Speeches by Brickell.

“I thank my hon. Friend for his passionate campaigning on this issue. He is absolutely right that we need more transparency to support our law enforcement agencies to tackle this issue, and I will come on to that now. I pay tribute to the brilliant enforcement work undertaken by the National Crime Agency through its Ope…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of financial secrecy in the Overseas Territories on UK communities. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. Before being elected to this place, I dedicated almost 15 years of my working life to tackling financial crime at two major UK banks. …”

“I am slightly conscious of time, so I will move on to my next question, which is for Peter Hill. The COP structure has received a lot of criticism for moving too slowly, especially given that UN Secretary-General Guterres said earlier this year that it is “inevitable” that humanity will not meet the Paris agreement’s c…”

“You talk about sending political messages, and I was just reflecting on where COP has been held over the last few years: Azerbaijan for COP29, UAE for COP28 and Egypt for COP27. What political message is being sent by those countries hosting COP? I would also welcome your reflections on the longer-term enduring commitm…”

“Professor Watts, on that point you just mentioned, what are the implications of the UK’s planned reduction in overseas aid spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027 on its international climate finance commitments?”

“You talk about sending political messages, and I was just reflecting on where COP has been held over the last few years: Azerbaijan for COP29, UAE for COP28 and Egypt for COP27. What political message is being sent by those countries hosting COP? I would also welcome your reflections on the longer-term enduring commitm…”

“I am slightly conscious of time, so I will move on to my next question, which is for Peter Hill. The COP structure has received a lot of criticism for moving too slowly, especially given that UN Secretary-General Guterres said earlier this year that it is “inevitable” that humanity will not meet the Paris agreement’s c…”

“Professor Watts, on that point you just mentioned, what are the implications of the UK’s planned reduction in overseas aid spending to 0.3% of GNI by 2027 on its international climate finance commitments?”

“The hon. Member is speaking about the tax rate. Is it not also important to talk about the tax gap? That gap is £46.8 billion, of which £6.4 billion is linked to tax evasion. We are seeing a lot of that on our high streets up and down the country. What does he think should be done across Government to tackle it?”

“Thank you, Chair. Most of my questions will be for Sir Chris. You spoke about your letter to the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which set out a little of the due diligence process that the Propriety and Ethics Team carries out. What is the purpose of the due diligence process?”

“Is that something that will be looked at in the future: making sure that there is a handover of information from the Cabinet Office to the Foreign Office, where there is a direct appointment?”

“Why was that done by the Cabinet Office and not by the appointing Department, the Foreign Office?”

“Is it possible that somebody has due diligence done on them by the team in the Cabinet Office, and once that is concluded a decision is made that they do not then proceed through the vetting process?”

“We talked about departmental responsibilities earlier. As I understand it, the Cabinet Office did the due diligence checks.”

“To be clear, are we saying that before the new process for direct ministerial appointments was instituted, there was no standard guidance on what due diligence was required?”

“In your letter to the Chair of PACAC on 30 October, you mentioned that “a standard requirement for due diligence to be carried out” will be introduced. What does that mean and why was there not a standard requirement beforehand?”

“What is the skillset of those conducting the due diligence done within the PET?”

“May I congratulate the Secretary of State on the Turkey deal last week? A year on from his signing of the Trinity House agreement with his German counterpart, can he outline what progress has been made on implementing that deal, in particular to boost industrial collaboration and drive greater investment into integrate…”

“My hon. Friend speaks to the two new offences—clauses 5 and 11. It is vital not only that the Bill is passed, but that the authorities have the powers they need to ensure that the contents of the Bill are enforced. When I speak to people, they want honesty and fairness, and for those in power to live by the same rules …”

“I welcome the Bill and commend Ministers for the work that has been done on it. In particular, I pay tribute to Merseyside colleagues, who have done so much to get us to where we are today. This Bill is about restoring people’s trust in the people who serve them, whether that is in Westminster, Liverpool or Bolton—trus…”