sure it gripped us all—”

“Yes, Dover and Deal.”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“I apologise for my lack of timely bobbing earlier, Dr Murrison. I draw attention to the Home Secretary’s statement at the very top of the Bill: “In my view the provisions of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill are compatible with the Convention rights.” That adds to what the Minister has said: that those i…”

“I will quickly talk about this clause, because it is one of my favourite clauses in the Bill. Having worked in a counter-terror role in the past, I know that one of the most effective ways of preventing terror attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom is by identifying hostile reconnaissance, whether it is physical …”

“His speech—my apologies; I will not make that mistake again. It is really important that we look at what is covered in the Bill, and how it enables our Border Security Command, the National Crime Agency, the police, the border forces and the security services to act. We said before the election, in our manifesto, that …”

“I have an important intervention on that point. The Russians invading Ukraine and going further into Europe would create a much more serious refugee crisis than the one we are facing now. Increasing defence spending is very important.”

“21. What steps she is taking to build more social housing in Kent.”

“I recently visited Aylesham village with Persimmon Homes in my constituency, and I was delighted to see the number of solar panels on roofs across the estate. What are this Government doing to ensure that, for new builds, including social housing new builds, we deliver solar panels on every roof, high levels of insulat…”

“Q We have met previously, Mr Solomon, and I want to declare that I have worked for the National Crime Agency in the past and in a counter-terror role. I understand the points you made on enforcement, but what are your views on the fact that the Bill also includes strong disruptive measures, which is of course pre-enfor…”

“Q I should declare that I have worked for the National Crime Agency in a counter-terror role. We have talked a lot about the upstream side, which publicly people are well aware of. Is there a significant domestic angle here? Are we confident that we have a sound intelligence picture—as much as we can? Are there crossov…”

“Q Since you started in your role, 19,000 people have been deported, which I believe is a 24% increase on the same period last year. How have you managed to achieve that in such a short time? Combined with the Bill, do you think that that will start acting as a deterrent? Dame Angela Eagle: One of the important things f…”

“Does the new, Europe-wide entry/exit system, which will be implemented— Tony Smith: Yes, the EU EES; that is what I mean.”

“Yes, we are. It is coming in this year. Tony Smith: We do not have a biometric entry/exit system. The EU is bringing in EES, which means Brits will have to give their biometrics on entry and exit. We are bringing in the electronic travel authorisation—the ETA—but that is different from an entry/exit system.”

“Yes, the EES. We are having it at our borders. Tony Smith: No, we are not.”

“Q I have a couple of questions for Mr Smith. First, in your earlier comments you spoke quite enthusiastically about biometric collection at the borders. Are you aware that we are looking at a new entry/exit system with biometric collection, to come in this year? Secondly, you spoke quite negatively about the Border Sec…”

“Q Thank you—so obviously you differ from those who are currently serving. On the biometric checks, are you aware that we have a new system? Tony Smith: I know you have an order coming in next week that will allow biometrics to be captured, but I do not think it goes far enough.”

“Q I will make it quick. I am really pleased to see the enthusiasm for the disruptive approach, by the way. How do you see the Border Security Command working strategically and operationally? Rob Jones: For me, I have worked really closely with Martin Hewitt already, and it works well. It allows me to focus on the opera…”

“The murder of Sir David Amess cut to the very heart of democracy. Clearly, he was the very best of British. The Minister talked about parliamentary security in his considered statement. I have spoken to many colleagues across the House who have said that they feel that abuse and harassment are peaking, and many feel un…”